Chapter 1
Before I left on my business trip, Google Maps started bugging out. It kept losing track of where I actually was.
So I used my husband Michael Evans' old phone to book a ride.
While scrolling through his saved places, I accidentally found he had two locations labeled "Home."
One was the home we'd shared for ten years since we got married. It was labeled as "Home—Hon."
The other was just a mile away, labeled as "Home—Sweetheart."
I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stared at the screen, totally frozen.
My fingers were shaking as I checked his location history from the past six months.
That's when I found out he didn't really leave work at 7:30 PM, but actually clocked out at 5:30 PM.
Every weekday, he'd stop by that other "home," stay for a couple of hours, then come back to me like everything was normal.
And every time he claimed to be out of town for work, he was actually staying at that other so-called "home."
My mind roared in disbelief as I hurled his phone against the wall, watching it shatter into pieces.
Michael, if you really have the guts to betray me, I promise you, I'll make you regret it.
*****
Trying not to lose it, I grabbed a taxi and sped straight over to the office.
By the time I got to Michael's office door, I could already hear someone joking inside.
"Mike, are you seriously taking 15 million dollars from the company account just to buy Hazel a new apartment?" David Scott, the finance chief, asked.
Then Michael's voice—so familiar that it almost hurt—answered with a laugh.
He said, "That's my son, after all. He's about to start grade school. That school district apartment? I'm buying it, no matter what.
"Relax, I'll make back the money in no time. Besides my paycheck from Reed Corp, I've got other businesses bringing in money. Within a year, that cash will be back—piece of cake."
After a heavy sigh, David finally spoke up.
He said, "I always thought you'd only love Ms. Reed in this lifetime. Even if you're seeing someone else, it shouldn't have been Hazel.
"Hazel grew up an orphan. Without help from the Reed family, she wouldn't have even survived, let alone studied abroad.
"Let's be real, you owe your success to Ms. Reed. Now you and Hazel are sneaking around behind her back? You're biting the hand that feeds you."
Michael sounded completely unfazed, without the slightest guilt on his face, as if David's words just bounced right off him.
Michael said, "I get it. But with Hazel, it just feels so natural between us. We actually get each other—for real.
"Charlotte? She's always had that privileged princess attitude, always thinking she's on top of the world. Honestly, the only reason I married her and played the loving husband was just to pay back what her family did for us."
"That still doesn't make your cheating right," David replied, disbelief heavy in his voice.
"David." Michael's tone suddenly chilled, a sharp warning cutting through the air.
I threw my head back and laughed, but the tears wouldn't stop.
The way Michael brought up Hazel, so wrapped up in affection, sounded just like he used to say my name when he tried to win my heart.
Back then, he'd hold me tightly and swear I was the love of his life.
He said if he lost me, his life would be over—that he'd rather just disappear.
And now, he just tossed aside our ten years together, calling it nothing but an "act of paying back my family."
Turns out, being with Hazel was what Michael really wanted.
After a long, awkward silence, Michael finally spoke again.
He said, "Charlotte's my wife, everyone knows—the one I married for show, the one I'll be with forever on paper. But Hazel? She's the one I can't let go, my secret, my guiding light in the shadows."
David could only sigh in frustration. "If Ms. Reed ever catches wind of this..."
"I'll make sure she never finds out," Michael replied, totally unfazed, his voice rock-solid.
Michael twisted his wedding ring, absolute certainty in his tone. "Hazel's the sweetest thing, always so gentle and thoughtful. She knows her place."
David couldn't help but tease him even more.
David said, "Seriously, even if Charlotte did find out, what could she do? She's been completely under your thumb for over a decade. Her parents are living it up overseas. She has no one to back her up. The whole Reed Corp's riding on you. She couldn't cause any drama even if she wanted to.
"And let's be real, Charlotte's obsessed with you. Even if the truth slapped her in the face, she wouldn't walk away. She'd just keep lying to herself and pretending her perfect life is still real."
Overwhelmed by panic, I couldn't even begin to think about how to face it all.
All I could do was escape—just get myself out of that mess, at least for now.
I grabbed the cold railing at the street corner, and my head throbbed so intensely that it felt like it might split open.
My vision blurred, the world spinning and swaying out of control.
I felt someone shaking my arm, their voice urgent. "Come on, wake up!"
But through the haze, I recalled Michael from back when we first met.
It was in the middle school cafeteria. He was sitting alone in the corner, just holding a sandwich.
Three guys behind him were putting on a show, laughing at him loud enough for everyone to hear.
They said, "Hey, everyone, eat a little less so Michael can have more leftovers. Otherwise, he'll be digging through the trash for food in the middle of the night and keeping us all awake."