Chapter 1

The feedback shrieked through the speakers, a high-pitched scream that made my teeth ache. On stage, my husband, Ethan Lester, bathed in the white-hot spotlight, raised a trophy above his head. His band had just won the Austin "Battle of the Bands" finale.

"This is for my true muse," he yelled into the microphone, his voice raw with emotion. "The wildest soul I know. Molly Chadwick!"

The crowd roared. Molly, the band's new bassist, stepped forward and threw her arms around him. They kissed, a long, passionate kiss right there on stage for everyone to see.

I stood frozen in the sticky, beer-soaked crowd. In my hands, I held a heavy cake box. Inside was a custom-made, multi-layered black velvet cake, decorated with a sugar replica of his favorite guitar. A victory cake. For him.

My hands started to tremble. The box felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

As the band left the stage, I pushed my way through the throng, heading for the backstage door. I needed to understand. I needed him to look at me and explain.

I found his bandmates first, huddled in a corner, smoking.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" the drummer, Kevin, asked Ethan as he swaggered over. "You just humiliated Gabrielle in front of the entire city."

Ethan took a long drag from Kevin's cigarette and scoffed, the smoke curling from his lips.

"Molly's the real deal. Gabrielle just tries too hard."

He let out a harsh laugh.

"She's like a church girl playing dress-up. It's pathetic."

The words hit me harder than a physical blow. Pathetic. That's what he thought of me. The studded leather jacket I wore, the ripped fishnets, the heavy black eyeliner-it was all a costume I put on for him, a desperate attempt to fit into his world. And he saw right through it. He always did.

The cake box slipped from my numb fingers. I didn't even watch it fall. I turned and walked away, my vision blurring. Outside, in the grimy alley behind the venue, the first thing I saw was a overflowing dumpster.

Without a second thought, I picked up the cake box, lifted the lid, and stared at the perfect, intricate dessert I had spent two days creating. Then I shoved the whole thing deep into the stinking garbage, burying it under discarded food containers and wet cardboard.