Chapter 1
The week before I was supposed to marry Samuel Hayes, my childhood friend, he walked out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, and suddenly said, "I slept with her. You know, your dad's illegitimate daughter, Chloe Grant."
He said it as casually as if he were talking about what to have for dinner.
I froze, thinking I must have misheard.
But he didn't look the least bit guilty. "She made the first move. Honestly, we've been seeing each other for ages. We never really stopped.
"She's pretty uninhibited, and she's really good at it. The first time was an accident, but after that, not so much."
After ten years of this rollercoaster romance, this was the second time Samuel had betrayed me.
The first time I caught him, he held a knife to his throat and begged me to stay, putting his life on the line.
But right now, his eyes were glazed with the smug satisfaction of someone who'd finished their best sex.
Samuel said, "We're getting married next week. You'll be my official wife, and she'll never set foot in this house. As long as you turn a blind eye, you'll get everything you're owed.
"We've been together for ten years. It's not worth breaking up over something this trivial, is it?"
Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from my boss. [Are you interested in long-term posting in Baris? Think it over and let me know by tomorrow morning.]
I fell silent, then replied almost instantly: [I do.]
*****
Outside the bathroom, Samuel's hair was still dripping wet.
His confession completely blindsided me.
I swallowed hard, my throat constricted, before I could finally get the words out. "Why? Why did it have to be her?"
My mind went completely blank.
Samuel knew full well what Chloe meant to me.
She was my father's illegitimate daughter.
Years ago, her mom came knocking, pregnant and all, and pushed my mom over the edge.
After that, Chloe and her mom marched in and took over the house.
I got shoved out of the place I used to call home.
When things were at their worst, Samuel was there for me.
He was my shield, staying up all night with me, making sure I never faced it alone.
He told me, "Julia, you still have me. I'd never turn my back on you."
He used to say he hated Chloe and her mom more than anyone, called them cold-hearted snakes, and swore they'd never die a good death.
But now, he'd been sleeping with Chloe and not once.
I stared at his familiar face. Suddenly, it felt completely foreign to me.
"Samuel," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Do you remember how you used to talk about Chloe? You said she was as cheap as her mom, that you couldn't even stand the sight of her."
I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
But Samuel didn't deny it.
He looked at me, almost pitying. "Julia, people change. You know, when she cries, she does it like you.
"When you're not here, she slips into your pajamas, sprays on your perfume, and lies on your side of the bed. Julia, sometimes when I'm holding her, I can't even tell if it's you or her."
My stomach twisted.
I stayed silent.
Out of nowhere, the memory of last time hit me.
*****
It was two years ago.
I came home early from a work trip, in the middle of the night, and found Samuel wasted.
There was a pile of used condoms on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up yet.
I totally lost it.
I threw all the gifts I'd brought for him out of my suitcase.
I went on a rampage and wrecked half the house.
I smashed all our photos.
In the end, I grabbed my suitcase and rushed out, tears streaming down my face.
Samuel chased after me barefoot and stopped me in the hallway.
At first, he tried to explain, but I wasn't having it. I shoved his hand away and slammed the elevator button.
Then he bowed.
The hallway lights went off and on, off and on.
He bowed in front of me, tears streaming down his face, wrapped his arms around my legs, refusing to let me go.
I couldn't break free, so I cursed him out, saying all kinds of awful things.
Then, suddenly, he shot up and bolted into the kitchen.
Before I could even react, Samuel had grabbed a fruit knife from the block and pressed it to his throat.
The blade bit into his skin, a thin line of blood welling up. "Julia, I lost my head. I messed up.
"Please, don't leave me. Don't give up on me. I can't live without you."
His voice trembled, tears and blood smeared together across his face.
Samuel had been hard-headed ever since we were kids.
He never bluffed. If he said he'd do something, he did it.
If he thought he'd wronged me, he'd actually risk his life to make it right.
I was so terrified that I felt like my soul had left my body.
When I stared at the blood on his neck, seeing him standing on those cold tiles, all the memories of what he'd done for me over the years came flooding back.
He always defended me when Chloe and her mom tried to humiliate me. When my dad abandoned me, he said, "Julia, you still have me. I'll never leave you."
He was always on the other end of the line, staying up with me whenever I fell apart in the middle of the night.
He never once lost patience, always soothing, always gentle.
I couldn't help but give in.
But it hadn't even been that long, had it?
So, all those times Samuel was comforting me, was Chloe always in his bed, right next to him?
I rushed into the bathroom, dropped to my knees by the toilet, and dry-heaved for a long time.
Nothing came up, but the tears started falling before I could stop them.
But Samuel acted like he couldn't care less.
He picked up his phone, sounding tired. "Julia, stop it. You know I'm not going to let you leave me.
"Something's come up at the office. I need to head out. The wedding's still happening next week, as we planned."
Samuel rushed out without another word.
But his lie was so lame.
He had no clue I'd already seen Chloe's name pop up on his caller ID.
He didn't realize that as soon as he turned his back, I was already filling out the company's long-term overseas transfer form on my phone.
It was scheduled for a week later.
That was the same day as my wedding to Samuel.
I thought we would never have to cross paths again.