Chapter 2

As soon as Brian left, I waited twenty minutes before driving to the O’Hara family’s corporate offices.

Brian had said he was meeting with an associate. He hadn’t said where.

If he wasn’t there, I would leave.

If he was, I would know he had lied to me before breakfast was even cold.

As Claudia Moretti and Brian O’Hara’s wife, I had been in the building countless times. No one at security questioned me when I walked through the doors.

The moment I entered the lobby, I saw her.

Vanessa Russo.

She was sitting behind the reception desk.

She looked even younger in person than she did in her photos. Long hair, bright eyes, a soft smile. If I hadn’t already seen the ultrasound, the property photos, and Brian’s hand resting possessively around her waist, I never would have looked twice at her.

“Good morning,” she said politely. “Can I help you?”

“Is Brian in?”

I watched her expression carefully.

Her smile faltered for half a second.

“Mr. O’Hara is in a meeting. May I ask who’s here to see him?”

“Claudia Moretti.”

Silence.

The color drained from her face.

Of course she knew my name.

Everyone working for an O’Hara business knew who Brian’s wife was.

“M-Mrs. O’Hara.”

Her eyes dropped instinctively to my wedding ring.

“Please wait. I’ll let Mr. O’Hara know you’re here.”

She reached for the phone a little too quickly.

“Mr. O’Hara,” she said quietly, “your wife is here.”

So much for his meeting with an associate.

A few minutes later, Brian appeared.

He smiled the moment he saw me, but I knew him well enough to notice the tension beneath it.

“Sweetheart. What are you doing here?”

His gaze flicked toward Vanessa.

Just once.

But once was enough.

“I was nearby,” I said. “I thought we could have lunch together.”

I slipped my hand through his arm as naturally as I always had.

Brian relaxed slightly.

“Of course. Come upstairs.”

He led me toward the private elevator.

Only when the doors closed did I speak again.

“That new receptionist is pretty.”

Brian barely looked up.

“Which one?”

I almost laughed.

“The girl who just called you.”

“Oh. Vanessa.”

So he did know her name.

He seemed to realize his mistake a second too late.

I pretended not to notice.

“How old is she?”

“No idea. Early twenties, maybe. HR handles that stuff.”

He shrugged.

“She’s just a receptionist. I barely know her.”

“Right.”

I smiled and said nothing more.

By the time we reached his office, I had already learned what I came for.

Brian hadn’t just lied to me.

He was comfortable doing it.

We had lunch in the private dining room attached to his office. Brian ate while talking about shipments, meetings, and problems with several O’Hara businesses.

I listened as though nothing had changed.

“You’re always so thoughtful,” he said after a while. “Marrying you was the best decision I ever made.”

My fingers tightened slightly around my fork.

Three months ago, he had held another woman’s hand over a positive pregnancy test.

One month ago, he had stood beside her while she closed on the home he bought for her.

And now he was sitting across from me, telling me marrying me was the best decision of his life.

I wondered whether Brian even knew when he was lying anymore.

“Oh, by the way,” I said casually, “Dad mentioned a new development on the Upper East Side. The apartments are supposed to be beautiful.”

Brian glanced at me.

“You want to move?”

“Not necessarily.”

I took a sip of water.

“I was just thinking our place might feel small someday. Especially if we decide to have children.”

His fork paused.

Only for a second.

“There’s no rush.”

“No?”

“We’ve got plenty of time for kids.” He leaned back in his chair. “And I’ve tied up a lot of cash in business lately. Buying another property right now wouldn’t make much sense.”

I looked at him.

Fifty thousand dollars for Vanessa’s down payment.

A luxury apartment.

Expensive dinners.

Whatever else I hadn’t uncovered yet.

Apparently, Brian’s money only became tight when his wife asked about it.

“You’re right,” I said calmly. “There’s no reason to rush.”

He smiled, relieved that the subject was over.

Strangely, I felt nothing.

Every lie made it easier.

Every lie killed another piece of what I had once felt for him.

A little later, I excused myself.

Instead of taking the private hallway back to Brian’s office after using the restroom, I went downstairs to the lobby.

Vanessa was standing near the reception desk with two other employees.

I slowed when I heard her voice.

“The doctor said everything looks perfect. I’m due at the end of the year.”

One of the women smiled.

“You’re lucky. Your boyfriend buys you a place in Manhattan and now you’re having his baby? He must be crazy about you.”

Vanessa’s face lit up.

“He is.”

Her hand moved over the slight curve of her stomach.

“He promised everything will be settled before the baby is born.”

Everything will be settled.

Interesting choice of words.

I wondered exactly what Brian had told her about me.

That our marriage was already over?

That he was planning to divorce me?

Or had he convinced her that a Moretti wife could simply be discarded whenever an O’Hara man got bored?

Then Vanessa looked up.

Her smile disappeared.

“M-Mrs. O’Hara.”

The other two women immediately fell silent.

I walked toward the desk.

“Vanessa, right?”

“Yes.”

Her shoulders had gone stiff.

My gaze briefly dropped to her stomach before returning to her face.

“Congratulations.”

“T-thank you.”

She instinctively covered her stomach with one hand.

I smiled.

“When are you due?”

“December.”

“You must be excited.”

She nodded carefully.

“Very.”

“And the father?”

Vanessa hesitated.

“He’s excited too.”

“Good.”

I held her gaze.

“A child deserves a father who keeps his promises.”

Something shifted in her expression.

Fear, perhaps.

Or guilt.

I couldn’t tell which.

So I gave her the same polite smile I would have given any O’Hara employee.

“I hope yours does.”

Then I turned and walked toward the elevator.

I didn’t need to threaten Vanessa.

I didn’t need to expose Brian.

Not yet.

For now, it was enough to let her wonder exactly how much I knew.