Chapter 1

When I learned my husband, Clyde Garner, was cheating, I didn't explode. I was just stunned.

I had played the role of pampered trophy wife too long to walk away from this gilded life.

His mistress was my best friend since childhood, Joanna Clark, who was also married.

They thought they hid it well.

However, even the best lies cracked somewhere.

Divorce? Please. That had never been an option.

I was not giving my daughter a "broken family" just because her dad cheated.

Taking down the mistress myself seemed more satisfying.

Joanna flaunted a limited-edition lipstick, grinning like she'd won the lottery.

She said, "My husband gave it to me for my birthday. Isn't the color perfect for me?"

Her eyes sparkled with triumph and something uglier.

Well, I'd seen that lipstick before in Clyde's car.

He said it was a gift for a client.

However, I recognized the tiny scratch I accidentally left at the base.

It was that fiery red, a dangerously seductive shade, nearly impossible to find.

I made up an excuse to try it on. Sure enough, when I twisted it all the way up, there was that scratch I'd accidentally left at the bottom.

Joanna was still showing off, going on about how her husband understood her, pampered her, and treated her like a queen.

A chill swept through me, right down to my bones.

I knew that sooner or later, every trophy wife had to face her husband cheating. That was just the unspoken rule in our world.

I just never thought the other woman would be Joanna, the friend I grew up with.

I couldn't bear to think about it. All those times she shared every little detail about her 'husband,' the man in her stories was actually Clyde.

A wave of nausea hit me, but I kept my cool and made up an excuse to leave.

I waited for Clyde to come home from work. When he finally walked in, I handed him his slippers and took his coat, keeping my face completely blank.

Just like always, he hugged me and kissed my forehead.

Everything was routine, nothing out of the ordinary.

Finally, when Clyde was sound asleep, I grabbed his car keys and hurried down to the garage.

I drove the car to the place I had arranged in advance and installed a tracker, a vibration alert, and a hidden camera.

I didn't sleep the entire night. The betrayal of my husband and my closest friend twisted my heart in pain.

I even thought about getting a divorce. Clyde had given me plenty of money over the years; it was more than enough for Megan and me to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

Right. What about Megan? She was only four, and she was so attached to Clyde.

I thought back to when I was little. My parents disliked me, so they dumped me at my grandma's place in a small town. We were poor, but she loved me with everything she had.

Life was tough, and I always envied the kids who had parents to love them.

When other kids picked on me, I never dared to fight back because I didn't have anyone to stand up for me.

I couldn't let Megan go through what I did growing up. It wouldn't be fair to her.

I had to keep this family together for Megan. Love was just bullshit.

And if nothing else worked, I could simply treat Clyde as our financial support.

Thinking that way made the pain lighten a lot.

When morning came, I woke up to a cold bed. Clyde was already gone, off to work.

I drifted in and out of sleep before the vibration alert from the car suddenly went off.

I thought I was ready for this, but as soon as I checked the camera, my fingers got cold.

Clyde was whispering sweet nothings to Joanna, praising her endlessly.

And Joanna, usually so gentle and elegant, was nothing like her usual graceful self.

Clyde teased, "So, who's better, me or your husband? Come on, tell me."

Joanna winked at him. "Of course, it's you. Just thinking about him makes me sick. If my brother didn't need his support, I would have divorced him long ago.

"Come on, tell me. Who's better, me or Jenny?"

"Definitely you. Why else would I be with you? We've been together for five years, and it always feels different," Clyde replied.

I was totally shocked.

Five years? They had started when Clyde and I had just married.

Swallowing my disgust, I made a backup of the video.