Chapter 1

The email was supposed to arrive today. The one telling me if I got the Civic Innovators Fellowship. My heart hammered against my ribs all morning. This fellowship was everything, a chance to design something truly meaningful for the city.

Mark, my husband, was a city planner. He knew how much this meant. He was on the selection committee, even. He promised he' d recuse himself from voting on my application, but he said he' d put in a good word, that my portfolio was the strongest.

The notification pinged. I clicked it open, my breath caught in my throat.

My name wasn't there.

Instead, a name I vaguely recognized: Jessica Evans. A recent graduate. Mark' s new protégé he' d been mentioning a lot.

"Mark?" I called out, my voice trembling.

He walked into the study, a strange, tight look on his face.

"You didn't get it, Sarah."

Just like that. No softness, no apology.

"Jessica Evans got it," he continued, not meeting my eyes. "Her proposal on urban green spaces was very... compelling."

Confusion swirled, then a cold wave of disbelief.

"Jessica? But... you said my community housing project was groundbreaking. You said I was a shoo-in."

He finally looked at me, his expression hardening.

"Things change, Sarah. Jessica is a fresh voice. The committee felt she had more innovative ideas for this particular cycle."

His words felt like a slap. Just last week, he' d been so enthusiastic.

Flashback: We were in the kitchen. Mark was looking over my final submission for the fellowship. "This is brilliant, Sarah," he' d said, his arm around my waist. "That community-focused design, the sustainable materials... they' re going to love it. This is your year."

His words then, versus his words now. A bitter taste filled my mouth. Hypocrisy.

Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them back. Despair settled heavy in my chest.

"I don't understand, Mark."

"It's just a fellowship, Sarah. There will be other opportunities." He sounded dismissive.

I turned away from him, needing air, needing to think. I picked up my phone, my fingers shaking as I dialed Professor Davies, my old architecture mentor.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" Professor Davies' warm voice was a balm.

I explained, the words tumbling out, laced with confusion and hurt.

"Jessica Evans?" Professor Davies sounded surprised. "She's talented, yes, but your work on community architecture has always been exceptional, Sarah. This is... unexpected."

Her validation was a small anchor in the storm.

"Don't let this derail you," Professor Davies said firmly. "I might have a small community garden project in Oakhaven, a town upstate. It' s not a prestigious fellowship, but it' s a chance to build something real. Interested?"

A tiny spark of hope. "Yes, Professor. Thank you."

Later that evening, Mark said he was working late. A familiar excuse recently. I drove past his office building on a hunch. His car was gone. I found it parked outside a trendy new restaurant downtown.

Through the window, I saw them. Mark and Jessica. Leaning close, laughing. His hand was on her arm, a casual, intimate gesture. He hadn't touched me like that in months.

The sight confirmed a sickening dread that had been growing in me.

I waited until he came home, the anger a cold knot in my stomach.

"How was work?" I asked, my voice flat.

"Busy. You know how it is." He didn't look at me, already heading for the shower.

"I saw you, Mark. With Jessica. At The Pearl."

He stopped, turned. For a second, I saw a flicker of something – guilt? Then it was gone, replaced by annoyance.

"We were discussing the fellowship details. She needed guidance."

"Guidance that looked a lot like a date?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sarah." He was using that tone, the one that made me feel small and irrational. "You're just upset you didn't get the fellowship, and you're taking it out on me and her. Jessica is a bright kid, and she looks up to me."

Then I remembered the joint savings account. We' d put aside five thousand dollars. Three for my fellowship application fees and potential travel for interviews, two for a small vacation. I checked the balance. Only a few hundred dollars left.

"Mark, the savings account... where did the money go?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, that. I needed to invest in some networking events. And Jessica needed some help with her material costs for her presentation. It' s all for the career, Sarah. Our career."

Our career? Or his, built on my money and her... assets? The injustice of it burned. He hadn't even asked me.

The next morning, he was on the phone with her, his voice solicitous.

"Of course, Jessica, I can pick up those revised blueprints for you. No trouble at all." He hung up and turned to me.

"Sarah, can you run by the print shop and get Jessica' s revised plans? I' m swamped this morning."

I stared at him. "You want me to run errands for her?"

"It would help me out," he said, as if that settled it. Like I was his assistant, not his wife.

I didn't go. Later, I saw him in our kitchen, making coffee. Jessica had apparently come by the apartment. He handed her a mug, his fingers brushing hers, a soft smile on his face. The kind of smile he used to give me.

My heart ached with a profound sadness. He was giving her everything he once gave me, and more.

Suddenly, Jessica, who had been quiet, looked at a small, wilting plant on the counter. One I' d been trying to revive.

"Oh, Mark," she said, her voice dripping with false concern, "this poor plant. It looks so neglected. Did someone forget to water it?"

Mark frowned, then looked at me. "Sarah, you were supposed to be looking after the plants. This was your responsibility."

"I watered it yesterday," I said, shocked. "It was fine."

"Clearly not," Jessica murmured, just loud enough for me to hear, a small, triumphant smile playing on her lips.

Mark sighed, exasperated. "Just try to be more careful, Sarah. It' s not that hard."

He blamed me. Instantly. On her word.

He then asked me to make them both lunch. He didn't ask. He told me.

"Sarah, make us some sandwiches. Jessica and I have a lot to get through."

I felt a wave of despair, an emotional numbness spreading through me. I was trapped in this charade, a servant in my own home.

I made the sandwiches, my hands moving mechanically. My compliance felt forced, a denial of my own agency. The sunny kitchen felt like a cage.

Why was this happening? How did my life, my marriage, crumble so quickly?

The injustice of it all settled in my bones, but beneath the despair, a flicker of something else ignited. Bitterness, yes, but also a hardening of my spirit.

I wouldn't let them break me.

Later that evening, I found my old sketchbook, filled with designs from before Mark, before his ambition started to overshadow everything. Designs for community centers, sustainable homes, places that mattered.

I picked up a pencil, the feel of it familiar and comforting. I started to sketch, a defiant act.

Mark walked in. "Still dwelling on that fellowship? You should be focusing on supporting me, Sarah. My career benefits us both."

I didn't look up. "I'm just drawing."

My indifference seemed to annoy him. He couldn't see the plans forming in my mind, plans that didn't include him.

The next day, his demands escalated.

"Sarah, Jessica needs a ride to the site visit in Oakhaven. My car' s in the shop. You can take her."

Oakhaven. Where Professor Davies' project was.

"No," I said.

"What did you say?"

"I said no, Mark."