Chapter 1

The door swung open, and Eloise Dixon stood there in his shirt.

I froze in the doorway, holding snacks in my hand.

"Dana?" Eloise's face fell. "What are you—"

"Where's my husband?" I asked.

She stepped aside, and Myron Myers walked out of the bedroom, his hair damp.

I looked at them and suddenly laughed.

Three hours earlier, Eloise had sent me a message on WhatsApp: [That homewrecker is so shameless. She seduced someone else's husband and still has the nerve to show it off on social media.]

I had messaged back to comfort her: [Eloise, don't get mad. That kind of person isn't worth it.]

And now, that very "shameless homewrecker" was standing in my doorway, wearing my husband's shirt.

"Dana, let me explain—" Myron spoke up.

I cut him off. "How long have you two been together?"

"Three years," Eloise suddenly said, a hint of smugness in her voice. "Sorry, Dana, I couldn't help it."

I set the snacks down and pulled out my phone.

I said, "Oh, then did you know I've been recording this whole time?"

Their faces went ashen.

*****

My name was Dana Carson. I was 29 years old and a creative director at an advertising agency.

I made one hundred fifty thousand dollars a year and had a car and a house. My husband Myron was a project manager at a financial firm, making two hundred thousand dollars a year.

To everyone else, we were the perfect middle-class couple, respectable and happily married.

But today, that "happy marriage" had shattered.

It all started three hours earlier.

It was 7:30 on a Friday night. I had just wrapped up a major pitch meeting and was so wiped out; all I wanted was to crash at home.

My phone buzzed. It was a WhatsApp message from Eloise.

Eloise was my best friend of ten years. We had been inseparable since college.

She worked as a freelance influencer, posting relationship advice and feel-good stories, and had more than 300 thousand followers.

Lately, she had been posting nonstop on social media, ranting about homewreckers.

And she didn't hold back.

She had written: [That homewrecker is so shameless, stealing someone else's husband and still posting it online. If it were me, I'd be way too embarrassed to even show my face.

[Homewreckers totally deserve payback. Any woman who breaks up a family is going to end up miserable.

[Trust me, girls, don't ever be a homewrecker. It'll only come back to bite you.]

I had liked and commented on every single one of those posts. [Eloise, you're so right.]

She had replied: [Dana, you're my best friend in the whole world. If I ever betrayed you, I'd deserve everything bad that came my way.]

I had been so touched at the time. I had replied: [We'll be friends forever.]

Then today, she texted me: [Dana, I'm downstairs at your place. I picked up takeout for you. Are you home?]

I had just finished working late and was heading home, so I replied: [I'm on my way. Ten minutes out.]

She replied right away: [Then I'll head up and wait for you. You gave me a spare key, remember?]

Right. I had given her a spare key.

She was my closest friend, the one I trusted more than anyone. I had never thought twice about it.

I drove back to my neighborhood, thinking about what takeout I'd have tonight. Eloise always knew exactly what I liked, and I was sure it was from my favorite barbecue spot.

The elevator took me up to the 23rd floor. I grabbed my bag and walked to my front door.

The door was ajar.

I pushed it open and saw the scene I mentioned earlier.

Eloise was wearing Myron's white button-down, her hair messy. Only two of the buttons were done up, leaving most of her chest exposed.

Myron walked out of the bedroom, wearing a bathrobe, his hair soaking wet.

The air reeked of sex.

I stood at the door, my mind blank.

Three seconds later, my senses snapped back into place.

"Dana." Eloise was the first to speak. Her face went ashen. "Let me explain—"

"Explain what?" I stared at her. "Explain why you're wearing my husband's shirt?"

"I..." She bit her lip, and tears suddenly spilled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen."

"So he forced you?" I laughed. "Should I call the police right now? You can tell them you were raped."

She froze.

Myron stepped forward. "Dana, calm down."

"I am perfectly calm." I looked right at him. "How long have you two been together?"

He said nothing.

"I'm asking you. How long?" My voice sharpened.

"Three years," Eloise suddenly said.

She lifted her chin, tears still on her face, but there was a faint note of pride in her voice.

She said, "I'm sorry, Dana. I just couldn't help myself. You know how amazing Myron is, I—"

"Shut up," I cut her off.

They had been together for three years.

Myron and I had been married for five years. They had been cheating on me for three of them.

Which meant they had gotten together barely a year after I had married.

A flood of memories hit me all at once.

Three years earlier, Myron had started saying he was swamped with work, staying late at the office night after night.

I had felt so bad for him, so I had prepared late-night snacks for him.

That same year, Eloise had started coming over to the apartment all the time, saying she missed me.

Every time she came by, she'd ask, "Is Myron working late tonight?"

And I'd naively reply, "Yeah, he's been super busy lately."

She'd always say, "Men work hard to make a living. You should be more understanding."

Now I realized that she had been checking if Myron was available.

Three years earlier, I had gotten pregnant. But I had lost the baby at three months.

Myron had said he was on a business trip that whole time. He hadn't come home for three full months.

I had gone through the surgery alone in the hospital and rested all by myself.

Eloise, though, had been with me every single day. She'd held my hand and said, "It's okay, Dana. You'll have a baby again."

Now I knew. Those three months, Myron had been with her.

She had stayed with me while I recovered to keep an eye on me, to make sure I never found out.

"Dana, what are you thinking?" Eloise's voice snapped me back to reality.

I looked at her. "I was thinking, did you plan this all along?"

"What?" she asked.

"You've been playing me this whole time, haven't you? For three years." I laughed. "Pretending to be my best friend, while you slept with my husband behind my back.

"And all those posts lately, ranting about homewreckers? You put on one hell of a show."

Her face went even paler.

"Dana, it's not what you think..." Eloise blurted out.

"Then what is it?" I glared at her. "Tell me, how many times did you turn him down?"