Chapter 2

2.

The girls in the booth gasped. “What? The baby isn’t yours?”

It wasn’t just them. Outside the door, I felt my blood turn to ice. My hands went numb. Every word was a sledgehammer blow.

My conscience was clear. Even when I was obsessed with Noah, I never crossed a single line. Julian was the only man I had ever been with. I had given him my trust, my love, my entire future, without reservation.

Was he insane?

Then I heard his voice again, low and venomous.

“Hah, I’ll tell you. The stupid bitch has no idea. On our wedding night, I slipped a little something extra into her champagne. She slept like the dead.”

Julian’s face twisted in the dim light. “Then, you want to guess who I let into our wedding suite?”

He buried his face in his hands, laughing. “Don’t ask me his name. I have no fucking clue. I just picked some random homeless guy off the street. The best part? I made sure he was HIV positive.”

“Oh my god… HIV?” The girls in the booth looked pale with horror.

Standing outside, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. In that single moment, everything I believed in―love, trust, the man I married―shattered into a million pieces.

I thought back to our lavish wedding in the Hamptons. We kissed under a shower of white rose petals, blessed by the pastor and all our guests. I had a few glasses of champagne that night and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, I woke up to Julian’s tender face, holding a tray with my favorite breakfast.

“Good morning, Chloe. I made you pancakes and bacon.”

I really thought I was living in a fairytale.

Now, the fairytale was over. My prince was just a monster in a Tom Ford suit.

HIV… How sick, how twisted does a man have to be to do that to his wife on their wedding night?

Julian, do you hate me that much? Just because I used to love Noah? If you hated me, why did you marry me? Were all five years of our marriage just an act?

Listening to the harsh laughter inside, I instinctively cradled my belly.

Alright, Julian. You want revenge? You want to see me go crazy?

Let’s see who’s the crazy one in the end. Because a woman who knows the truth is more dangerous than any psycho on Wall Street.