Chapter 1

"A toast! To my sandbox soulmate," Kelsey declared, making sure the entire room of fifty guests was listening. "Wives and girlfriends come and go, but childhood best friends are forever. We share a brain, Benny. Don't ever change."

A few of Ben's old buddies cheered, but the rest of the room fell dead silent. Dozens of awkward, pitying glances shot in my direction.

I stood completely still, my nails digging into my palms. Wives and girlfriends come and go?

I had spent three months planning my husband's thirtieth birthday party. It took his childhood best friend exactly three seconds to ruin it.

Earlier that evening, I had given Ben my gift.

I had spent half a year tracking down a rare, restored vintage Leica camera he had been obsessing over since college. When he opened the box, he gave me a polite smile, a quick peck on the cheek, and a casual, "Wow, thanks, Audrey. That's really nice."

Then, he immediately set it aside on a table to go grab a drink.

But when Kelsey walked into the rooftop lounge half an hour later, the temperature in the room changed.

She handed him a massive, custom-framed photo collage.

"Happy birthday, Benny," she said, using the nickname only she was allowed to use.

Every single picture in that frame was of the two of them: at sixteen in a beaten-up Ford, at their college graduation, on a beach trip. I, his wife, wasn't in a single one.

"And I got you this," she added, pulling a vintage silver pocket watch from her purse. "Remember when we were twelve and buried that time capsule? You said you wanted a watch just like your grandfather's. I finally found it."

Ben's eyes literally welled up with tears. He pulled her into a tight, desperate hug, completely ignoring my presence. "Kelsey, this is incredible. You always know exactly what I want."

My stomach dropped. I stared at the expensive vintage camera sitting abandoned on the corner table. My six months of painstaking effort hadn't earned a single tear or a real embrace, yet Kelsey had effortlessly brought him to his knees with a piece of his past.

When the party finally ended and we were home, I confronted him in the kitchen.

"Ben, Kelsey's speech was completely out of line," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "She basically told a room full of our friends that our marriage is temporary."

Ben sighed, violently tossing his tie onto the counter. "Audrey, please. Not tonight. Don't ruin a good day."

"I'm not ruining it. She humiliated me."

"She was joking!" he snapped, looking at me like I was a crazy person. "We grew up together, we have history! Why are you always so insanely insecure about my past?"

"I'm not jealous of your past, Ben. I'm angry about how she treats me in the present."

"You just don't get our dynamic," he snapped. "She's like a sister to me. Stop reading into everything."

He grabbed his glass of water and walked into the bedroom, leaving me alone in the dark kitchen.

My phone buzzed on the counter. It was a Facebook notification.

Kelsey had just posted a picture from the party. It was a candid shot of Ben hugging her, his face buried in her shoulder.

The caption read: Some bonds can never be replaced by a piece of jewelry. Happy 30th to my favorite boy.

She didn't tag me. But she made sure everyone else saw it.