Chapter 1
After crushing on Daniel Reed for five years, I was completely drained.
Eventually, I married my childhood best friend, Justin Foster.
We became the model couple everyone admired, and had an adorable son, Dylan Foster.
I told myself I was lucky. Justin had always been there for me, ever since we were kids.
But one day, I opened his old phone.
[If you come back, I'll divorce her right away,] he'd texted Bridget Foster, his adopted sister—the woman he couldn't get over.
Another message read, [I've always loved you.]
That was when it hit me. The hope I clung to was nothing but a joke.
Turns out I was just a substitute. Someone he settled for.
Even Dylan preferred Bridget over me.
I cut all ties and left without hesitation.
But then both Justin and Dylan started panicking.
"Honey, please don't go," Justin begged.
Dylan held onto me. "Mom, please don't go."
*****
Another message read: [Bridget, you're the only one I love.]
After reading all the messages, I felt like all the strength had been drained from my body. I slumped to the floor.
Every word was filled with love and longing. Any other woman would have wept with joy.
But I wasn't the leading lady in Justin's story. I never was.
It was always Bridget, the woman he could never get over.
A few days ago, I noticed him always sneaking around with his phone, sending messages in secret.
I thought he was planning a surprise for our wedding anniversary.
So I played along. While he was out of the room, I tried guessing his password.
My birthday. Dylan's birthday. His own birthday. Our wedding date. Nothing worked.
I told myself he was just being careful. He didn't want me to ruin the surprise.
So I acted clueless and waited with my heart full of anticipation for whatever gift he had prepared.
But I didn't get a gift. I got the truth. Justin didn't love me.
When I thought back to our wedding anniversary, the night someone crashed our romantic dinner, my smile turned bitter without me even realizing it.
Bridget came back from overseas that day. Our dinner for two turned into dinner for three.
She barely touched her wine before she passed out from alcohol poisoning.
Justin didn't even hesitate. He rushed her to the hospital and left me alone on our anniversary.
When I got home, my hands trembling, I entered Bridget's birthday.
Sure enough, the phone unlocked.
Just like that, the dream I'd held onto for years came crashing down. A happy marriage. A perfect family. Gone.
To outsiders, we looked like the ideal family, but it was all a facade, like fruit that looked perfect on the outside, but was already rotting at the core.
I sat in a stupor, watching the night fade into morning, until the alarm jolted me awake. I forced myself up, numb, and walked into Dylan's room.
To my surprise, Dylan, always a late riser, was already up early today.
His first words were about Bridget.
"Mom, how's Aunt Bridget?" he asked.
I paused, looking at his adorable little face, and the smile I'd been holding onto faded a bit.
"She was taken to the hospital yesterday. They got her there in time, so she should be fine," I said.
As I tried to help him get dressed, he turned his head, avoiding my hand.
"Mom, don't you know Aunt Bridget's allergic to alcohol?" he asked.
"Why didn't you stop her?" His voice was serious. Accusing.
I froze.
How would I know that?
And how did he?
"Aunt Bridget promised to take me to the amusement park, but now I can't go because of you," Dylan complained.
He slapped my arm, leaving my hand hanging in midair, and my breathing grew heavy without me noticing.
From what I remembered, Bridget had just returned on our wedding anniversary, but Dylan already had plans with her.
That meant they'd met before I even knew she was back.
Maybe Justin took him to see her.