Chapter 3

The whole incident seemed to blow over just like that , swept under the rug without a second thought.

Music filled the villa again. People ate grilled food, drank beer, played board games, and the laughter picked up right where it had left off.

But I felt like a ghost , hovering just outside this world, untethered from all of it.

I watched everything with cold, detached eyes.

I noticed that Diego and Sophia were being deliberately careful around each other.

They wouldn't even let their gazes cross, staying as far apart as the space allowed.

But the way the others looked at me , that had changed.

The looks were subtle, but I caught every one of them.

Pity. Mockery. The amused contempt you'd give someone who'd just been made a fool.

They were probably laughing at me inside: Look at Chloe , what an idiot. All it took was one lazy lie, and she swallowed it whole.

Midway through the evening, I made an excuse to use the bathroom.

I stood at the sink and looked at the woman in the mirror , perfectly made up, and completely pale underneath it.

Chloe. You're pathetic.

Just then, there was a knock at the bathroom door. It was Wallace.

He was holding a glass of warm water, his earlier goofy grin replaced by a tone that tried to sound fatherly and wise.

"Chloe. Drink some water."

I didn't take it. I just looked at him, flat and cold. "What do you want?"

Wallace sighed and leaned against the doorframe, dropping his voice.

"Chloe… look, we're all adults here. Sometimes the smartest thing is to just… let things go."

My stomach dropped. But I kept my expression perfectly neutral. "What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is , Diego is good to you. Men sometimes lose their heads, chase something new and exciting for a minute. But in his heart? Home is still home. You're still his wife."

Wallace looked at me with the air of someone dispensing great wisdom from a great height.

"We all know each other here. If you blow this up, nobody wins. Diego's career is really taking off right now, and you've got a reputation to protect too. Sometimes, you just look the other way and life keeps moving. You get what I'm saying?"

I understood perfectly.

He wasn't here to comfort me. He was here to put me in my place.

He was telling me: We all know Diego cheated.

But you'd better act like you don't. Keep being the good wife, don't make a scene, and don't ruin everybody's good time.

I stared at Wallace's self-satisfied face and felt something almost like laughter rising in my chest , the kind that comes from pure, bewildered absurdity.

"Wallace," I said, holding his gaze, voice even and deliberate. "Sophia , your girlfriend , slept with Diego. And you're not angry about it. You're standing here telling me to be understanding?"

Wallace's expression stiffened for a flicker of a moment. A flash of discomfort crossed his face, but he recovered quickly, shrugging it off with practiced ease.

"Chloe, you're looking at this wrong. We're all out here having a good time , that's what matters. And Sophia, she…"

He trailed off vaguely.

"Bottom line, I'm telling you this for your own good. Don't back Diego into a corner. End of the day, you don't want to lose everything , him and your stability , all at once."

"For my own good?" I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Well, thanks so much."

I pushed past him and walked straight back to the living room.

I didn't explode. Not then.

Because I knew that blowing up right now would accomplish nothing , it would just give them ammunition to gaslight me, turn everything around on me, and close ranks.

They outnumbered me.

They had a united front.

What I needed was evidence. I needed proof so airtight it would nail every single one of them to the wall.