Chapter 1

I was not good at reading between the lines. If someone said something, I took it at face value.

When I was a kid, my cousin tried to snatch my toy and threatened, "If I can't have this, I'll die right here."

So I handed him a fruit knife, even helpfully dialed 911, and showed him where his carotid artery was.

My ex once said, "I'd suffocate without you."

So I held him underwater for three minutes to help him test the limits of human endurance.

That was, until my so-called "nice guy" husband brought home our neighbor, Julia Reed, and her son Max Reed for dinner.

At the table, Julia was serving food to her son and my husband, smiling like she was the happiest woman alive. "Oh my, look how much Max and Charles Bennett look alike.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think we're a real family. Oh, Sophie, don't take it the wrong way. Kids say the funniest things."

I set down my fork, my face blank, and grabbed my car keys. "I'm not taking it the wrong way.

"We're heading to the hospital right now for a paternity test. If it's true, I'll file for bigamy against Charles. If it's false, I'll take you to court for slander.

"And Charles, to make sure this never happens again, you're getting a vasectomy tomorrow. We promised no kids. Break that promise, and you're dead."

*****

When Charles brought Julia and her son home, I was sitting by the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, flipping through the quarterly report.

"Sophie, come see who's here." Charles called out, his voice a little too excited.

I looked up and saw three people at the door. Charles was lugging two bulging grocery bags, Julia was in a washed-out floral dress, and she was holding the hand of a five-year-old boy named Max.

Max was clutching a grimy ball, gawking at the six-figure Swarovski chandelier hanging in our entryway.

"Oh, Sophie, you're home?" Julia said with a nervous little laugh, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Max and I got back from the supermarket and happened to run into Charlie.

"He said he'd picked up some Austran lobster and insisted we come over to try it. I hope we're not intruding?"

I closed my laptop and looked straight at Charles.

Charles was changing his shoes, giving me a look. "Julie's place has no water. Building management says it won't be fixed until tomorrow. It's only her and Max, so they can't even make dinner.

"I told them to come over and eat with us. We're neighbors, right? Gotta look out for each other."

If I were like most wives, I'd probably be putting on a fake smile to keep up appearances for him.

But instead, I simply checked the time on my watch. "According to the notice in the residents' group chat, the water outage in Block A was only from 9 to 11 this morning. It's been restored for seven hours now."

I stated calmly, "Also, Charles, you know I'm allergic to shellfish. We never serve lobster here. If you bought it for guests, please prep it in the back kitchen and keep any allergens out of the dining area."

The air froze for a second.

Julia's smile froze for a moment, then she quickly switched to a helpless, puppy-eyed expression and looked down at Max. "Oh, I must've gotten the time wrong. Max, let's head home. We don't want to upset Sophie."

But Max, totally oblivious to the grown-ups' signals, flopped right onto the handwoven rug and started rolling around. "I'm not leaving. I want lobster. Daddy Charlie said we'd have lobster tonight."

He yelled "Daddy Charlie" for everyone to hear.

Charles's face turned red, not from embarrassment, but from panic.

He grabbed Julia's arm. "Why leave? You're already here. Sophie is tired from work, so she's a bit blunt. I'm the man of the house, don't I get to decide who stays for dinner?"

He turned to me, sounding reproachful. "Sophie, seriously. Julie's a single mom, it's not easy for her. Even if you weren't allergic, couldn't you avoid it? Do you really have to make such a fuss in front of the kid?"

I looked at the little brat squirming on the rug, then at Charles, who was suddenly putting on his macho act. I slowly stood up.

"Since you're the man of the house, I'll respect your decision. But the rug cleaning costs 2,300 dollars. I'll be taking that out of your allowance later," I said.

Charles looked like he was about to explode, but couldn't get a word out.

Dinner was seriously weird.

Charles was in the kitchen, apron on, busy cooking, while Julia was making herself right at home.

She knew exactly where everything was, grabbing bowls and chopsticks from the cabinet without missing a beat. She even picked out Charles's favorite Naples hand-painted mug and poured Max a glass of juice.

"Sophie, don't sit there. Try this," Julia said with a big smile as she placed a piece of pork bourguignon cooked by Charles in my bowl. "Charlie's such a great cook. Any woman who marries him...

"Oh wait, that's you, Sophie. You really hit the jackpot."

Apparently, she thought that wasn't enough, so she fed Max another piece of pork, then turned to Charles, who had come out with the lobster.

Under the dim yellow light, her gaze was soft and unfocused, a smile playing on her lips. "Oh, look at that. Max really looks like Charlie. And that nose, it's like they were stamped out of the same mold."

She covered her mouth, her laughter tinkling as her gaze flicked between me and Charlie. "Honestly, anyone who walked in would think we're a happy little family of three. Don't take it to heart, Sophie. I'm kidding. Kids say the craziest things."

Charles's hand shook as he held the plate, and a few drops of sauce splattered onto the tablecloth. He shot me a quick look, forcing a laugh to smooth things over. "Julie was joking. Why do you look so serious?"

I set down my fork, grabbed a wet wipe, and meticulously wiped my fingers, taking my sweet time.

I moved so slowly that Charles's smile gradually faded, and Julia began to fidget nervously in her seat.

I wiped my hands, tossed the wet wipe in the trash, and looked them straight in the eye. "I'm not taking it to heart.

"Since Ms. Reed made that suggestion, and Charles, you didn't deny it right away, logically speaking, I have every reason to believe this so-called joke was actually a test to see how we'd react to the truth."

I pulled my car keys out of my bag and stood up." We're going to the hospital now.

"If Max really is your kid, that means my assets as your wife are at risk, and there's a problem with the inheritance of Grant Holdings shares. Bigamy isn't about morals. It's a crime.

"If it's not true, Ms. Reed, you slandered me and Charles, and tried to mess with my marriage. I'll have my lawyer send you a letter and make sure you pay for it."