Chapter 1

Ethan came back from the Austin tech conference looking like a ghost. He walked past me in our Park Avenue foyer, his usual confident stride gone, replaced by something heavy, something that dragged.

"Ethan? What's wrong?"

He didn't meet my eyes, just mumbled about a long flight.

But later that night, the truth spilled out, ugly and raw.

"Ava, I... I messed up. In Austin."

I sat on the edge of our custom-made bed, the silk sheets suddenly feeling cold.

"Messed up how?"

"There was this intern, Skyler. From the conference. We had drinks, too many. I think someone might have put something in mine. I woke up in her hotel room."

His voice was flat, rehearsed.

"You slept with her." It wasn't a question.

"It was a mistake, Ava. A one-time thing. It meant nothing. I paid her. She signed an NDA. It's handled."

Handled. Like a bad investment.

My breath caught. The man I'd built my life with, the man I'd loved since our New England college days, was talking about betraying me as if it were a business transaction.

"Handled?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"Don't make this a bigger deal than it is, Ava. It won't happen again. I swear."

He tried to touch my arm, but I pulled away.

My mind flashed to the skiing accident years ago, the blinding snow, the sound of Ethan's scream before the impact. I'd thrown myself in front of him, taking the brunt of the collision that shattered my pelvis, that stole my ability to carry our children. He'd called me his hero then. Now, this.

He saw the look on my face. "This has nothing to do with... with us, with our plans for a family. It was just a stupid mistake."

But it felt like everything. My perfect life, our perfect marriage, cracked right down the middle.

Months crawled by. I tried to bury the betrayal, to believe Ethan's apologies, his promises. He was more attentive, bought more gifts, but there was a wall between us now, invisible but solid.

Then came the annual Children's Foundation Gala, Ethan's flagship charity event. I stood by his side, smiling for the cameras, the sophisticated New York socialite playing her part.

Suddenly, a commotion near the west wing. Smoke.

"Fire!" someone yelled.

Panic erupted. Staff rushed, alarms blared.

Later, the papers were full of it. Not the fire, which was small, quickly contained. But the hero of the hour: Skyler, the former intern. Visibly pregnant.

The story was she'd "bravely" alerted security, sustaining minor smoke inhalation. She was photographed looking pale and noble, a hand resting protectively on her swollen belly. Near where Ethan had been holding court.

That night, Ethan told me the rest.

"She came to me a while after Austin," he said, avoiding my gaze again. "Her family had some financial crisis. I tried to help."

"And?"

"We had dinner. We both drank too much. One thing led to another." He sighed, a put-upon sound. "She's pregnant, Ava. With twins."

The room tilted. The same woman. The "one-time mistake."

"She's not going to disrupt our lives," Ethan insisted, his voice rising. "I'll support her, the children, of course. But it doesn't change anything between us. She understands that."

He actually seemed to believe it.

I looked at him, this powerful Wall Street tycoon, so easily manipulated, so weak.

"Either she disappears, Ethan, completely, or I want a divorce." My voice was cold, steady.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ava." He waved a dismissive hand. "A divorce? Think of the scandal. My parents. The business. We can manage this."

He refused to choose. He wanted his perfect wife and his new family, all neatly compartmentalized.

I felt a chill deep in my bones.

The next morning, I packed a single bag.

"Where are you going?" Ethan asked, a flicker of alarm in his eyes.

"To Vermont. To a spa. I need to think."

It wasn't just thinking. It was an escape. A disengagement from the charade he wanted me to live. As I walked out, I left my wedding ring on the nightstand. He wouldn't miss it immediately. He was too busy managing his mistakes.