Chapter 2

I hung up the phone and didn't go home. Not to our home. Instead, I drove to the house we were supposed to move into after the wedding. The house I had spent months designing, filled with details I knew she loved.

The air inside was still and smelled of fresh paint and new beginnings. A painful echo of a future that would never happen. I walked through the empty rooms, each one a monument to a broken dream. This was supposed to be our forever home. Now, it was just a house.

I went to the master bedroom. In the closet was the custom-made wedding suit I was supposed to wear. Beside it, the box containing our wedding rings. I opened it. The simple gold band was for me. The diamond one, the one I had spent a fortune on, was for her.

I took out her ring and held it in my palm. It felt cold, meaningless. Then I took out the other ring from my pocket. A cheap, silver-colored band. It was Noah's. I'd found it in the same folder as the marriage certificate.

I put Chloe's expensive diamond ring back in the box. I placed Noah's cheap band next to it. A perfect pair.

I called a courier service.

"I need a package delivered to Mr. Noah Reed," I said, giving them the address to the apartment Chloe's family paid for. "It needs to arrive tomorrow morning. It's urgent."

I sealed the box containing the two rings. A gift for the happy couple.

The next day, I went to the Davis family mansion for a pre-wedding dinner. Mrs. Davis greeted me with a warm hug, her face a mask of maternal affection.

"Ethan, my dear boy. You look tired. Are you working too hard?"

"Just a lot to do before the wedding, Mrs. Davis," I said, forcing a smile.

"You need to take care of yourself. Chloe would be lost without you."

Her words were like acid. She knew. The thought hit me with sickening certainty. She had to know. A daughter from a family like this doesn't secretly get married and pregnant without her mother finding out.

I was playing my part in a grand deception, and I was the only one who hadn't been given the script.

Later that evening, I was in the garden when I saw them. Chloe and Noah, half-hidden by a large oak tree. He had his arms around her, his hand resting possessively on her stomach.

"You have to be more careful," Chloe whispered, her voice tight with anxiety. "Ethan is very perceptive. He almost caught us on the phone last night."

Noah laughed, a low, arrogant sound. "Relax, baby. He's so in love with you he's blind. He'd never suspect a thing."

He leaned in and kissed her, a long, hungry kiss. Chloe didn't pull away. She leaned into him, her body relaxing in his arms.

I watched them, a wave of nausea washing over me. This was the woman who claimed to love me, the woman who was my world. And she was a stranger.

I noticed she wasn't smoking. She always smoked when she was stressed, but she hadn't touched a cigarette in months. For him. For their babies. A consideration she never gave me.

My stomach churned. I felt a bitter taste rise in my throat.

I stepped back into the shadows, my heart pounding with a mixture of rage and disgust. I couldn't let them see me. Not yet. The show wasn't over.

A few minutes later, Chloe walked back onto the patio, her face composed, a perfect smile in place.

"Ethan! There you are. I was looking for you."

Her eyes darted around, a flicker of panic in them.

"I was just getting some air," I said, my voice even. I met her gaze, holding it, letting her see the coldness there.

She seemed to search my face for a sign that I knew, that I had seen. I gave her nothing. I was a blank wall.

"You looked a little pale, that's all," she said, forcing a light laugh. "Probably just wedding jitters."

Just then, her mother came over, holding a velvet box.

"Ethan, this is for you," Mrs. Davis said, opening it to reveal an antique watch. "It was my father's. It's a family heirloom. We want you to have it. You're family now."

I looked at the watch, its gold case gleaming under the patio lights. Another lie. Another prop in their play. I felt a sudden urge to smash it on the ground.

Instead, I just stared at it. I didn't reach for it.

Chloe kept glancing at her own watch, a subtle, nervous gesture. She had somewhere else to be. Someone else to see.

Her hand went to her stomach. "I think I need to lie down for a bit. Feeling a little dizzy."

"Is it the baby?" I asked, my tone casual, but my eyes sharp.

She flinched. "No, no. Just... tired." She looked at me, her eyes pleading. "You should get some rest too, Ethan. You look exhausted."

She was trying to get rid of me.

"You're right," I said. "I am tired."

She led me to the guest room, fussing over me, fluffing the pillows, acting the part of the devoted fiancée. I let her. I closed my eyes, pretending to drift off.

After a few minutes, I heard her whisper my name. I didn't respond. I heard the soft click of the door as she slipped out. I waited, listening to her footsteps fade down the hall, then the sound of a car starting and driving away.

I opened my eyes. The room was dark, but my mind was crystal clear. I sat up and looked at the glass of water on the nightstand. My hand trembled as I reached for it.

Then, with a sudden, violent motion, I threw it against the wall. The glass shattered, the sound echoing in the silent room. Water and shards of glass rained down on the expensive carpet. It was a small act of destruction, but it was all the rage I could allow myself to show. For now.