Chapter 1
After I learned that Charles Harper had fallen for someone else, I started doing everything I could to stay out of his life.
He loved the clothes Natalie picked for him? Whatever. I boxed up everything I'd ever bought him and sent it away.
He enjoyed fixing her mistakes? Fine, I ended the partnership, ensuring there was no business left connecting us.
I severed every financial tie, gathered proof of his affair, and left the divorce agreement on his desk.
That was when he started to freak out—his company was on the edge of collapse.
*****
"Charles, come try this on. You always dress in those boring black and white clothes. They make you look dull," Natalie said, her tone playful.
Natalie held up the shirt for Charles, her eyes flashing with triumph as she smoothed the shirt against his chest.
I just sat quietly on the couch, watching them flirt like I wasn't even there.
Charles took off his jacket, and I caught a faint, unfamiliar scent lingering on it.
And on the collar, the faint trace of red lipstick—exactly the same shade as the one on Natalie's lips.
A sharp pain twisted in my chest.
The man who once said he would love me forever clearly didn't anymore.
It was our third wedding anniversary.
I was in the middle of signing a contract when his call came, asking me to meet him at the mall.
I thought he had planned a surprise for me, but all I saw was him flirting with Natalie, and me footing the bill.
Natalie was his late brother's wife.
After Colin Harper, his brother, passed away, Charles brought Natalie home under the pretense of "taking care of her".
I argued, cried, made scenes, but in the end, I always gave up.
Every time, he would just snap at me, his voice icy and distant.
He said, "Susan, I didn't think you could be so cruel. She's my sister-in-law, a member of the Harper family. Colin is gone, and I have to look after her. She's even pregnant."
He made me feel like nothing. Even the fact that I couldn't get pregnant in three years became my fault.
He said, "If you could get pregnant, do you think I would care about her so much?"
However, deep down, I knew it. It wasn't the baby he cared about. It was Natalie.
Every argument between Charles and me was because of Natalie.
Once, she said she wanted to watch TV quietly in the study room. Then she brought a whole meal there to eat.
By the time I got home, the table was a greasy mess, and a contract had been used as a placemat. The ink had run so badly that the words were unreadable.
Before I had a chance to say anything, she went straight into her drama, sniffling and clinging to Charles like she had been wronged.
She said, "I didn't mean to. I didn't even see that contract."
And of course, Charles rushed to defend her, scolding me instead.
He said, "It's just a contract. Go get another one signed, but if you make Natalie upset again, I'll make you regret it."
He never stood up for me, but for Natalie, he always went out of his way to protect her.
He didn't have a clue that I almost ended up in the hospital that night, trying to fix that contract over drinks at a party.
And when I finally came home that night, he still made me bring Natalie some cookies from a fancy bakery.
Charles only shot me an approving nod when he saw Natalie grinning with delight. "Well, you finally did a great job."
I was losing my place in our house, while Natalie was getting more and more arrogant.
Then, just yesterday, I came home from work and saw her coming right out of our bedroom—a faint hickey on her neck that said more than words ever could.
She sneered. "Susan, guess you're not much of a wife. If you can't keep a man like Charles, maybe you should just let me have him."
I just stood there, watching her leave.
When I stepped into the bedroom, the place was a complete mess. Charles was scurrying around, frantically trying to clean up.
He looked up and immediately started sputtering, tripping over his words as he tried to come up with an explanation.
He said, "Babe, it's not what you think. Natalie wasn't feeling well, so I just gave her a massage. That's all. We didn't do anything.
"She's pregnant, you know."
I forced myself to smile and nodded, even as tears burned behind my eyes.
Charles had this little tell—he would always stutter before he lied. And I was the only one who knew it.
I could tell that he was lying.
He didn't love me anymore.