Chapter 1

The holiday was in full swing when I made a startling discovery: plane tickets to Aspen and a diamond ring my husband, Andrew Sterling, had bought in secret.

I was over the moon, thinking it was a gift for me.

With excitement bubbling inside, I eagerly awaited the big reveal.

But then, in the evening, a text from Sophia Evans crashed my happy bubble: [Drew's spending the holiday with me. He's giving me a gorgeous diamond ring. You can fend for yourself.]

Fuming, I tracked down the location from her post and headed to the club. Outside the private room, I peeked in and saw Andrew slipping the ring onto Sophia's finger.

Next, he pulled out the tickets. "Sophia, I know Aspen skiing's been your dream for ages. Will you let me go with you?" he asked.

Sophia, all teary-eyed, nodded and hugged him tightly.

I coolly pushed open the door, ignoring Andrew's panicked look.

Turning to Sophia, I said, "If you love hand-me-downs so much, this 'junk' is yours."

*****

So, this was my "holiday surprise." After saying that, feeling suffocated, I stormed out of the club and lost myself in the darkness outside.

Somehow, I ended up in a bar.

The moment I sat down at the counter, my phone started buzzing like crazy in my pocket.

When I saw that familiar number on the screen, I couldn't help but frown, but I answered anyway.

"Where are you? Why aren't you home at this hour? What are you doing out there?" Andrew's voice was full of reproach.

I let out a self-mocking sneer instead of saying a word.

I knew exactly what he was going to say next.

Sure enough, the next second, he started defending Sophia.

"Sophia has always wanted to go to Aspen, and today's her birthday. I was just giving her a birthday gift. Why did you have to be so mean to her? Why are you always so bitter and nasty all the time?"

To him, I was nothing but trouble, while he and Sophia were pure as snow.

I scoffed, refusing to say a word.

Andrew sounded annoyed now. "Sophia just got back to the country and doesn't have many friends here. I have to stay with her tonight. It's not safe for a girl to be out alone."

"I'm at a bar, all alone," I said, just to see how he'd take it.

There was a long pause on the other end—Andrew was probably torn, trying to figure out what to do. After a moment, he finally spoke up, "Wait there. I'll come get you."

I stepped out of the bar, barely dressed for the cold, and the winter wind cut across my face like a knife.

The streets were empty, every shop already shut for the night.

I sat down on the steps outside, pulling my jacket tighter around me, waiting for him.

However, two hours went by, and the street was still dead—there wasn't a single soul around.

I was shivering in the freezing wind, and the cold reality snuffed out the last bit of hope I had left.

In the end, it was my best friend, Claire Thompson, who came to pick me up.

On the way back, Claire drove while scolding me without mercy, "How could you be so stupid? Where's your brain? Andrew's a jerk—he can't even tell what matters. He's not worth any of this!"

I stayed silent, picked up my phone, and saw a message from Sophia that she'd sent two hours ago.

She wrote: [Wanna bet? I bet he'll end up choosing me and leaving you behind.]

There was also a video attached to the message.

My fingers moved on autopilot as I tapped to play the video. There was Andrew, fussing over Sophia—boiling water, making the bed—every move so natural, so practiced, like they'd been living together forever, like an old married couple.

And me? I was just an outsider.

Without a flicker of emotion, I swiped through my phone and blocked both Andrew and Sophia.

The next day, when I got home and opened the door, a thick, acrid cloud of smoke hit me in the face.

I looked up and saw Andrew sitting on the couch, the floor littered with cigarette butts.

The moment he saw me, he jumped up from the couch like he'd been burned.

He looked just like a guilty jerk, caught red-handed but still acting tough.

"Where the hell have you been? Who gave you the nerve to stay out all night? Do you even remember you're married?

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me outside the bar? What were you doing out so late?" Andrew barked.

He was yelling at me like I was the criminal here.

I watched as he crushed out his cigarette—such a familiar move, and it stabbed right through my heart.