Chapter 3

I turned too quickly and nearly dropped my phone.

Lucas and I had always spoken French when discussing research so Adrian would not understand us. Adrian spoke several languages, but French was the only one he had refused to learn. His father had died in a car accident in France, and Adrian had even canceled all of the Pierce Group's business there.

Then I remembered one of Nina's Instagram captions.

Who starts a French lesson in the middle of the night? I'm not that hopeless.

The photograph showed Adrian's unmistakable profile.

For Nina, he had learned the language tied to his worst memory.

For me, he had never bothered.

“The clinic is sending a team to an overseas conference,” I lied. “I'm coordinating with the host hospital.”

His suspicion eased, though it did not disappear.

“Tomorrow night is the family dinner,” he said. It wasn't a request. “Grandmother expects you to come.”

I nodded.

If I was leaving, I wanted to say goodbye to Eleanor Pierce. She was the only member of Adrian's family who had ever treated me with kindness.

Years ago, I had saved her during an emergency. Without that accident, Adrian and I might never have spoken.

The following morning, I told Adrian I had been called in for emergency surgery. Instead, I finished my paperwork and canceled the fifty-second appointment I had booked at the county clerk's office.

The confirmation email joined fifty-one others.

Each time I proposed, I scheduled the appointment because I believed this time he might say yes. Each time, I canceled it alone.

A horn sounded outside.

Adrian was waiting at the curb.

Out of habit, I climbed into the back seat. He had always said the passenger seat was for his wife. Until we were married, I didn't belong there.

Nina sat in it now.

“This candy is amazing,” she said, holding up a gummy she had already bitten. “Try it.”

She pushed the other half between Adrian's lips.

He smiled and ate it.

Adrian was fanatical about cleanliness. Our sheets were changed daily, the floors had to be spotless, and he expected anyone entering the apartment to shower immediately. More than once, he had pulled me out of bed and sent me back to wash again.

But sharing Nina's half-eaten candy didn't bother him at all.

My stomach rolled. I covered my mouth, fighting a wave of nausea.

Only then did they seem to remember I was in the car.

Adrian glanced at me in the mirror, irritation plain on his face.

“You don't have to put on an act.”

Then, as if I had complained, he added, “Nina gets carsick. She needs the front seat.”

So did I.

I had been taking motion-sickness pills before every drive with him for years.

I no longer bothered to explain.

When we arrived at the Pierce estate, Adrian's mother hurried down the steps and embraced Nina. She fussed over her as if welcoming home a daughter.

In seven years, Victoria Pierce had never once greeted me with a smile.

Adrian always defended her.

“My mother has the same diagnosis. Don't take it personally.”

Watching her laugh with Nina, I finally understood. The label had never been the problem. They had used it as cover whenever they wanted to dismiss me, then dropped the act the moment Nina walked into the room.

I stood at the edge of the foyer and said nothing.

***