Chapter 3

I don't respond. But Jade steps closer and whispers in my ear.

"You want to know when it started? The first time?"

Her breath is warm against my skin.

"It was when you had your miscarriage. When you were stuck in the hospital. We did it right there. In your bed."

My whole body goes cold.

That was my first baby. Derek's and mine.

I wanted that baby so badly. I was so careful. Did everything right. And I still lost it.

When I was in the hospital, Derek said he was swamped with a project. Said he couldn't be there. I went through the whole thing alone. The bleeding. The silence after. The empty room.

And the whole time, he was with her.

In my bed.

I stare at Jade.

"Why? Why would you do that?"

She doesn't even blink.

"Derek's rich, hot, and he knows what he's doing. Men like him don't come around twice. You were gonna lose him eventually. I just got there first."

She shrugs.

"Besides, Shane? I've been wanting to dump him for years."

I check the time. Shane should be about ten minutes out.

"You think he'll just let you leave?" I ask. "You told me yourself he's got a temper. That he almost killed someone. Doesn't that scare you?"

She waves her hand.

"Shane is a dumbass with muscles and no brain. All I have to do is snap my fingers and he'll do whatever I want. When the time comes, I'll just trick him into signing the papers. He's as easy to fool as you are."

She doesn't care about Shane at all. Not even a little.

"What if he finds out you're cheating?"

Fear flashes across her face. Just for a second. Then it's gone.

"He won't. He's probably out doing deliveries right now." She smirks. "I've got him trained like a dog. You wouldn't understand."

I laugh inside. Cold. Quiet.

I glance at my phone.

Shane's text: Almost there.

Something clicks in my head. I don't want to let them off easy. I want to watch what happens when the dog slips its leash.

So I look up at Derek with the saddest eyes I can manage.

"I'll wait for you in the hotel lobby. When you're done, come home with me. Okay?"

I make myself as small and desperate as I can. Derek stares at me, surprised.

"You're really that… you just can't live without me?"

Jade jumps in right away. "God, Avery. How are you this pathetic? After everything, you're still begging for scraps. What the hell is wrong with you?"

I don't react. I look at her like she just doesn't get it.

"Derek paid for everything when I was in college. Every single bill. All four years. And after we got married, he's the one who kept me afloat." I pause. "Jade, I can't survive without him. I never could."

And that's the truth, at least on the surface.

Derek is insanely good at making money. He had six figures by twenty. By the time he graduated, he was pulling in millions.

Because of him, I never had to worry about rent, tuition, or anything else. I got my master's. Then my Ph.D. All because I never had to work a day.

Jade opens her mouth and nothing comes out. Her face goes dark.

Derek shoots Jade a look, irritated.

"Don't talk to her like that."

"I told you from the start. What we have stays between us. It doesn't touch Avery. And I'm never going to divorce her to marry you." His eyes narrow. "Unless that's what you've been counting on?"

Jade's expression shifts instantly. She softens her voice, reaches for his arm.

"That's not what I meant, baby. I just didn't want her to ruin the mood."

I glance at my phone one more time.

Shane is two minutes away.