Chapter 2

2.

Claire calmly activated her phone's screen recording function. Her fingers moved with practiced ease, capturing their entire chat history.

They didn't chat much, but the content was damning. It was mostly Julian asking the girl to meet up.

The girl, on the other hand, frequently asked when Julian would come see her, her tone full of anticipation and flirtatious charm.

Their messages were also peppered with explicit, steamy banter.

Claire quickly sent the recorded video file to her own phone, then deleted the sent message without a trace.

Next, she opened her photo album, found the video she had just recorded, and decisively deleted it.

She didn't stop there. She went into the "Recently Deleted" folder and permanently erased the file from his phone.

She did it all in one smooth, unwavering motion, as if completing a mission that required absolute perfection.

After she was done, Claire sat there quietly, phone still in hand, her eyes vacant, as if her soul had left her body.

The sharp click of the shower door handle pulled Claire back to reality.

She took a deep breath, schooling her features into a mask of calm neutrality, and slowly placed the phone back where she had found it.

A moment later, Julian walked out of the bathroom.

His damp hair curled slightly over his forehead, giving him a look of lazy, effortless sex appeal.

Crystal-clear water droplets traced a path from his hair down the sharp line of his jaw.

Julian toweled his hair dry as he glanced over at Claire.

In that brief moment, his eyes landed on her ringless finger.

The casual, indifferent look in his eyes sharpened with a flicker of surprise.

"Where's your ring?" he asked.

"I lost it."

"Oh, honey." Julian's voice was laced with indulgence. "Don't worry about it. I buy you a new one every year anyway. You'll never be without a ring."

His voice filled the room, sounding for all the world like a man with the best of intentions.

But Claire knew better. It was just another one of his lies.

She simply watched him, not bothering to call him out on his bullshit. Her eyes were filled with a profound sense of exhaustion and disappointment.

Once, she might have argued with him over a lie like this, trying to force the truth out of him.

But now, she couldn't be bothered to fight anymore.

She lay back on the bed, her hand instinctively resting on her stomach.

There, silvery stretch marks mapped her skin like a network of rivers, a series of startling, jagged lines.

Julian pulled her into his arms.

He reached out, placing his hand gently on Claire's lower abdomen.

The warmth of his hand seeped through her thin nightgown, but Claire felt no comfort. It felt like a cold shackle, trapping her in a relationship built on deceit and lies.

She flinched slightly, a primal urge to pull away, but she suppressed it in an instant. She remained still, letting his hand rest on her belly.

"Thinking about our little angel again?"

"Angel" was the name they had given to the child they lost before it was ever born.

"Don't be sad. He just wasn't ready to come to us yet," he comforted her.

"Julian, let's have another baby."

"Claire, I want to, but your body..." His voice trailed off. "Let's just wait a little longer."

Claire knew he didn't want to.

A man's body doesn't lie.