Chapter 1

Twenty-one days before my marriage agreement expired, I watched my husband kiss the woman he was supposed to have forgotten.

They stood beside his car under the string lights that bordered the terrace.

Celeste's hand was inside Gabriel's open coat, curled against his shirt. His palm rested at the back of her neck. When the kiss ended, she stayed in his arms.

I raised my phone and recorded them. My thumb slipped once against the screen, so I braced my hand on the stone pillar until the image stopped shaking.

Three seconds were enough. I saved the video and returned to the house before they saw me.

The front doors opened several minutes later. I was crossing the foyer with the seating chart for Gabriel's birthday dinner when Celeste entered wearing his charcoal coat over her cream dress.

"I hope this isn't an inconvenience, Evelyn." She touched the lapel as if the coat belonged to her. "Gabriel didn't want me staying alone after everything I've been through."

Gabriel walked in behind her. "Her hotel lost the reservation. It's late, and we have plenty of room."

He spoke as if I had already started an argument. A year ago, I would have asked how long she was staying. That night, I uncapped my pen.

"Of course she can stay." I handed the guest list to the housekeeper. "Please put Ms. Laurent in the west guest room."

Celeste's smile held, though her fingers tightened around Gabriel's coat. "The room overlooking the vineyard? You used to say that was your favorite."

"It is." I wrote her name into the empty chair beside Gabriel's. "You should enjoy it."

Gabriel looked down at the seating chart. "You put her next to me."

"You brought her home as your guest. I assumed you'd want her near you."

For several seconds, he said nothing. Celeste slipped her arm through his, but Gabriel kept watching me as if I had changed the rules without warning him.

Then he reached into his jacket and took out a narrow velvet box. "I bought you something in the city."

Inside was a diamond pendant, bright enough to catch every light in the foyer. Celeste leaned closer before I could close the lid.

"That one?" she asked. "I thought you said it was too formal."

Gabriel's mouth tightened. "I said it would suit Evelyn."

So Celeste had been with him when he chose it. I fastened the lid. Gabriel watched my face, waiting for gratitude, jealousy, anything he could recognize.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll wear it to your birthday dinner."

His jaw eased. He reached for my waist, but I stepped aside and handed the seating chart to the housekeeper. His hand closed on empty air.

I left Celeste smiling beside him and went upstairs. Once my bedroom door was locked, I forwarded the video to my attorney with two words: "Add this."

Her reply came less than a minute later. "Keep the original. In twenty-one days, the vineyard transfer becomes irrevocable. Don't give him a reason to delay the final signature."

I moved the property records from my safe into the leather travel case hidden behind my wardrobe panel. Beneath the tax files lay a burgundy box tied with a dark ribbon.

Gabriel's name was still written on the tag in my handwriting. Under it was the date of his birthday four years earlier. He had never opened it.

I remembered the seventeen calls he'd ignored that night. Then I put the box beneath the vineyard deed and zipped the case shut.

From my desk drawer, I took out a small calendar and crossed off the date.

Twenty-one days, and I would never have to be Mrs. Blackwood again.