Chapter 3

“Sister Nora?” Sienna called again. “The turkey is getting cold. Julian wants you to come out and carve it.”

I turned on the faucet, splashed icy water over my face, and applied a darker shade of lipstick to conceal my pale lips.

When I opened the door, Sienna was waiting with an innocent smile.

“You took so long,” she said. “Is something wrong?”

“Not anymore.”

Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second.

I walked past her and returned to the dining room. The guests were already seated beneath the warm glow of the candles.

Julian pulled out the chair at the head of the table for me, placed a napkin across my lap, and kissed my cheek.

“Darling, you look tired. Go and rest after you carve the turkey. I'll take care of everything else.”

Looking at his handsome yet repulsive face, I suppressed the urge to slap him and slowly sat down.

Sienna gracefully took the seat opposite us and raised her crystal glass.

“Sister Nora, Brother Julian, I must toast the two of you. If you hadn't taken me in and cared for me, I wouldn't have known where to go with my baby. You are the closest people I have in this city.”

Julian raised his wineglass and glanced at her.

“We're all family. In fact, I've arranged a New Year's skiing holiday for us in Zermatt.”

His announcement drew delighted comments from the guests.

“We'll have an Alpine chalet with a private hot tub,” Julian continued. “Leo and Maya can go sledding. Sienna and I will ski, and Nora can stay in the chalet, enjoy the view, and look after the children.”

Sienna clasped her hands against her chest.

“Oh my God, Julian arranged everything perfectly! Nora, you're so lucky. The three of us must take lots of photographs together, just like a real family.”

A real family.

They wanted me to sit inside with the children while they enjoyed their affair on a snowy mountaintop.

I looked at the couple sitting across from me, smiling beneath the Christmas lights as if they had already taken my place from me.

Then I raised my glass.

“Of course,” I said softly. “This New Year's, I'll prepare a gift for both of you—one you will never forget.”

Julian smiled, mistaking my composure for surrender.

Beneath the table, I unlocked my phone and opened the recording application.

Then I pressed Record.