Introduction

The drive to my best friend Mark' s father' s 60th birthday party felt good, the kind of easy trip you take to see family.

My wife, Sarah, was supposed to be in London for a work conference, nursing a sprained ankle.

But when I stepped inside, my eyes scanned the crowd, and there she was, kneeling in the center of the living room.

She was participating in a formal tea ceremony, dressed in a beautiful silk dress I' d never seen.

"What a good, respectful daughter-in-law!" Mark' s aunt boomed, praising her. "Mark, you found a real treasure."

My heart hammered against my ribs as I saw her, my wife, here, being celebrated as his wife.

The whiskey bottle in my hand suddenly felt heavy and cold.

Sarah' s eyes locked with mine across the room, her polite smile vanishing, replaced by pure panic.

She rushed towards me, pulling me into a quiet hallway.

"Liam, what are you doing here?" she hissed, her voice frantic.

"Last I heard, you were in London with a sprained ankle," I retorted, my voice dangerously low.

She claimed Mark' s father had terminal cancer, and she was just "helping" fulfill his dying wish to see Mark settled.

"You' ll lend me your wife, right? We' re best friends, you wouldn' t mind, would you?" Mark asked, joining us, his tone infuriatingly casual.

The sheer audacity, the betrayal, stole my breath.

My wife, my best friend.

"A few days?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is that all? I guess his dying wish doesn' t include seeing his grandkids, then. Or do you think he' ll live long enough for you two to pop one out?"

The smile vanished from Mark' s face, and Sarah' s eyes widened in horror.

The casual charade was over.

The real party was just beginning.