Chapter 3

I needed answers, and I was tired of playing detective from the shadows.

Friday afternoon, I walked into Elite Fitness with a purpose that felt foreign in my chest—cold, calculating, nothing like the trusting woman who'd bought those membership cards weeks ago. The familiar scent of disinfectant and artificial citrus hit me as I scanned the gym floor, looking for her.

Clara Moreno stood near the squat racks, clipboard in hand, her glossy black ponytail swaying as she demonstrated proper form to a middle-aged man who was clearly more interested in her body than her instruction. She wore form-fitting leggings and a sports bra that showcased her toned abs, every inch of her screaming professional athlete.

I approached slowly, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Excuse me? Clara?"

She turned, and I watched her dark eyes travel from my face down to my sneakers and back up again. The assessment was thorough, dismissive, and somehow deeply personal. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah?" Her voice carried a slight accent I hadn't noticed from my car window observations.

"I was wondering about personal training sessions. I'm looking to get in better shape."

Clara's laugh was sharp, cutting. "Oh honey." She set down her clipboard and crossed her arms, which only emphasized her perfect physique. "You're looking at a lot of work. Like, a *lot* of work."

Heat flooded my cheeks, but I forced myself to stand straighter. "I'm willing to put in the effort."

"Are you though?" She tilted her head, studying me like I was a particularly disappointing science experiment. "Because I don't waste my time with clients who aren't really committed. And looking at you..." Her gaze lingered on my soft midsection, my untoned arms. "I'm seeing someone who probably thinks a thirty-minute walk counts as cardio."

The cruelty in her voice was breathtaking. This wasn't professional assessment—this was personal.

"I think you're underestimating me," I managed, though my voice sounded smaller than I'd intended.

"Am I?" Clara stepped closer, and I caught a whiff of her expensive perfume mixed with clean sweat. "Because honestly, transformation takes dedication. It takes discipline. It takes showing up every single day even when you don't feel like it." Her eyes glittered with something that looked almost like amusement. "Some people just don't have what it takes."

I stared at her perfect face, at the way she looked at me like I was something she'd scrape off her shoe, and suddenly I understood. This wasn't about fitness at all. This was about Beau.

She knew exactly who I was.

"I'll think about it," I said quietly, backing away on unsteady legs.

"You do that," Clara called after me, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Maybe start with some YouTube videos first. Work your way up."

I fled the gym with her laughter echoing behind me.

---

That evening, I told myself I was going to confront Beau directly. I'd practiced the conversation in my head during the drive home, imagined myself calm and collected as I presented the evidence of his deception.

Instead, when he announced he had a work meeting and would be home late, I found myself grabbing my keys.

"Another Peterson crisis?" I asked, hating how normal my voice sounded.

"You know how it is." Beau kissed my forehead, the same casual gesture he'd made thousands of times before. Now it felt like a lie against my skin. "Don't wait up."

I waited exactly fifteen minutes after he left before following.

Beau's car led me through downtown traffic to a neighborhood I'd never visited—tree-lined streets with converted brownstones and trendy coffee shops. He parked outside a building with large windows and flower boxes, the kind of place young professionals aspired to live.

I watched from across the street as he used a key to let himself in. A key.

Twenty minutes passed. Then I saw them in a third-floor window—two silhouettes backlit by warm lamplight. Beau's unmistakable profile, and Clara's smaller frame pressed against him.

But it was what I saw next that shattered the last piece of my heart.

Clara stepped back from their embrace, and even from my distance, I could see the unmistakable curve of her belly. Her hand rested protectively over the rounded swell as Beau leaned down to kiss her, his palm covering hers in a gesture so tender, so reverent, that I had to grip my steering wheel to keep from screaming.

She was pregnant. Clara was pregnant with Beau's child.

I sat in my car, shaking, as the full scope of his betrayal crashed over me. This wasn't just an affair—this was a complete alternate life. A life where he was going to be a father with someone else while planning a wedding with me.

My phone felt impossibly heavy as I scrolled to Royce's number. It rang once, twice—

"Liv? What's wrong?"

My brother's voice, concerned and immediate, broke something inside me. The sob that escaped was raw, animal, nothing like any sound I'd ever made before.

"Royce," I gasped between tears. "I need you. Please, I need you to come over right now."

"I'm on my way."