Chapter 2 2

Breakfast was usually the only time they synced up. Archer liked avocado toast with exactly two shakes of red pepper flakes. Harper usually had yogurt. Today, the sight of the yogurt made her stomach turn over. She sat at the kitchen island, staring at the marble veining, tracing a gray line with her fingernail until it hurt.

Archer came into the kitchen buttoning his cuffs. He looked impeccable. The navy tie she had handed him sat perfectly against his white collar.

"Coffee?" he asked, pouring himself a mug from the carafe.

"No," Harper said. "I'm fine."

He sat across from her, opening his iPad. The Wall Street Journal app was open, but his eyes kept darting to his phone which lay face down on the table.

"Don't forget," Harper said, her voice steady, surprisingly calm. "Final dress fitting today at four. You promised you'd come. My mother is going to be there via FaceTime, but I need you to see the bustle."

Archer froze. Just for a second. His hand paused midway to his mouth with the coffee mug.

"Today?" he asked.

"It's in the calendar," Harper said. "We talked about it three times this week."

Archer set the mug down. He put on his serious face, the one he used when he was about to disappoint her but frame it as a sacrifice for their future.

"Harper, honey, I can't," he said, sighing. "We're entering the quiet period for the IPO. The lawyers are breathing down my neck, and I have to review the S-1 filing with the underwriters in midtown at four. It's legally mandated. If we want that house in the Vineyard, I need to be in that room, not a bridal salon."

Lies.

Harper watched him. She saw the micro-expression, the slight twitch of his left eye. He was lying. There was no meeting with underwriters on a Friday afternoon during a quiet period. The hidden texts had mentioned a hotel room at the St. Regis at four-thirty.

"It's the last fitting, Archer," she pushed, just to see if he would squirm. "You haven't seen the dress on me once."

"And I'll be blown away when you walk down the aisle," he said, reaching across the island to squeeze her hand. His palm was warm. It felt like a brand. "You know I do this for us. You need to be supportive, Harper. Don't be needy. It's not a good look on you."

Needy.

He was rewriting reality in real-time. Turning her reasonable request into a character flaw.

"Right," Harper said, pulling her hand away under the pretense of reaching for a napkin. "Supportive."

"That's my girl." He checked his watch. "I have to run. Felix is blowing up my phone."

He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and rounded the island to kiss her forehead. Harper squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath so she wouldn't smell him.

"Love you," he said breezily.

"Bye," she whispered.

The door clicked shut. The heavy lock engaged.

Harper sat in the silence of the multi-million dollar apartment that felt more like a mausoleum. She looked at his empty coffee mug. A faint lipstick stain-her own, from a quick sip she took earlier-was on the rim.

Her phone buzzed on the counter.

It was a text from Archer. Love you. I'll make it up to you tonight.

Harper stared at the words. Then she opened the thread with the blocked number from the night before.

Who are you? she typed.

The three dots appeared immediately.

Someone who knows what you're worth.

Harper stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the delete button. She didn't know this person. This could be a trap. It could be corporate espionage against Archer.

But then she remembered the "dead fish" comment. She remembered the "needy" comment.

She didn't delete the thread. She closed the phone and walked to the bedroom.

She went to her side of the closet. Usually, she dressed in pastels or neutrals because Archer said they made her look "soft and approachable." Today, she pushed aside the beige cashmere.

She reached into the back, pulling out a coat she hadn't worn in three years. It was black, structured, with sharp shoulders. Archer hated it. He said it made her look severe.

She pulled it on. It was tight across the chest, but it felt like armor. She buttoned it all the way to the chin.

She looked in the mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her skin pale, but the black coat made her look dangerous.

"Supportive," she mocked, her voice echoing in the empty room.

She grabbed her purse. She wasn't going to sit here and cry. She needed to see it. She needed to look at herself in that dress and understand exactly what she was selling. If she was a dead fish, she would be the most expensive one he ever bought. She was going to the fitting. Alone. And she was going to burn the memory of this morning into her brain so she would never, ever forget how easily he lied.