Chapter 4

This time when she opened the door, she didn't let me get close.

"Turn off your doorbell camera," I said. "I need to talk to you, and I don't want it on video."

She looked at me for two seconds, then reached up and unplugged the little black device on the doorframe before stepping aside to let me in.

The living room smelled like milk and dinner. Theo sat on the rug working on a wooden puzzle. He glanced up at me, then went back to it.

"I've been with him for eight years," I said, getting straight to it. "I only found out yesterday that you two are married."

I set my phone on the coffee table and walked her through it: the messages, the photos, the dates. I kept my voice flat, like I was reading someone else's story.

"We've both been lied to by the same man," I said at last. "Do you want to drag this out into the open together?"

Mia leaned back on the couch, one hand resting on her belly, and listened to the end.

"Done?"

Her tone was so flat that my heart skipped.

"Cece, did you really think I didn't know about you?"

A chill ran down my back.

She smiled. Her mouth moved. Her eyes didn't. "I've known about you two for a long time."

"Then why—"

"I'm Nathan's wife now." She said it slowly, every word deliberate. "I don't care when you two started. You're the one on the outside."

"He loves me most. We're legally married. Why on earth would I help you go after my husband?"

I couldn't find a single word.

"He's been stringing two women along—"

"He kept seeing you for the sake of this family," she cut in.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't actually think he still has feelings for you, do you?"

She recrossed her legs. She looked completely at ease.

"He stayed with you to keep you happy. What he wanted was your dad's business. One word from your father in a boardroom is worth a year of Nathan's hustling."

"And," she said, stroking her belly, "I'm pregnant right now. He's careful with me. He won't touch me. A man's urges have to go somewhere. Think of yourself as the free option."

She gave me a small smile.

"Honestly, I should thank you. You've been taking care of my husband for me. Keeping him away from anyone dirty."

I sat there. My fingers went cold, one by one.

She kept going, faster now.

"Five years ago you were in that car accident. A month in the ICU. He told you he was traveling for a big project. He was here with me every day. When I was about to give birth, he made me soup, sponged me down, washed my feet."

"Three years ago you lost that baby, and you thought it was your body. It wasn't. I had him put something in your water."

"And the two hundred thousand he borrowed from you last year for a friend's startup? That was the down payment on this house."

She paused. The look in her eyes changed.

"You're his ATM, Cece. You're the pathetic one."

Something exploded in my head. I was on my feet and moving toward her.

Theo shot up off the rug and flew at me, kicking and hitting my shins. "Don't you hurt my mommy! I'm telling Daddy! He's gonna get you!"

His little hands pulled at my pant leg. I stumbled back half a step.

Mia stood up too, one hand on her lower back, and came at me. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave Nathan. We're the family."

"He's off work soon. Leave. Don't ruin our family dinner."

She kept pushing me toward the door. I staggered back step after step until I was outside. The door shut behind me. The lock clicked.

I stood at the top of the steps in a cold sweat. My legs were jelly and the fever was coming back. Everything went black, and I pitched forward.

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a hospital ceiling.

There was an IV in my hand. It was already dark outside. I fumbled for my phone and saw a text from Nathan:

"Something came up at work. I'll be home late."

Smooth as ever. Like nothing had happened.

I stared at that message. Inside, everything had gone dead quiet.

A few minutes later, my phone lit up again. Mia had sent me some photos on Messenger.

It was Theo's birthday. A banner of letter balloons hung across the living room, and candles were burning on the cake. Besides the two of them, Nathan's parents were there, plus a few of the friends he'd grown up with.

I went through them one by one. Everyone was smiling.

So everyone knew about this family. I was the only one kept in the dark.

I was shaking so hard I couldn't hold the phone. I pulled the blanket over my face and cried until no sound came out.

When I was done, I wiped my face and texted Nathan: "Come home tomorrow. We're going to settle this."

He didn't answer. Not all night.

The next morning, with dark circles under my eyes and a fever that hadn't broken, I dragged myself to work.

I'd barely sat down at my desk when a commotion started outside.

Raised voices. People turning to look.

I got up, went to the doorway, and saw Mia.