Chapter 1

I was in a high-end mall, browsing a toy store for my friend's daughter's birthday, when my world tilted on its axis. Through the polished glass storefront, I saw him. My husband, Julian. He was in the café opposite, seated beside the sprawling indoor children's play area. He wasn't alone.

A woman, Seraphina Vance-a social media influencer whose perfectly curated life I'd occasionally scrolled past-was laughing, her head tilted just so. And between them, a little boy of about four, gleefully mashing a piece of cake into his own dark hair. Julian's hair.

They looked like a family. A perfect, happy family.

An icy dread washed over me. I remembered Julian refusing to have a baby with me, citing the immense pressure of his work. All his business trips, the late nights... were they spent with them? I recalled a night six months ago when Noah had supposedly been sick. Julian had stayed out all night, his voice strained over the phone, telling me a "critical client had a medical emergency." The lie was so easy for him.

I must have stared too long. The little boy, Noah, noticed me. He picked up a toy water pistol from their table, aimed it directly at me through the café's open front, and squeezed the trigger. A jet of cold water hit my silk skirt, leaving a dark, spreading stain.

Seraphina Vance turned, her eyes meeting mine. There was no surprise, only a flicker of amusement. She offered a saccharine smile. "Oh, dear. He's just playing with you," she cooed, her voice dripping with condescension.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I turned and walked away, my legs unsteady. I needed to leave, to breathe, to think. In the underground parking garage, I fumbled for my keys, my hands shaking. As I passed Julian's sleek sedan, something on the passenger seat caught my eye. A heavy, cream-colored card with embossed lettering.

"You are joyfully invited to the Christening of Noah Thorne."

It was real. More real than a fleeting email. A physical invitation to a life I never knew existed. How could I have been so blind?

My phone felt heavy in my hand. I didn't call my best friend. I didn't call a lawyer. I called the director of the Zurich Architectural Fellowship, a prestigious program I had deferred for him, for us.

"I'd like to accept the fellowship," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I can leave immediately."

Chapter 1

The address on the christening invitation led me not to a church, but to an exclusive private club downtown. Julian had told me he was attending a "critical business dinner" there tonight. Another lie, another layer in the intricate web he had woven. I slipped in behind a group of guests, my simple black dress a stark contrast to the pastel finery of the partygoers.

It wasn't a business dinner. It was a child's birthday party. Balloons in the shape of cartoon characters bobbed against the ceiling, and a massive cake decorated with a roaring dinosaur sat on a central table. This was Noah's world.

I found a spot in the shadows near the bar, my heart a painful drum against my ribs. And then I saw them. Julian stood by the cake, his arm draped possessively around Seraphina's waist. He looked relaxed, happy. He looked like a father.

Seraphina tapped a glass for attention, her smile radiant. "I just want to thank everyone for coming to celebrate our little man's fourth birthday," she announced, her voice carrying across the room. "And a special thank you to Noah's wonderful daddy, for putting all of this together for us."

Applause rippled through the crowd. Julian leaned in and kissed her, a long, lingering kiss that shattered the last vestiges of my hope.

Later, during a party game, a piñata shaped like a star was hung from the ceiling. The children lined up, blindfolded, to take a swing. When it was Noah's turn, he swung the bat with wild abandon. But instead of hitting the piñata, he spun around, the bat swinging sideways in a wide arc. It connected with my hand, sending the wine glass I was holding crashing to the floor. Red wine splattered across my shoes.

"Oops," he said, pulling off his blindfold, his eyes wide with fake innocence.

As I retreated to the restroom to clean up, my dress ruined, I heard voices from the adjacent stall. It was Seraphina, her voice low and conspiratorial. "That's right, sweetie. Next time you see that auntie, you tell her she has a stinky smell. Mommy will be so proud."

The fight went out of me, replaced by a deep, hollowing despair. I remembered him pursuing me relentlessly in college, the only one who could see past my ambition to the woman underneath. I remembered him staying by my hospital bed for three days straight when I had pneumonia, his fear for me so palpable, so real. He had proposed in that room, whispering, "I can't imagine my life without you."

That love, that devotion I believed was reserved only for me, was a performance.

My phone buzzed. It was him. "Hey, where are you?" His voice was warm, the same loving tone he always used.

"I'm just... out," I managed to say.

"I'm still at this dinner," he said smoothly. "It's dragging on. I miss you."

Just then, a child's shriek pierced the background noise. "Daddy, come quick! I don't want you talking to her!" It was Noah.

Julian's voice became strained. "Sorry, that's just... one of my colleague's kids. They're a handful." The line went dead. He had hung up on me.

My heart felt like it had been scooped out. I pulled out my phone again, my fingers moving on their own. I called the director of the Zurich Architectural Fellowship.

"I'd like to accept," I said, my voice a cold, steady line. "I can leave immediately."