Chapter 3
Late that night, Elena couldn’t sleep. Her mouth felt dry, so she got up to grab some water. As she walked past Justin’s room, she noticed the door was cracked open. A dim yellow light was shining through.
After hearing that phone call last night, she’d said she wasn’t feeling well and moved to the guest room. Now, faint sounds carried from behind Justin’s door. They sounded unmistakably intimate.
Soon, Justin’s breathless voice came through. “Stop it, Nadi. This is my house.”
Nadine’s voice was playfully flirtatious. “What? Are you afraid she’ll find out? Jus, what are you so scared
of? We’re the ones who are actually married.”
Justin’s voice suddenly became serious. “It’s over between us, Nadi!”
“Jus…”
“If it weren’t for helping you get away from your abusive ex-husband, I never would’ve married you. Lena’s
been with me for five years. She’s my girlfriend, and she’ll be my real wife one day.
“Once things with you are settled, we’ll-”
His words cut off as those intimate noises started up again.
Elena came back to herself and only then realized that her hands were shaking uncontrollably. A trace of
mockery flashed in her eyes.
Justin was about 6 feet 3 inches tall. Could Nadine really force a kiss on him if he wasn’t willing? And was
marriage honestly the only way she could break free from her abusive ex?
The two of them were obviously having an affair, yet they dressed it up with such a lofty excuse.
“Jus, don’t you miss what we had? Elena could never satisfy you the way I did!”
Justin’s voice came out ragged and raw with passion. “Nadi…”
Then came the sounds of unrestrained passion.
Elena had already recorded it all on her phone. Her stomach turned so hard she couldn’t hold it in. She
bolted for the bathroom and gagged over the sink.
The whole thing was gross and absurd.
After stepping out of the shower, Elena saw a message from her client. There was a problem with the
project, and she’d have to work through the night to fix it.
She was already exhausted, but made herself keep going. As she turned on her laptop, a memory came
back to her.
When Justin was running for student body president, she’d run all over campus campaigning for him,
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smiling until her face hurt and pouring all her energy into it.
After he won, she kept herself busy with every little thing that had to do with him. Once they graduated, she joined his company and devoted herself completely to his career.
A dull ache in her stomach snapped Elena out of her thoughts.
This would be the last time she helped out. She wasn’t doing this for him. She was doing it for herself and her teammates, for the work they’d poured their hearts into over the last six months.
All the sacrifices of the last five years, the excruciating pain from the car crash two years ago, the leg she’d lost along with her dream of dancing, and the sickening sound of Justin with Nadine hit her in turn.
She’d uncovered the truth, and now that she did, they would all pay.
Elena stepped out of the bedroom early in the morning. The scent of breakfast greeted her immediately.
She turned to see Justin in the kitchen, cooking sunny-side-up eggs while oatmeal simmered beside him.
Nadine stood in the doorway, smiling at him. “Jus, even after all these years, your homemade breakfast is still my favorite.”
“Go ahead and grab a seat.”
As Justin spoke, he glanced back at Nadine, and in that instant, his eyes caught Elena’s. He demonstrated the same gentleness he always had on mornings like this.
“Morning, Lena.”
A wry smile flickered at the corner of Elena’s lips. Five years together, and Justin had never so much as cooked for her.
Even on the nights she drank herself sick trying to help him close a deal, he hadn’t made her a single bowl of oatmeal. He’d just have someone bring her food.
She’d always thought he was the kind of man who never lifted a finger. Apparently, she just wasn’t worth the effort.
