Chapter 1

On the night of our eighth wedding anniversary, I told Edward Grant I was leaving on a business trip, all to surprise him.

Instead, I curled up inside the largest suitcase in our house, dressed in silk lingerie, my breath held tight.

By eight o'clock, the front door finally clicked open.

Edward stepped inside, followed by my best friend, Sophie Lane.

I was on the verge of jumping out when Sophie's voice drifted over, soft and smug.

She said, "Edward, I tested her again yesterday. She suspected nothing. Happy eighth anniversary."

"Sometimes I wish I could stand by your side openly, instead of having to play at being your brother's deferential wife," she murmured, her tone dripping with longing.

"Eight years ago, I found a man, had him undergo plastic surgery to look like your brother, and married him," she went on, a faint note of pride in her voice. "Otherwise, we could never have carried on our affair all these years."

I pulled out my phone, pressed it against the gap in the suitcase, and hit record.

*****

"She's been acting suspicious lately," Edward sounded annoyed.

He added, "Last time she went through my phone, I was lucky I deleted the chat history in time. Sophie, you need to keep a closer eye on her. Don't let her find out anything."

Sophie snorted, her laugh dripping with disdain. "Relax. With the way she thinks, though you handed her the evidence, she'd come up with some excuse for you."

"Last time you smelled like my perfume, she thought you picked it up while shopping for her gift. I nearly burst out laughing," she added.

That scent of perfume.

Last week, when Edward came home, his collar was scented with Sophie's favorite gardenia.

I asked him about it.

He said it got on him while he was shopping for perfume for me.

It made me feel so loved.

Sophie's tone suddenly turned serious. "But Edward, have you ever thought about what you'd do if she found out?"

"Though the guy who had the surgery to look like your brother is overseas now, you never know whether he could show up someday," she warned, her voice lowering slightly.

Edward cut her off. "Not a chance. I've got someone keeping tabs on him.

"Although she figures it out, what can she do?

"The house is under my parents' name, most of our money's tied up in the company, and we've got two kids. She's only a stay-at-home mom. What's she gonna do, flip the world upside down?"

The certainty and coldness in his voice hit me like a punch to the chest.

It turned out that this was the man I'd spent ten years loving.

And the best friend I'd trusted for twelve years.

I couldn't stop shaking.

I peeked out through the crack in the suitcase lid.

Edward and Sophie were making out on the couch.

His arm was wrapped around her waist.

Her legs were entwined with his.

They moved together like it was second nature to them.

Tears streamed down my face, unstoppable.

My black lace lingerie was soaked through, sticking to my skin.

The noises coming from the couch were growing downright filthy, almost unbearable to listen to.

I stuck my phone out of the suitcase, holding it up a little higher.

Sophie was my best friend for four years in college.

Later, I married Edward, the older twin.

Sophie married Ethan, the younger twin.

Ethan was always overseas, running the branch office.

He would only come back two or three times a year.

So most of the time, it was the three of us in this huge villa.

The three of us lived together in that big villa, and things were pretty chill between us.

Sophie was always upbeat, and her cooking was seriously amazing.

Whenever Edward had to work late, she would keep me company. We would eat together, go shopping, or catch a movie.

Sometimes, when I thought about it, living together like this almost felt like a fairy tale.

But now and then, something felt off.

Sometimes, Edward would look at Sophie with eyes so much softer than when he looked at me.

At dinner, he'd naturally end up sitting next to her.

And I'd be sitting across from them, like I was an outsider.

But then I'd remind myself.

Edward was the man I'd loved for ten years. We'd been together since our college days, all the way to getting married. We'd been together from the two of us to having kids together.

I always thought our love was unbreakable.

Sophie was my best friend.

She married Edward's younger brother.

With us being so close, and now family through marriage, what was there to be suspicious about?