Chapter 1: The Woman in My Chair
“Get up, Lauren. Vanessa is sitting there tonight. The least you can do is make our guest feel welcome.””
My husband said it while standing beside the dining table I'd spent six hours preparing for our eighth wedding anniversary.
For a moment, I thought I'd misheard him.
Then Vanessa Cole stepped around him, smiled at me, and lowered herself into my chair.
My chair.
The one with the little scratch on its wooden arm from the night Marcus and I had celebrated our first Christmas together. The one I'd polished that morning because I wanted everything to be perfect.
Marcus pulled it out for her.
He didn't even glance at me.
“Thank you, darling,” Vanessa said, placing her designer handbag beside the table.
I stood frozen with a serving platter in my hands.
“Marcus,” I finally said, “what is she doing here?””
He loosened his tie and sighed as though I were the one making the evening uncomfortable.
“Don't start. Vanessa and I have been working on something important. I thought dinner would be a good opportunity for everyone to get along.””
“Everyone?””
He gave me a warning look.
“Lauren, this is not the night for your jealousy.””
Vanessa laughed softly.
“It's okay, Marcus. I told you she might be upset.””
That was when I noticed her bracelet.
A delicate gold bracelet with a tiny diamond clasp.
My bracelet.
I'd seen it in the jewelry store catalog three weeks earlier. Marcus had taken me there, asked which one I liked, and promised to order it as an anniversary surprise.
Two days later, he'd told me the purchase had been canceled because the store had made a mistake with the price.
Apparently, the mistake had been putting it on another woman's wrist.
I looked at Vanessa.
“That's a beautiful bracelet.””
She lifted her arm, letting the diamonds catch the chandelier light.
“Thank you. Marcus has wonderful taste.””
My husband reached for the wine bottle.
“Lauren, stop staring. Get the glasses.””
I lowered the platter onto the table.
“Marcus, isn't that the bracelet you ordered for me?””
His smile disappeared.
“Seriously?””
“I'm just asking.””
He leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“Don't embarrass me in front of her.””
Then he returned to his seat and began pouring wine.
Vanessa opened the menu card I'd written by hand.
“Oh, you even made little place cards,” she said.
“How sweet.””
She picked up mine, examined it, and placed it beside her handbag.
“I suppose I'll keep this as a souvenir.””
Marcus laughed.
I didn't.
Instead, I walked into the kitchen.
The turkey was still warm. The potatoes were covered in butter and rosemary. Two candles flickered beside the anniversary cake I'd ordered from our favorite bakery.
Eight years.
Eight years of mortgage payments, family holidays, hospital waiting rooms, and late-night conversations.
Eight years of believing Marcus was the person who would stand beside me when life became difficult.
And tonight, he had given my seat to another woman.
My phone vibrated.
The message came from an unknown number.
*I'm outside. Are you ready?*
I stared at the screen.
A week earlier, I wouldn't have understood what those words meant.
But a week earlier, I hadn't sat across from Daniel Hayes in a quiet coffee shop near downtown Atlanta and watched him slide photographs across the table.
He had introduced himself as Vanessa's husband.
He'd shown me pictures of Marcus and Vanessa entering the same hotel, leaving the same restaurant, and sitting together in a parked car outside a jewelry store.
Then he'd shown me the bracelet receipt.
Paid for with our joint account.
“I don't want revenge,” Daniel had told me.
“I want to know what they're doing behind our backs.””
I'd asked him why he thought there was more.
He'd looked down at his coffee.
“Because Vanessa has been asking me questions about your house. Your inheritance. Your mother's will. Things she has no reason to know.””
I'd gone home that afternoon with my stomach in knots.
And now I understood why he'd insisted that I not confront Marcus before we had proof.
My fingers hovered over the phone.
Then I typed two words.
*Come in.*
I slipped the phone into my pocket and picked up the wine bottle.
When I returned to the dining room, Vanessa was sipping from my favorite crystal glass.
Marcus looked up impatiently.
“Finally. Where's the wine?””
I smiled as I placed the bottle on the table.
“Actually, I invited one more guest.””
His eyebrows tightened.
“What?””
Before I could answer, the doorbell rang.
Vanessa stopped moving.
Marcus frowned.
“Who is that?””
“I'll get it.””
I walked through the hallway, hearing Marcus complain behind me.
The front door opened.
Daniel Hayes stood on the porch wearing a dark gray suit. His expression was calm, but his right hand held a thick brown envelope.
“Good evening, Lauren.””
“Thank you for coming.””
He glanced past me.
“Are they both here?””
I stepped aside.
“They're waiting.””
Daniel walked into the dining room.
Vanessa's wineglass slipped from her fingers.
It struck the hardwood floor and shattered.
“Daniel?””
Marcus shot to his feet.
“What the hell are you doing here?””
Daniel looked at him, then at Vanessa.
“That's an interesting question. I was wondering why you're celebrating your anniversary with my wife.””
Vanessa pushed her chair backward.
“Baby, please. You have to let me explain.””
Daniel placed the envelope on the table.
“I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to explain.””
Marcus stared at the envelope.
Then his face changed.
Not anger.
Fear.
May you like
And when Daniel turned toward me, I realized the worst part of my marriage wasn't the affair.
It was whatever those two men were about to uncover.
