Chapter 3

Lucky for me, Grant didn't suspect a thing.

Instead, he made his parents a deal. If he got me pregnant, they'd end theirs. Earl and Bonnie agreed a little too fast.

That night, he tossed the condoms in the bathroom trash.

"We're done with those. If my parents can pull this off at their age, we can do it in a month. Watch."

I let out a breath. So he had no idea his girlfriend was already pregnant.

In my last life, I found out Grant was cheating on the same day I found out he was dead. He'd died on a road trip with her. The police told me she'd been pregnant too, and a DNA test proved the baby was his.

I didn't even get a day to grieve before my in-laws handed me that glass of water.

After that, I wasn't just dying. I was fighting. I gave statements to detectives with an oxygen mask on my face. I hired a lawyer from a hospital bed. My parents had died when I was in college, and I hadn't talked to the rest of my family in years, so I even planned my own funeral.

Right up until the end, Earl and Bonnie were crying in court, begging me to forgive them so they'd get a lighter sentence. At the same time, they were suing me to keep every penny of Grant's settlement.

There was one more thing I remembered from that life. At their first court hearing, a woman in her forties sat in the back row with a little boy. When Earl saw her, he went white. I never found out who she was.

This time, I'd already paid someone to find out.

Somebody up there had given me a second chance, and I wasn't going to waste it. This time, I was going to watch every last one of them go.

"Babe," Grant called from the bed. "Hurry up. I'm waiting."

I smiled and went into the bathroom. I took my time in the shower. When I finally came out, I said, "Sorry. My period just started."

His face fell.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, relax. You heard what the doctor said. Your mom's body can't handle this. Once the problems start piling up, she'll give up on her own. Nobody wants a baby more than they want to stay alive."

Grant perked right up. "I looked it up, actually. Miscarriage rates at her age are insane."

Then he picked up his phone and grinned at the screen in a way he hadn't grinned at me in a year.

I didn't have to look to know who he was texting. Kayla. The girlfriend I wasn't supposed to know about.

After that, Grant stopped fighting the baby. In fact, he turned into the most attentive son in America. Every night he asked about Bonnie's blood sugar and blood pressure. Bonnie got misty-eyed about it, and Earl clapped him on the back.

The house was peaceful again, right up until I opened a package and found a gold bracelet inside.

That was when I knew this house was about to turn into hell.

Just like last time, Grant walked in while I was holding it up to the light, and all the color drained from his face.

"That's, uh... that's for you," he said. "For our anniversary. It was supposed to be a surprise. Can you just pretend you never saw it? I'll return it and get you something else."

"Sure," I said sweetly. "I can't wait."

That night, he plugged his phone in on the nightstand and went to shower.

His passcode was still his own birthday. In his texts was a contact called Kev – Work, and Kev – Work sent a lot of heart emojis.

Did you get my bracelet?? Don't forget what you promised me 😘

All set. Don't forget yours.

Then a photo. A bed covered in black lace, fuzzy handcuffs and a riding crop.

Grant had replied with a drooling emoji. Clear your weekend. You're not getting out of that bed.

It went on for months. I made myself scroll through all of it.

Mixed in with the dirty talk were the parts that mattered. How to move money out of our joint account without me noticing. How to stick me with his debts. How to get me to put Grant on the deed to the house my parents left me.

None of it surprised me. Every cheater in the world seems to work from the same playbook.

If I'd had any doubts about letting him drive off to his death, they were gone now. I wasn't the one who should feel guilty.

The next morning, I kissed Grant goodbye at the front door. He said he had a weeklong work trip.

He left at eight. The police called just after noon.

"Hello?"

"Is this Audrey Hollis? This is Officer Daniels with the Danvers Falls Police Department. Ma'am, are you the wife of Grant Hollis?"