The Betrayed Wife's Darkest Alliance

window of the master suite in their Upper East Side townhouse, the city lights sprawling below like a spilled jewelry box, but her reflection in the glass

stairs, the sound reverbera

tering itself onto her face, watching as her husband strode into the room. He didn't look at her. He didn't even p

ft, careful not to sound accusing. "T

shoulder, his voice muffled by the closet doo

he stepped forward, reaching out to help him with the collar, a gesture of intimacy she had

f the cotton that stopp

loral sweetness. It was heavy, synthetic, and aggressive. Not her perfume. She wore Jo Malone's Wood Sage &

ghtly. Julian turned abruptly, flinching a

he hamper with unnecessary force. "I'm not an invalid. Just let m

clenched her fingers into a fist, hiding the tr

bs. On the bedside table, Julian's phone began to buzz. It vibrated viol

to it. The caller ID

s visible for a split second before

iss

eneath her feet. "Office" didn't miss people. "Office" didn't

and with the reflexes of a cornered animal. He glanced at the

high, too quick. "They sent a draft to the w

oat felt dry, like she had s

eaming at Julian only made him retreat behind walls of ice. Instead, s

oise of New York, leaving them trapped in a quiet so thick it felt heavy. The driver kept the partition up. The radio hu

ostly. She wondered if the woman in the glass knew her marriage was ove

n spent the entire meal checking his watch or tapping furiously under t

said abruptly, standing up before t

restrooms. He walked toward the corridor that

, smoothing her napkin over the table. "E

carpet. She reached the corner of the corridor and stop

corner. It was low, intimate, a to

oaty sound that made Elena's stomach lurch. "I know. It's unbearable sitt

lt like her internal organs were liquefying. She turned and walked back to the table, her legs moving on autopil

five minutes later,

k. "Emergency acquisition meeting. I have to go back

voice sounded like it wa

de. He didn't even wait for her to unlock the heavy oak front door

She kicked off her heels, leaving them in the middle of the foyer, and

n was careless with technology because he was arrogant; he assumed she was too stupid or too

d the "Fi

rd Req

iCloud password.

leash. But Julian Sterling was a creature of habit, and his arrogance was his blind

ed the passcode-his birthday. Incorrect. She tried the passc

s Gra

card. He had removed her notification alerts, but he couldn'

he 'Pending Tra

Room Service. $450

spent their honeymoon there. He had taken her the

th away. He wasn't just cheatin

from Instagram. A direct message request fr

nct screamed at her to throw the phone away, to not l

pped A

to lo

. The hand was unmistakable. Long fingers, manicured nails. But it was t

dial. She had bought it for him. She had spent six

eflection. Mascara ran down her cheeks like blac

ispered to t

hat started in her chest and spread to her f

grabbed her car keys from the console table. Not the keys to the sedan she usua

ng against the concrete. She ripped the tarp off. The engine

GPS. The Pierre

sApp, sending a voice note to Sierra. H

erre. I'm going

out of the garage, merging into the stream of yellow taxis and