Chapter 3

3

I dumped the breakfast into the trash, cleaned up, and drove to my parents' house.

When I arrived, my stepmother opened the door. She looked surprised and excited to see me. "Sia! What brings you here? Are you staying for lunch? I'll call your dad and Scarlett and tell them to come home."

Scarlett was attending a local university and lived nearby.

I looked at my stepmother and asked, "Is Scarlett at school?"

She nodded. "It's the weekend. I think she went out with some friends. She just left a little while ago."

I hummed a response and walked straight into Scarlett's bedroom.

Today, I had to know. I had to know if the woman Lucas was cheating with was the sister I had looked after since she was a baby.

Scarlett's room was pristine.

My eyes swept the room and landed on a jewelry box on her vanity.

I recognized many of the pieces inside.

They were things Lucas had once given to me.

Then, I saw a ring that stood out.

I picked it up and looked closely at the inner band. I saw the engraving: L & S.

Lucas and Scarlett.

It was their promise ring. It was the final nail in the coffin of my heart.

Suddenly, Scarlett's tablet on the nightstand lit up with a notification.

As if possessed, I picked it up. I tried her birthday as the passcode. It didn't work.

After a moment of hesitation, I entered Lucas's birthday.

I prayed it wouldn't work, but the screen unlocked instantly.

My entire body began to tremble. My eyes burned.

Her messages were pinging. I opened the app and saw her pinned contact.

The nickname was "Honey," and the profile picture was the same one Lucas had used for years.

Scarlett had deleted their chat history, so I tapped on her social media profile instead.

I saw all the posts she had hidden from me over the last two years.

Every single one was about Lucas.

The most recent one was posted an hour ago.

"Finally at the amusement park! I just said one word and he canceled all his meetings to take me here. He loves me so much. <3"

The photo showed them holding hands at the park entrance.

I zoomed in. I saw the ring on the man's finger.

It was a custom piece I had designed myself for Lucas's birthday. It was the only one in the world.

I kept scrolling and found a post from a month ago.

"My period cramps are killing me. He flew back from his business trip immediately just to hold me. I think I'm going to love him forever."

I remembered that day. I had a severe case of appendicitis and begged him to come home. He told me he was too busy with work and told me to call Stella.

He wasn't too busy to come home. He just wasn't coming home for me.

I scrolled through the posts, my face drenched in tears.

Finally, I found the very first post from when they started.

"The first snow of the year. I confessed to him, and he said he likes me too! I'm so excited. I've loved him for so long, and he's finally mine."

The date was two years ago. The photo was of them holding hands in the snow.

I remembered that day. I was so happy about the snow that I went to Lucas's office to surprise him. His assistant told me he was at a client meeting.

I felt sad that we couldn't watch the snow together. Now I realized he was on a date with Scarlett.

I closed the tablet and shut my eyes.

The nightmare was real.

My boyfriend of ten years was cheating on me with my stepsister.