Chapter 1

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My husband, Ethan Carter, was the CEO of a publicly traded company, a man who was admired and envied by many. He traveled for work every month, like clockwork. Everyone knew him as a “wife guy,” someone who spoiled me endlessly and never missed a chance to show his love.

Every time he came back from a trip, he brought me thoughtful gifts.

This time, he’d been in Charleston for business and returned with a single peach blossom branch.

Because he couldn’t take it on the plane, he went out of his way—lugging it onto trains and even the subway—just so he could bring a piece of Charleston’s early spring back to me.

As he handed it to me, Ethan spoke softly, his voice as warm as ever. “The spring comes early down there,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to bring it back for you to see.”

But just before he walked through the door, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from that same unknown number that had been messaging me for weeks:

“Your husband and his little assistant took their romantic getaway to Charleston this month.”

Attached was a photo: Ethan and his secretary, Emma, locked in a passionate kiss beneath a canopy of pink blossoms.

I stared at the picture, my stomach twisting.

When Ethan turned away to take a shower, I set the peach blossom branch in the most unnoticeable corner of the room. My hand brushed against my slightly rounded belly as I picked up the phone and made a call I hadn’t dared to make in three years.

“Dad,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’ve made a mistake. I’m leaving Ethan.”

They say a marriage without your parents’ blessing is doomed from the start.

Three years ago, I walked down the aisle against their wishes, thinking love was enough.

Now, it was clear: that wedding had been a mistake.

It was time to cut my losses and walk away.