Chapter 2

By Monday morning, I had already convinced myself that Saturday night no longer mattered.

That was the lie I told myself while standing in front of the wardrobe, choosing a tie for Adrian.

It was an old habit. Adrian rarely asked for my opinion about his clothes, but I knew exactly which colors he preferred for important meetings. Navy when he wanted to appear approachable, charcoal when he wanted to project authority, and black whenever he was meeting someone he considered a serious rival.

I selected a dark blue tie and placed it on the bed.

Then I noticed the second tie lying beside it.

A pale silver one.

Vivian had given it to him.

I knew because she had posted a photograph two weeks ago with the caption, Some men simply need a little help choosing the right color.

Adrian had worn it the following day.

I picked up the navy tie and walked downstairs.

Adrian was already at the breakfast table, scrolling through his phone while drinking coffee.

I placed the tie beside his briefcase.

"You have the board meeting at nine."

He glanced at it.

"Thanks."

That was all.

I poured myself some tea and sat across from him.

Before I could say anything, the front door opened.

Vivian walked in.

She wasn't supposed to be here.

I knew because Adrian's office was forty minutes away, and company employees weren't allowed inside our private residence without an appointment.

Yet Vivian entered as naturally as though she had lived there for years.

"Good morning, Mr. Blackwell. I brought the documents you asked for."

She placed a leather folder beside Adrian's coffee.

Then she looked at his cup.

"You shouldn't drink that."

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"You had two cups yesterday and complained about the headache afterward."

She took the cup from his hand before he could answer.

"I brought the one you actually like."

She reached into her bag and produced another cup.

Adrian accepted it without hesitation.

I stared at them.

It wasn't the coffee that bothered me.

It was the familiarity.

Vivian knew exactly how he liked his coffee. She knew how much sugar he took, which brand he preferred, and apparently even how many cups he could drink before getting a headache.

Things I had learned after years of marriage.

Things she had learned in months.

Vivian finally noticed me.

"Oh, Mrs. Blackwell. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

Her apology sounded polished enough to be rehearsed.

I smiled.

"It's fine."

She glanced at Adrian.

"Mr. Blackwell, the car is waiting downstairs."

He nodded.

Then he looked at me.

"I'll be late tonight."

I didn't ask why.

Vivian smiled faintly before following him out.

The moment the door closed, I looked at the untouched cup of tea in front of me.

Something had shifted.

I could feel it.

Not because Vivian was interested in my husband.

That had been obvious for some time.

What concerned me was how comfortable Adrian had become with her presence.

She wasn't trying to seduce him anymore.

She was inserting herself into his life one detail at a time.

And Adrian was letting her.

**

At noon, I stopped by Blackwell Group.

I hadn't planned to stay.

I was there because Adrian had forgotten a folder containing documents he needed for a meeting with an overseas investor. Normally, I would have called his assistant and asked someone to collect it, but I happened to be nearby.

When I reached the executive floor, Vivian was standing outside Adrian's office.

She was holding two ties.

"Which one?"

She asked him through the open door.

Adrian looked up from his desk.

"The darker one."

"I thought so."

She smiled and handed it to him.

Then she noticed me.

Her expression changed for only a fraction of a second before she brightened again.

"Mrs. Blackwell."

Adrian turned.

"Elena? What are you doing here?"

"I brought your folder."

I held it out.

He took it without getting up.

"You could've sent someone."

"I was nearby."

"Thanks."

Vivian stepped closer.

"Mr. Blackwell, don't forget the charity dinner tonight. I'll have your car pick you up at seven."

I looked at her.

"Charity dinner?"

Adrian frowned slightly.

"I mentioned it."

"No, you didn't."

He sighed.

"Elena, I have a lot going on."

I swallowed whatever response came to mind.

Vivian lowered her eyes, pretending to be uncomfortable.

"I'll go."

She turned toward the door.

Adrian immediately stopped her.

"Wait. You still need to send me the revised schedule."

"I already did."

"Right."

Their exchange was so effortless that I suddenly felt like the outsider in my own marriage.

I left without saying anything else.

That evening, Adrian took me to dinner.

Perhaps he had noticed my mood.

Perhaps he simply wanted to avoid another argument.

Either way, I accepted the invitation.

We sat in a private dining room with several senior executives from Blackwell Group. It was supposed to be a business dinner, but the conversation quickly became casual after the wine was served.

Vivian was there too.

Of course she was.

She sat three seats away from Adrian, yet somehow managed to be involved in every conversation he had.

When the waiter asked Adrian what he wanted to order, Vivian answered before he could.

"Grilled sea bass. No sauce."

The waiter looked toward Adrian.

He nodded.

"She's right."

I lowered my eyes to my menu.

One of the directors laughed.

"Miss Moore really does know Mr. Blackwell better than anyone."

Vivian smiled modestly.

"I'm just his secretary."

Then she turned toward me.

"Mrs. Blackwell, Mr. Blackwell hasn't been eating properly lately. I've been making sure he gets his meals when he's at the office."

There was nothing offensive about her words.

Yet every person at the table understood what she meant.

I looked at Adrian.

He didn't correct her.

Instead, he smiled faintly.

"Vivian's been very helpful."

I placed my glass down.

"That's nice."

Vivian tilted her head.

"I hope you don't mind. Someone has to keep an eye on him."

Before I could answer, Adrian spoke.

"Elena, why don't you learn something from Vivian?"

The table went quiet.

I looked at him.

He seemed completely unaware of what he had just said.

"She's organized. She knows how to take care of people without making everything into an argument."

I stared at him for several seconds.

Then I smiled.

"You're right."

He frowned.

"About what?"

"Vivian."

I lifted my glass.

"She's very good at her job."

Vivian's lips curved upward.

But she didn't see what I saw.

The satisfaction in her eyes.

She wasn't simply trying to get my husband's attention.

She was deliberately showing me that she had already taken over parts of his life.

And Adrian was too arrogant to notice.

That night, after Adrian fell asleep, I went downstairs.

I opened my laptop and logged into Blackwell Group's internal financial portal.

I had access because I was Adrian's wife and one of the company's registered investment advisers, although he rarely asked me to review anything anymore.

I started with executive expenses.

Then subsidiary accounts.

Then confidential disbursements.

At first, everything looked normal.

Until I searched Vivian's name.

Three accounts appeared.

I stared at the screen.

Vivian wasn't supposed to have access to any of them.

One contained confidential acquisition documents.

Another held executive expense authorizations.

The third was connected to a restricted investment account that only Adrian, the CFO, and two board members were supposed to access.

I checked the access history.

Vivian had logged into all three.

Repeatedly.

My fingers went still above the keyboard.

This wasn't about flirting anymore.

I opened the transaction records and began copying everything.

Then I noticed something even stranger.

Several payments from one of the restricted accounts had been transferred to a company I didn't recognize.

A shell company.

I leaned back slowly.

For the first time, I wasn't looking at Vivian as a woman trying to steal my husband.

I was looking at her as someone who might be stealing something far more valuable.

Blackwell Group.

I closed the laptop and stared into the darkness of the room.

Adrian had no idea what was happening inside his own company.

And for some reason, I suspected Vivian knew exactly how much she could take before anyone noticed.

I opened my hidden phone.

I didn't send a message this time.

I simply whispered to myself,

"Let's see what you're really after."