Chapter 1

The power went out on our wedding night, and my drunk husband stumbled into my best friend's room by mistake.

The next morning, I woke to a scream from Jolene’s room.

Still groggy, my mother and I rushed over, and found my husband, Jason, and my best friend, Jolene, in bed together, naked beneath the covers.

Everyone froze. We all knew what this meant.

My mother, terrified of having the family scandal become public, told me to swallow my pride and put up with it just this once.

"Sylvia, what's done is done. The only thing you can do now is accept it and move on."

I couldn't get past it, so I started avoiding both of them.

Jason tried everything he could think of to make things right, and I turned him down every time.

It wasn't until he got into a car accident that I panicked and rushed to the hospital.

And then, outside the hospital room, I heard it.

"Jason, you're really something."

"That night you got Sylvia drunk on purpose, then cut the power so you'd have an excuse to sleep with Jolene."

"Even the car accident was fake."

"If I hadn't pulled that stunt, how would Sylvia ever forgive me?"

"Besides, her mother was the one who cut the power."

"All to help Jolene out. And just picture that smooth, milky-white body of Jolene's. I'd wanted to sleep with her for a long time. So we came to an understanding."

...

"Holy crap! Poor Sylvia."

"It was bad enough that her best friend and husband betrayed her. Now her own mother was in on it, too?"

"But what we really want to know is, why?"

Jason's friend looked at him, confusion all over his face.

Jason was flushed, looking like a man who'd just gotten exactly what he wanted.

So all those times he'd stood in front of me looking guilty and ashamed—had he been faking it the whole time?

He wouldn't be looking so flushed unless he'd just slept with a woman.

"Didn't I already tell you?"

"Jolene’s father was the younger brother of Sylvia’s mother. The only thing he wanted before he passed away was for Jolene to marry the man she loved."

"Sylvia's mother loved him, so she wanted to honor his last wish by helping his daughter."

"And you all know Jolene was the girl I used to have a thing for. Even if I couldn't be with her, at least I got to have her. I can die without regrets."

I stood right outside the door, unable to move.

It felt as if my soul had been ripped out of me, and my mind went completely blank.

So he'd gotten me drunk on purpose that night.

And with the power out, I'd never seen his face clearly, so I'd gone to bed without suspecting a thing.

I never imagined the whole thing had been planned from the start.

A sharp pain shot through my chest, and I struggled to catch my breath.

I reached out and braced myself against the doorframe to keep from collapsing.

"Hearing you put it like that, we don't even know what to say."

"It's too much. It's like something straight out of a movie."

"Before we got here, you two slept together again, didn't you?"

Jason's face spread into a smug grin, but he said nothing. His silence was as good as a yes.

No wonder he'd been looking so flushed.

It felt like I'd been slapped across the face, and I didn't even know how to hit back.

"Jason." His friend spoke up again.

"What?"

"Things between you two are a real mess right now."

"You're Sylvia's husband, but you're carrying on like this with her best friend. If word of this gets out..."

"What about your reputation? How are you supposed to show your face after that?"

"Besides, if Jolene really were pregnant with your child, Sylvia would never accept you."

"So you'd be better off giving Sylvia up. Marry Jolene and make it official. That's the right thing to do."

Jason fell silent, considering his friend's advice.

Then he lifted his head and looked at them, his tone more resolute than I'd ever heard it.

"I won't give up Sylvia, because she's the only one who loves me more than anyone else."

"I can divorce her for now, then get back together with her once Jolene has had the baby."