Chapter 1

The charity luncheon had ended earlier than expected, leaving me with an unexpected afternoon of freedom. For once, I thought I might surprise Jason by coming home early, perhaps we could spend some rare quiet time together without Maisie's constant presence hovering between us like a ghost.

I slipped my key into the lock as quietly as possible, wanting to surprise him. The house felt different somehow—too still, too intimate. My heels clicked softly against the marble foyer as I made my way toward the living room, already planning what I might say to break through the wall that had grown between us over the past months.

Then I saw them.

Jason sat on our cream-colored sofa, his arms wrapped around Maisie as she pressed her face into his chest. Her shoulders shook with what appeared to be sobs, while his hand moved through her dark hair in slow, tender strokes. The gesture was so intimate, so protective, that for a moment I forgot how to breathe.

"Shh, it's okay," Jason murmured, his voice softer than I'd heard it in years. "I'm here. I'll always be here for you."

My designer purse slipped from nerveless fingers, hitting the floor with a sharp crack that echoed through the room like a gunshot.

Jason's head snapped up, his eyes wide with something that looked suspiciously like guilt. Maisie lifted her tear-streaked face, and for just a split second, I could have sworn I saw satisfaction flicker across her features before the mask of grief slid back into place.

"Isabella," Jason said, his voice strained. "You're home early."

I stared at them, my husband and his dead girlfriend's sister, still tangled together on our sofa. "I can see that I am."

Maisie slowly disentangled herself from Jason's embrace, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I was just... having a difficult day. Missing Anastasia."

Of course she was. It was always about Anastasia.

"Jason," I said carefully, my voice barely above a whisper. "Could I speak with you privately?"

His jaw tightened. "Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of Maisie. She's family."

Family. The word hit me like a physical blow. I was his wife, but somehow Maisie had become family while I remained an outsider in my own home.

"Fine." I lifted my chin, drawing on every ounce of dignity I had left. "What exactly did I just walk in on?"

"You walked in on me comforting someone who's in pain," Jason said, his tone growing defensive. "Maisie was having a panic attack about the anniversary of Anastasia's accident next month."

"A panic attack that required you to hold her like—" I stopped myself, but the damage was already done.

"Like what, Isabella?" Jason stood, his eyes flashing with anger. "Like I cared about her? Like I was being a decent human being to someone who's suffered an unimaginable loss?"

"Like you were holding your lover," I said quietly.

The silence that followed was deafening. Maisie gasped, pressing her hand to her chest as if I'd physically struck her.

"How dare you," Jason's voice was ice-cold. "How dare you suggest something so disgusting? Maisie is practically a child, Isabella. She's vulnerable and grieving, and you're standing here making vile accusations because you're jealous of a dead woman."

Jealous of a dead woman. The words echoed in my head, each one a fresh wound.

"I'm not jealous," I said, though we both knew it was a lie. "I'm tired, Jason. I'm tired of coming second to a ghost. I'm tired of watching my husband comfort another woman while I—"

"While you what? While you sit in your ivory tower judging everyone else's pain?" Jason stepped closer, his face flushed with anger. "Maisie has no one else, Isabella. No one. Anastasia made me promise—"

"Anastasia is dead!" The words tore from my throat with more force than I'd intended. "She's been dead for five years, Jason. Five years. When are you going to start living for the people who are still here?"

Maisie let out a broken sob, and I immediately felt the familiar stab of guilt. But before I could apologize, she was moving toward the kitchen, her steps unsteady.

"I should... I should make some tea," she whispered. "To calm down."

Jason immediately moved to follow her. "Let me help you."

I watched them go, feeling more alone than I had in years. From the kitchen came the sound of cabinets opening, the clink of dishes, and then Maisie's voice, high and distressed.

"Oh no, I'm so clumsy when I'm upset..."

A crash. A scream—mine.

Scalding soup splashed across my forearm as the ceramic bowl shattered against the kitchen floor. Pain shot up my arm like liquid fire, and I stumbled backward, clutching the burned skin.

"Oh my God, Isabella!" Maisie cried, her hands flying to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I was reaching for the bowl and my hands were shaking and—"

"Maisie, are you hurt?" Jason rushed to her side, his hands gentle as he checked her for injuries.

I stood there, soup dripping from my arm, watching my husband comfort the woman who had just burned me while I remained invisible in my own kitchen.

"Jason," I said quietly.

He didn't even look up.

That night, as I lay in bed with my bandaged arm throbbing, I stared at the ceiling and wondered when I had become a stranger in my own life. When had I become so desperate for love that I'd accepted crumbs? When had I stopped mattering?

The next morning, my phone rang as I sat at the breakfast table, picking at toast with my good hand while Jason fussed over Maisie's "trauma" from the previous evening.

"Isabella Williams?" The voice was warm, professional, with a slight accent I couldn't place.

"Yes?"

"This is Allan Garza. We met at the Vintner's Association competition last month. I was impressed by your knowledge of wine varietals."

I remembered him—tall, kind eyes, the sort of man who actually listened when you spoke. "Mr. Garza, of course. How can I help you?"

"Actually, I was hoping I could help you. I'm looking for someone to manage hospitality and wine education at my vineyard in Napa Valley. The position would involve curating tastings, managing our guest relations, and developing our wine tourism program. I immediately thought of you."

Napa Valley. Three thousand miles from this house, from Jason's guilt, from Maisie's manipulation. Three thousand miles from the woman I'd become—small, bitter, invisible.

"I... that's very flattering, Mr. Garza, but I'm married. My life is here in New York."

"Of course. I understand completely. But if circumstances were different, would the position interest you?"

I looked across the breakfast table where Jason was cutting Maisie's toast into small pieces, as if she were a child incapable of feeding herself. Neither of them had asked about my arm.

"Yes," I said quietly. "It would interest me very much."

"Well, the offer stands, Mrs. Williams. Sometimes life presents us with unexpected opportunities when we need them most."

After I hung up, I sat in the morning light streaming through our kitchen windows, Allan Garza's words echoing in my mind. An opportunity. A chance to remember who I used to be before I became Jason's consolation prize and Maisie's victim.

For the first time in years, I allowed myself to imagine a different life.