Chapter 1
At the Thanksgiving dinner, my husband's mother, Linda Evans, placed her homemade pumpkin pies on the table.
But one box of beautifully packaged cheesecakes sat by my husband, Charles Evans's hand, sent by his assistant, Lucy Rowe.
During the meal, he picked up a slice from that box and was about to take a bite.
I knocked it out of his hand. As the whole family stared in shock, I said coldly, "We're getting a divorce."
Charles froze for a moment, then finally snapped.
He said, "Are you insane? I was just going to eat a piece of cake, and you throw a fit in front of everyone?"
Linda said, "Exactly. Lucy was being thoughtful. What's wrong with her sending a cake over? Why are you so jealous?"
I picked up the smashed slice from the floor, held it up to his face, and said slowly, "Yes. We're getting divorced because of this cake."
*****
Linda's smile froze on her face. My mom, Tracy's cup paused halfway to her lips. My father, Leo Winters, and Charles's father, Gary, both looked grim.
Charles's expression shifted from stunned to furious.
The next moment, he seized my wrist, his breath heavy with the sop of alcohol and burning with anger right in my face.
"Jane, are you done acting crazy?" Charles snapped.
"If you've got something to say, say it properly. Don't scare my daughter," someone said.
A steady, commanding voice cut in; it was my Dad.
He already stood up, eyes fixed intensely on Charles.
Charles quickly let go of me, but when he glanced at my Dad, there was a hint of resentment in his eyes.
"Unbelievable. Right in front of both families, you have the nerve to stir up trouble like this?" Linda said.
She slapped her thigh and pointed right at my face, her voice exploding with fury.
Linda said, "Charles busts his back working all day; what's so wrong with him eating a cake?
"Is this how your family raised your daughter? Making such a fuss over something so small and bringing chaos into the whole house."
She wasn't just insulting me; she was humiliating my parents, too.
Tracy's lips were quivering with rage, just about to say something.
Gary slammed his fork down on the table, stepping up in full patriarch mode and laying down the law.
He said, "Enough. Jane, apologize to Charles. We're going to act like this never happened."
As soon as Gary finished speaking, Charles quickly composed himself.
The man who had been raging just a second ago slipped right back into his perfect, gentle son-in-law persona.
Charles sighed, turned, and offered a respectful bow to my parents.
Charles said, "Leo, Tracy, I had a bit too much to drink and got a little worked up.
"Jane's been under a lot of stress at work lately, so she's just been a bit emotional. It's nothing serious.
"As her husband, I should just put up with her."
With a few casual words, he twisted my determination into nothing more than an irrational outburst.
He made himself out to be the saintly husband, infinitely forgiving of his wife and devoted to his in-laws.
As he kept talking, Charles reached out, trying to pull me closer, clearly playing the loving couple act for both sets of parents.
I stepped back, and he ended up grabbing at thin air.
Charles's hand just froze in midair, looking awkward as hell.
I stared him down, watching the phony tenderness on his face, and let out a laugh.
"Charles, since you want this cake so much," I said.
I bent down, grabbed another whole piece off the floor, and held it out to him.
I said, "Go ahead.
"Right here, in front of both our parents.
"Eat it."