Chapter 2

At 6:12 a.m., a call from Grant's number jolted me awake on the couch.

I grabbed my phone and looked toward the entryway.

His shoes weren't there. The broken glass from last night was still sitting in a garbage bag.

"Grant?"

There was a two-second pause before Sabrina's hushed voice came through.

"It's me. Sorry for calling so early."

I shot upright. "Why do you have his phone?"

"He just fell asleep," she said softly. "I wasn't feeling well last night, so he stayed up talking to me for hours. I was worried you wouldn't know where he was."

My fingertips went cold. "Put him on the phone."

"Lena, he's exhausted." She paused. "Do you really want me to wake him up right now?"

I clenched the hem of my nightgown. "Drop the act. I know exactly why you called me."

She sucked in a wounded little breath. "I was only trying to help."

Then she hung up.

At eleven that morning, I sat alone at the Harlows' dining table.

When Winnie asked why Grant hadn't come with me, I opened my mouth but couldn't come up with a lie.

"I don't know where he is."

Footsteps sounded in the foyer.

Grant walked in, his hair still wet.

He froze when he saw me.

"Why didn't you wait for me?"

A bitter laugh escaped me. "Wait for you to come back from whose hotel room?"

His father looked up.

Grant pulled out a chair and sat down, barely containing his anger.

"Sabrina wasn't doing well last night. I slept on the couch in her suite. Nothing happened."

"She called me from your phone this morning." I stared at him. "She said you had just fallen asleep, then asked if I wanted her to wake you."

His hand stilled over his napkin. "Why would she call you?"

"Ask her."

Grant avoided my eyes. "She was probably worried about you. Stop assuming the worst of her."

The pain that had been building in my chest all night erupted into fury. "A woman called me at dawn with my husband's phone and told me he was asleep in her room. You think she did that because she cares about me?"

Winnie's face darkened. "You spent the night at a hotel with another woman?"

"I was taking care of a friend." Grant threw his napkin onto the table.

"On your wedding anniversary?" Winnie slammed her hand down. "You'd better explain yourself."

His phone rang.

The moment Grant saw the name on the screen, he walked over to the window.

The dining room was so quiet that all of us could hear Sabrina crying between broken words.

Grant ended the call and reached for his coat. "The repair crew is at her apartment. She can't handle them on her own."

"Your wife is right here!" Winnie shook with rage. "If you walk out that door today, don't bother coming back!"

Grant went rigid.

He turned to me, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

I didn't beg him to stay. I only clenched my injured hand.

The wound beneath the bandage split open, and blood slowly seeped through.

Sabrina called again.

Grant gritted his teeth, but he still put on his coat. "I'll be back later."

The door closed behind him.

Winnie looked at me. Her lips parted several times, but no words came out.

"He kissed her last night." I lowered my head and began unwrapping the bloodstained bandage, my voice shaking.

"Then he stayed with her all night. And just now, he left to see her again right in front of all of you."

No one at the table said a word.