Chapter 3

"How long has she been pregnant?"

Daniel didn't answer, instead, he reached over to grab the phone.

I clutched the phone in my palm and took a step back. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

"She only told me last week."

"Last week?" I stared at him. "So you had a whole week to tell me, yet you chose to go keep her company and celebrate?"

"I needed time to figure things out."

"Figure out if the baby is yours, or figure out how to keep lying to me?"

A flash of annoyance crossed Daniel's face. "Now is not the time to interrogate me."

I was almost amused by these words.

My husband and his mistress had a baby, and I, the wife, wasn't even allowed to ask a question without it being out of line.

The phone buzzed again.

Madison sent another photo.

The two red lines on the pregnancy test were glaringly sharp, and next to it lay a small pair of white socks.

I suddenly remembered when I was pregnant with Noah.

That day, Daniel picked me up and spun me around several times in the tiny kitchen.

He kissed my forehead and said he would love me forever and never let me be scared alone.

Now, he left another woman in a hotel, perhaps having said the exact same words to her.

"What do you plan to do?" I asked.

Daniel sat down on the sofa, burying his head in his hands. "I don't know."

"Do you love her?"

He raised his head, only to shift his gaze away quickly. "This has nothing to do with the baby."

"It has everything to do with me."

"Claire, I'm already very tired tonight."

His exhaustion was like a needle, popping the very last bit of my fantasy.

The cheater was tired, while the one who was cheated on still had to be understanding.

The doorbell suddenly rang.

At one-thirty in the morning, there would be no normal visitor.

Daniel stood up abruptly.

I walked toward the door, but he stopped me. "Don't open the door."

The doorbell rang once more, sharper than before.

"Daniel, I know you're inside," Madison's voice came from through the door. "We need to talk."

I looked at him.

Her perfume still lingered on him, and now she was standing right outside my door in person.

I pulled the door open.

Madison was wearing the silver dress from the photo, with only a coat draped over it.

The sapphire necklace still hung around her neck, dazzling like a trophy.

Seeing me, she didn't seem surprised.

"Claire," she called my name softly.

"What are you doing here?"

Her gaze went past me, falling onto Daniel. "He said he would make things clear with you tonight. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't delaying again."

Daniel lowered his voice. "Madison, go back."

"I've already waited eleven months." Her eyes turned red." You told me everything would end after this wedding anniversary of yours."

I turned around.

"After the anniversary, what would end?"

Daniel didn't look at me.

Yet Madison answered, "Your marriage."

The air seemed to freeze.

I gripped the doorknob, my fingertips icy cold. "What else did he tell you?"

"He said you two had no feelings left between you for a long time, that you only lived together for the children." She paused, gently resting her palm over her lower belly. "He said once I got pregnant, he would give this baby a complete home."

"Enough!" Daniel interrupted her sternly.

Madison's body trembled, and tears fell.

I had seen her many times.

She had come over for family barbecues, eaten the birthday cake I baked, and even delivered flowers on Daniel's behalf when I was sick.

Yet now, she stood at my doorstep, waiting for me to give up my place to her.

"Do you know why he came back tonight?" I asked her.

Madison froze.

"Not to leave me." I held up the phone in front of her. "Just a moment ago, he said he could end his relationship with you to save our marriage."

The expectation on her face broke bit by bit.

Daniel looked at the two of us, as if discovering for the first time that he couldn't control two women he had lied to simultaneously.

"Claire, let her go back first," his tone softened. "I'll explain to you."

I took out the wedding ring I had taken off long ago and placed it into his palm.

"You don't need to explain anymore."

He instinctively squeezed the ring. "What do you mean?"

"Tonight, go with her."

I looked into his suddenly panicked eyes and finally uttered the words he never expected to hear from my mouth.

"Tomorrow, we talk divorce."