Chapter 1

David Reed, my husband, was seriously injured after he threw himself in front of a knife for his mistress, Claire Bennett, and his whole family begged me to forgive him.

David spoke weakly, "Claire's too delicate to deal with all the dirty work to take care of me. You'll have to do that instead."

I replied sweetly, "Alright, I'll go home and get your daily necessities and clothes."

Then I booked a flight to Nespark.

The next day, my lawyer, Tate Hunter, handed David the divorce papers right at his hospital bed.

David called me, screaming his lungs out, "Come back. I can't live without you!"

But I was already at the boarding gate. I blocked his number and headed to the gate without looking back.

*****

At two in the morning, my phone rang.

My mother-in-law, Jenny Reed, was sobbing on the other end. "David's in trouble. You need to get to the hospital now."

I changed quickly and took a cab to Central General Hospital.

The lights in the emergency hallway were blindingly white.

Jenny was slumped on a bench, with my father-in-law, Calvin Reed, holding her up.

I hurried over. "Jenny, what happened?"

She glanced up at me and then turned her face away.

Calvin spoke up, "David was stabbed in the back. They took him into surgery."

"Stabbed? Who did it? Why?" I asked.

Calvin didn't say a word.

Jenny suddenly started crying harder.

I crouched down and took her hand. I said, "Jenny, breathe. Tell me what happened."

She pulled her hand away.

That caught me off guard.

A nurse rolled an empty bed past, the wheels clattering loudly on the floor.

I stood up and looked at Calvin.

He sighed. "He took the hit for someone else."

"For whom?" I asked.

No one answered.

I pressed again. "Who was it for?"

At this moment, a rapid, frantic click of high heels echoed from the end of the hallway.

A woman rushed over, her makeup smeared, blood on her dress.

She threw herself at the operating room door, pounding on it and sobbing, "David. David, please be okay."

I knew her.

She was Claire Bennett, David's ex from college.

I stared at the blood on her dress, and a wave of nausea twisted in my gut.

That must be David's blood.

He took the knife for her.

I turned to Calvin, but he wouldn't meet my eyes.

I glanced at Jenny, who buried her face in her hands.

No one intended to explain. No one thought I was worth an explanation.

I stood in the middle of the hallway, with Claire sobbing her heart out on one side and my in-laws silent and stone-faced on the other.

The red "In Surgery" sign was glowing above the door, and coldness suddenly crept over me.

The surgery lasted four hours.

At six in the morning, the head surgeon came out and told us David was out of danger. The knife had missed his spine, but he'd lost a lot of blood and would need to stay in the hospital for observation.

Claire broke down on the floor, sobbing her heart out, and Jenny rushed over to help her up.

Jenny said, "Don't be scared, Claire. David's going to be fine."

She sounded so familiar with Claire when she called Claire's name.

But when it came to me, after three years of marrying her son, Jenny still called me like she barely knew me.

I stood frozen, watching it all, my fingers tightening around my bag strap.

When David was wheeled into the ward, he was still unconscious.

I followed, stood by his bed, staring at his face.

He was pale as a ghost, his lips cracked and dry, his back wrapped in thick bandages.

I reached out to touch his forehead.

But Claire shoved past me, collapsed at the bedside, sobbing. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Jenny grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. "Come with me."

She led me out into the hallway and looked at me, her expression conflicted. "Amanda, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" I said.

"David was at a restaurant last night. Claire's ex showed up, made a scene, and tried to stab her. David jumped in and took the hit for her."

I listened, every word hitting me like a punch. "Wait a minute, why was he having dinner with Claire?"

Jenny paused. "Claire returned from abroad. She wanted to catch up with David."

"Catch up?"

"Just a meal, you know."

"A meal at two in the morning?"

Jenny's face twitched, clearly uneasy. "Don't nitpick right now. David just made it through."

I didn't say a word.

She continued, "Claire's been through enough. Her ex kept harassing her and almost got her hurt. David was doing the heroic act."

Heroic act, huh?

Hearing Jenny say that, I nearly snorted.

So, taking a knife for his ex-girlfriend counted as "heroic" now?

"Sure, Jenny. Got it," I said.

With that, I turned and walked toward the elevator.

Jenny called after me, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going home to grab his stuff for the hospital," I replied.

As the elevator doors slid shut, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

We had been married for three years.

I always thought all those late-night messages he ignored, the name "Claire" flashing on his phone now and then, and his weird mood swung every December were me being paranoid.

But the truth was, I wasn't.

My gut feeling was right.