Chapter 4

The ultimate breaking point didn't happen in a screaming match. It happened in complete silence.

It was our second wedding anniversary.

I had made reservations at a candlelit Italian restaurant overlooking the river. I bought a new burgundy dress. I spent an hour styling my hair, trying my hardest to feel beautiful for my husband.

For the first twenty minutes, everything felt perfect. Nathan was smiling. He was actually looking at me, holding my hand across the white tablecloth.

Then, his phone buzzed against the table.

The caller ID flashed: Cassidy.

I felt my stomach tighten. "Nathan, please don't answer it. It's our anniversary."

He hesitated, but the phone kept vibrating. "Elise, she knows we're at dinner. If she's calling, it has to be an emergency."

He swiped to answer. "Cassidy? What's wrong?"

Even over the low hum of the restaurant, I could hear her hysterical sobbing.

"Nate... Derek broke up with me," she cried, her voice cracking with sheer panic. "He packed his bags and left. I didn't know where else to go."

Nathan's face softened instantly. "Hey, breathe. Where are you right now?"

"I drove to the old river overlook," she sobbed. "Our childhood spot. I just... I needed to feel safe. You're the only one who has known me my whole life, Nathan."

My heart plummeted. No. Not tonight.

Nathan lowered the phone. He looked at me, his eyes wide with intense, desperate guilt.

"Elise... Derek dumped her. She's devastated."

"Nathan," I said, my voice eerily calm, even though my hands were shaking in my lap. "We just ordered our anniversary dinner."

"I know!" He ran a hand aggressively through his hair. "But she's sitting at our old river overlook alone in the dark. She has a history of severe anxiety, Elise. She needs her best friend."

I stared at him, refusing to blink. "I need my husband."

"It's an hour!" he snapped back, keeping his voice low but sharp. "I'll just drive over, calm her down, and come right back. I promise."

He stood up, grabbing his suit jacket from the back of the chair.

"If you walk out of this restaurant," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper, "you are telling me that her past matters more than our marriage."

Nathan's jaw tightened. The guilt in his eyes vanished, quickly replaced by defensive anger.

"Why do you always have to make me choose?" he demanded, looking at me like I was a heartless monster. "She is family. Stop being so selfish!"

He turned around and walked out of the restaurant.

I sat there in my new burgundy dress, alone at a candlelit table for two. The waiter brought out our champagne. He looked at the empty chair, then at me with quiet pity.

I didn't cry. The sadness and the anger had finally burned out.

What was left was a cold clarity. I was just a tired wife who realized she was always going to come in second place.

A bitter, self-deprecating smile crept onto my face.

I pulled my phone out of my purse. I scrolled through my contacts to a number I hadn't texted since my wedding day.

Elise: Hey Miles, are you there? I need a huge favor.

Less than thirty seconds later, my phone started ringing.

I answered it, staring at the empty chair across from me.

"Elise?" Miles's deep voice carried a trace of surprise. "Well, look who finally remembered me. Took you long enough."

"Miles," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I need you to come to Virginia. And I need you to remind my husband that I had a life before him, too."

There was a three-second pause on the other end of the line. Then, Miles let out a low, genuine chuckle.

"You want your childhood best friend back?" Miles asked, his voice turning quietly protective. "What happened, Elise?"

"I need to hold up a mirror," I replied.

There was another beat of silence. Then he said, "Tell me where to be."