Chapter 1

My husband had suffered from severe insomnia for six months.

I'd chased down every top doctor in the city, asking for nothing except that he might finally sleep through a night.

To keep from disturbing his rest, I moved myself into the guest room.

Then, at three in the morning, my phone refreshed a page on its own.

And I saw my husband, the man who was supposedly "already asleep," inside a livestream room, showering a sleep-aid host with three top-tier gifts in a row.

A moment later, the sounds coming from the master bedroom were the kind that make your face burn and your pulse race.

1.

My husband's voice drifted out, threaded with the host's over the live call.

"Thanks for the gifts, Justin Henson. Tonight I'll do anything you want."

Justin's tone turned playful.

"Really? Then I want you to have my baby. You in?"

The woman teased him back.

"Sure, we handle the making, and your wife handles the raising. That could work."

Justin laughed.

"You're a riot. Way better than that block of wood."

Then the woman spoke again.

"Justin, it's time for that special session tonight. But your wife's home. It'd be bad if she caught us. How about we do something else instead?"

Justin sneered.

"Her?"

"Back when she was chasing me, she was like some pathetic little puppy. Even if she heard, she wouldn't dare do a thing."

"Well, if that's how it is, then I'm going to start now."

And then a sound I can't bring myself to describe began to rise.

Justin, for his part, was beside himself with excitement.

"Luna Pruitt, your voice is so sweet. Here, let me tip you again."

Luna gasped with delight.

"Wow, thank you for the gift, Justin!"

"Such a shame, though. Your wife's home today, so we can't do our weekly in-person session."

At the same time, I saw three thousand dollars vanish from our joint savings account.

From everything they'd just said, it was clear.

Justin hadn't only tipped this host over and over online.

He'd been ordering these special sessions regularly, too.

And more than that, they'd been meeting in private, for what they called "in-person companionship."

He'd never touched the joint account when he tipped before. He must have always used his own private account.

This time, too worked up to think, he'd brazenly pulled the money straight from our shared account.

Something in me went cold.

Six months ago, when the company posted me overseas.

Afraid Justin would be lonely, I'd wanted to bring him with me.

But he chose to stay behind, saying he wanted to look after my mother in my place.

Maybe that was when he first became infatuated with this sleep-aid host.

Three years married to Justin.

Back then he said he loved watching me work so hard.

So I made up my mind and handed the multi-billion-dollar conglomerate my grandfather had left me over to my people to run.

And I started from nothing, telling him about every bit of progress I made each day.

All I wanted was for him to praise me.

And he, just as I'd hoped, would fall apart in tears every time I came home, saying he was the happiest man alive.

I lost myself in all of it,

never knowing his heart had betrayed me long ago.

Since he didn't treasure this marriage.

Then I didn't need to keep playing out this tragic little drama with him.

I turned and called my right-hand man.

"I'm coming back to Fox Group. Get things ready."

His voice came back charged with excitement.

"Ms. Fox, you're finally willing to come back. We've all been waiting so long for this."

I nodded.

"Keep my return quiet for now."

"First, handle something for me. Look into a host named Luna."

"Buy out the platform she's on, as fast as you can."

He answered "Yes," and I hung up.

Just then the master bedroom door moved.

Justin came out.

When he saw me, guilt flickered across his face.

But he covered it in an instant, offering up that gentle smile.

"Honey, why aren't you asleep yet?"

I said it flatly.

"I saw three thousand dollars go out of the joint account."

He froze for a second, then glanced at his phone.

"Oh, a buddy of mine had his eye on a watch."

"He was short on cash, so I lent him some. I picked the wrong account by mistake when I sent it."

"Is that so."

My voice was neither warm nor cold.

Justin shot me a look.

"Myra Fox, don't tell me you don't believe me?"

"We've been married over three years. When have I ever lied to you?"

When had he ever lied to me?

I only found it laughable.

I wanted to confront him, but I held it back.

Because now wasn't the time.

On the surface I stayed calm.

"I was only asking. I worried you might not have enough to spend."

The smile returned to his face.

"That's more like it."

"All right, honey, go to sleep now. You've still got work tomorrow."

Then he kissed me on the forehead.

After that, he turned and walked into the bedroom.

The door slammed shut behind him.