Chapter 2

The garden was perfect. Somebody took care of it. You could tell.

And there was a swing.

A little wooden tag on the chain. Dominic's baby girl.

I touched it. A splinter slid into my finger and drew blood.

And then I heard his voice, from years ago, back when he still talked like a man in love.

When we get the big house, I'm putting a swing in for you.

When we're old, I'll stand behind you and push.

I believed him. I waited my whole life for that swing.

I never got one.

She got one.

I shut my eyes hard. Rain ran down my face anyway.

Inside, they were fighting.

"You know the rule. You stay away from Elena. Break it again and I swear to God."

Through the curtains I could see two shapes, tangled up in each other.

Her voice came out cracked and thick.

"Why not? She's yours, so what does that make me? She says delete me and you just do it. You didn't even blink."

Dominic went quiet. When he spoke again, his voice was cold. I'd never heard that voice before.

"She's my wife. What are you? The other one. Do you not know your place?"

"Tessa. Don't test me."

So that was the man I married.

The whole time I thought he was gentle. Turns out he had two faces. He kept the soft one for me.

Tessa bit her lip and cried until her body shook.

"Fine. I won't go near her."

They held each other. His voice went soft again.

"Good girl. Stay quiet and you get the house, the cars, the money. You want a kid, have one. I want one too."

"One rule. You never show your face in front of my wife."

Then I heard them kiss.

I stood out there like a statue. It was December, and the cold went all the way into my bones.

I don't know how long I stood there.

Then I lifted my hand, stiff and numb, and rang the bell.

"Who is it?"

His footsteps came closer.

The door opened and we were face to face.

Everything went quiet.

His breath stopped.

"Elena."

The panic on his face turned my stomach.

He grabbed my hand, shaking his head.

"Listen to me. It's not what it looks like. I can explain. I just..."

I pulled free.

His hand stayed in the air, trembling.

"So this is where you keep your other house."

"Give me the tour."

I said it flat. Like I was talking about the weather.

The calmer I got, the more he came apart.

"Let's go home. Please. Elena, I'm begging you."

"Dom? Who's at the door?"

Tessa came out. Her face froze when she saw me. Then the freeze slid off, and something cocky took its place.

"We've got company. Come in. Sit."

"I'm the lady of this house. Let me pour you some tea."

Dominic's face went dark.

"Tessa. Shut your mouth."

Her face twitched. Something ugly crossed it, then settled into pure spite.

I pushed past him and walked in.

Somebody loved this place.

Even the pillows on the couch had their faces on them, kissing in the snow.

The wall was covered in pictures. The two of them, all over the world.

Paris. Switzerland. Iceland. A church somewhere in Europe.

Every photo had a date under it.

One was our anniversary.

One was the week I was in the hospital for my appendix.

Then I saw the Iceland shot.

I tore it off the wall.

The date on it matched our honeymoon. Same week. Same place.

My hand shook so bad the photo almost folded in half.

Even on our honeymoon. Even then. She was right there, under my nose the whole time.

I went through every picture, one by one.

And that's when I learned what happens when the pain gets bad enough. Your body just switches it off.

Nothing in that room made a sound except my footsteps and his voice behind me, begging.

"Elena, let's just..."

The room was full of his things. His chair. His table. His house.

Then I hit him.

The slap landed so hard my own palm stung.

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

Tessa shoved me off him and grabbed his face like she was the one who got to touch him.

"What are you, a drunk? You don't hit people!"

I stumbled back. My lower back slammed into the liquor cabinet.

"Elena!" He pushed her off me and caught my arm. The worry in his eyes made me sick.

"Are you okay?"

"Don't touch me!"

I screamed it. My voice split in half.

Tessa got shoved aside. The hate in her eyes got worse.

"Elena. You guessed right. I've known about you for years."

"I was in the room next door. On your honeymoon."

His face went black.

"Tessa. Shut your mouth."

She bit her lip. She didn't stop. She was enjoying this.

Same look she had at his grave, when she told me they never spent a single year apart.

"Every night, after you fell asleep, he came to my room."

"And when he was done, he went back and got in bed next to you before sunrise."

The color drained right out of my face.

I bent over. I couldn't stop gagging.

He went pale.

"Elena, let's go home. Please. You're not well. You can't get sick out here."

I knocked his hand away.

"Dominic. We're done."