Chapter 1

When I found out that Rayden was cheating, we were celebrating our anniversary at a restaurant.

I thought the other woman would be some innocent college girl.

But I didn't expect it to be my mother's close friend.

A divorced woman in her forties with a child.

In the photo, the man and woman were leaning against each other, smiling happily and sweetly.

I dabbed the corner of my mouth with a napkin, then zoomed in on the picture.

"Allen's face really needs some care. She's got more wrinkles now."

Rayden paused while putting food on my plate. "What are you talking about, Wade? Why bring her up?”

I looked at the slight stiffness in his smile and laughed.

Then I held the phone up in front of him.

"You should've said earlier that you like older women."

*****

The glow from my phone screen lit up Rayden's face, which had gone completely pale.

His fingers tightened around the serving fork, his knuckles turning white.

"Where did you get this photo?"

"Who photoshopped this? So lame."

I didn't say a word, just scrolled up through the chat history.

The sender was a friend I was pretty close with who worked at a high-end club.

She wrote: [Wade, I think I just saw your boyfriend with a woman. They looked pretty close.]

[She looked older, like she could be someone from his family.]

And then there was the photo.

The shot was taken in a hot spring hotel room. Rayden was in a bathrobe, holding Allen close, who was also dressed in a bathrobe.

Allen Burton had been a close friend of both my mother and Rayden's mother for decades.

She always acted so gentle and refined around me, always telling me to be more understanding toward Rayden.

I glanced at Rayden, and the panic in his eyes was written all over his face.

"It's photoshopped."

He kept stubbornly denying it, but his voice was noticeably strained and dry.

"Wade, we've been together for five years. Don't you trust me?"

I put my phone away and started cutting my steak, taking my sweet time.

The metal knife and fork scraped against the white plate, making a sharp, grating sound.

"Yeah, I totally believe you."

I looked up and flashed him a perfectly practiced smile.

"You really have a thing for the weird, and your taste is something else."

"Back then, instead of being with a young and beautiful girl like me, you'd rather go be someone's little boy."

Rayden's face went pale, then straight to bright red.

"Wade!"

He lowered his voice, a warning in his tone.

"Don't be unreasonable."

I laughed.

"You call this unreasonable?" I shot back.

"Rayden, did I hold a knife to your throat and force you into your mother's best friend's bed?"

People at the next table shot us curious looks.

Rayden couldn't keep his composure anymore. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

"Wade, can we talk about this at home?"

"It's crowded here."

He tried to take my hand.

I dodged him.

I picked up the glass of red wine and splashed it right across his phony face.

The wine dripped down his perfectly styled hair, leaving him looking utterly pathetic.

He was totally dumbfounded.

"Rayden, does this make you sick?"

I stood up, towering over him.

"Honestly, just looking at you right now makes me nauseous."

I slipped off the diamond ring he'd given me not long ago, the one he claimed was meant to be our wedding ring.

Then I dropped it right into his wine glass.

"This ring would look way better on Allen anyway."

"After all, you two are true love."

"We're over."

With that, I turned and walked away without a shred of regret.

Behind me, I heard the crash of a glass hitting the floor, followed by Rayden's barely contained fury.

But so what?

We were together for five years.

I was always the sensible one, and he was supposed to love me.

I thought we'd get married, have kids, and grow old together.

Now I realized.

He wasn't looking for a wife.

He just needed a mommy.

When I got home, I packed up all of Rayden's stuff and tossed it straight into the trash can by the entrance.

Shirts, ties, his game console, and even those limited-edition sneakers he loved so much.

I tossed every last bit.

When my best friend, Evelyn, showed up, I was hugging the trash can, trying to shove that giant teddy bear Rayden gave me in.

"Wade, are you crazy?"

Evelyn was exasperated as she pulled me away from the trash can.

"Seriously, it's not that big of a deal. Guys like Rayden always come crawling back if you just give them a bit of attention."

Evelyn thought we were just fighting over some petty nonsense again.

After all, over the past five years, I'd brought up breaking up with him more times than I could count.

But Rayden always managed to coax me back.

Everyone thought I was just being dramatic, and he was the one trying to win me back.