Chapter 3

That night, like he always did, Edward didn't come home.

He just said he was busy.

I nodded without a word, watching his Maybach drive off into the night.

Half an hour later, Julia sent me a voice message. [Babe, I think I just spotted Edward at Blue Note Lounge with my annoying husband. There were a bunch of hostesses heading into their private room, but don't stress. Your man's super picky, not like my husband who sleeps with anyone. Edward only goes for virgins.]

I slipped off my wedding ring and asked: [Which boyfriend are you out drinking with at Blue Note tonight?]

Julia giggled, [Boyfriend? Please, it's just someone I paid. Anna, you should learn from me. A couple is better off doing their own thing. I've invited you out before, but you always turn me down. Just some advice—if only one person cheats in a marriage, it's a recipe for disaster."

I didn't say a word.

Julia kept laughing, still trying to give me advice. "Anna, I get what you're really after. But you've got to face reality. Once a man's got money, women'd just swarm him. He's surrounded by all these pretty young things, so expecting him to keep his hands clean? Not a chance."

"Julia, I'm not exactly playing the saint," I said gently.

Julia's jaw dropped in shock, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Damn, Anna, you've been sneaking around with a guy behind my back? Who is it? Do I know him? Does Edward know? Spill it!"

Right when I was about to spill the beans, someone knocked on the door.

I curved my lips into a sly smile and hung up right away.

I sat curled up on the living room sofa, glancing toward the door.

Sean Bennett walked in with that unmistakable boyish energy. He opened the shoe cabinet, slipped off his coat, and headed straight for the kitchen.

He caught my eye with a deep, unreadable look, then flashed a quick smile and nodded at me, lifting the lunchbox in his hand.

I met Sean on a snowy winter night, the same night I learned Edward was cheating on me.

I stood beneath a streetlight, snowflakes and tears streaming down together, falling relentlessly all around me.

Back when we were in love, I poured my whole heart into him, pinning all my hopes on our marriage.

But the moment I found out he had someone else, disappointment and anger crashed over me.

But I'd seen it play out over and over again—friends, family, even my own parents, none of them were exactly role models when it came to this stuff.

Whenever people talked about guys cheating, nobody ever seemed to actually care.

For a long time, I couldn't help but wonder if I just didn't fit in.

Even Julia, who probably knew me better than anyone, just gave me this blank look when she saw how heartbroken I was. "Anna, the Carter family's worth billions. Edward's not just the big boss, but he's basically the golden boy of his generation. With that kind of background, having a few side chicks is pretty much expected."

All my friends and family kept telling me to chill out that Edward just got a couple of women on the side. He didn't knock anyone up.

Honestly, when it came to guys cheating, nobody around would even bat an eye.

But I was seething inside, unable to let any of it out because I'd seen that shattered look on Julia's face when her heart broke.

The piano crashed to the ground with a deafening thud, and Julia, usually so gentle, just completely snapped.

After that, she started looking for excitement wherever she could find it—at first to blow off steam, but soon she couldn't stop herself anymore.

Her every sigh was heavy with hopelessness, and she told me that when one couldn't fight back, they just had to let themselves get swept away.

Sean approached me through the falling snow, umbrella in hand, his steps slow and gentle.

He was tall, with long fingers, and when he smiled, his eyes twinkled like stars.

I lowered my head, hoping he'd take the hint and walk away.

But he acted as if he hadn't noticed, simply wanting to offer me the umbrella, undeterred by my silent protest.

I hurled my anger at him, throwing out the harshest words I could think of, but Sean just kept looking at me, like nothing I said could shake him.

His eyes were so gentle that it almost made my anger melt away.

Suddenly, I just went quiet.

After a while, Sean finally gave a low, gentle laugh.

He said softly, "Ma'am, it's Christmas Eve. Wishing you peace and joy tonight."

He lifted the cake and, before I could say a word, just shoved it into my arms.

All those sharp words I'd been ready to throw at him just got stuck in my throat, unable to come out.

I couldn't help but feel embarrassed that I dumped all my anger on some random guy I didn't even know.

The next time I saw him was the following spring.

I was there as a sponsor for the film festival, walking the red carpet. During the awards ceremony, I spotted him.

He won the Best Newcomer award that year, and we ended up taking a photo together.

That photo ended up trending online, and people started shipping us as a couple.

When my assistant asked if I wanted to handle the gossip online, I glanced at that cold, quiet boy in the photo and. For some reason, just decided to let it be.

In the end, I even hooked him up with some acting gigs.