Chapter 3 A Strange Man

At first, Kaitlin assumed the text was nothing more than spam.

Only a moment later did the memory of her sudden city hall wedding from a year ago come rushing back.

She groaned under her breath and pressed her palm against her forehead.

Since that day, Robert had vanished so completely from her life that she sometimes forgot she was even married.

Still, she typed out her address and hit send.

After thinking it over, she followed up with another short message. "Thanks."

Robert's reply appeared right away. "Don't mention it. That's what a husband should do."

Once Khloe was safely dropped off, Dominic turned the car toward Providence Road, the address that had been given to him.

Before long, the Maybach rolled to a stop outside an older apartment complex.

Carrying the gift, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

After stepping out of the elevator and stopping at a door, Dominic checked the number on it to be sure he was in the right place before ringing the bell.

Even with years of business experience behind him and countless negotiations under his belt, he felt a strange flicker of unease.

The door opened, and standing there was a young man.

Suspicion flashed in Nicolas Graham's eyes as he asked, "Who are you?"

Dominic didn't want to assume the worst about Kaitlin, so he asked, "Does Kaitlin live here?"

"She does," Nicolas said sharply, his voice edging toward hostility. "Why are you looking for her?"

Lowering his gaze to the gift in his hand, Dominic suddenly found the gesture almost laughable. "Forget it," he said calmly. "I must've come to the wrong place."

With nothing else to say, he stepped into the elevator, his face clouded with heaviness.

A year spent overseas had blurred the image of Kaitlin in his memory.

As her husband, he knew he had failed her in many ways.

Even so, betrayal could not be justified. Her actions were difficult to forgive.

When the elevator doors slid open, Dominic's eyes drifted to a trash bin in the hallway. He walked over and tossed the gift inside, unaware that Kaitlin had stepped into the elevator at that moment.

Outside her apartment, Kaitlin unlocked the door to find her best friend, Sadie Morgan, and Sadie's boyfriend, Nicolas, waiting comfortably on the couch.

A smile spread across her face. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Sadie jumped up and threw her arms around her. "Because then it wouldn't be a surprise! Look-we brought cake. Happy birthday!"

She pointed proudly to the table where the cake sat, grinning from ear to ear.

Nicolas rose to his feet as well, adding, "Seriously though, why are you getting home this late? Good thing Sadie has a spare key, or we would've been stranded outside."

The sight of the two of them made Kaitlin's eyes sting with emotion.

Ever since she lost her mother, birthdays had gone uncelebrated.

But in this moment, she was reminded that love still surrounded her.

Just as she was taking it all in, Nicolas's tone grew more serious. "Oh, and one more thing-some guy came by earlier asking for you. He didn't seem right, so I sent him away. Just be careful, okay? Don't open the door if you don't know who it is."

Some guy?

Kaitlin frowned, confused.

Her world was small, and outside of Sadie and Nicolas, she didn't really keep company with anyone.

So who could possibly be looking for her? Was Nicolas right? Could someone dangerous actually be after her?

The thought made her skin prickle uneasily.

Noticing the shift in her friend's expression, Sadie rolled her eyes at Nicolas. "Don't scare her like that. I saw him too, and honestly, he didn't look threatening. Probably just some salesman trying to make a living. Come on, stop worrying. Let's eat."

She tugged Kaitlin toward the dining table before Kaitlin could dwell on it further.

As they settled in, Sadie poured her a glass of wine, her lips curling into a playful grin. "So, birthday girl, did your mysterious husband remember you this year? Any presents?"

The mention of her husband made Kaitlin freeze with her fork halfway to her plate. "He said he sent me something," she answered quietly.

Sadie gave a little shrug, unimpressed. "That marriage of yours feels more like a cage. Who knows if he'll ever come back? You're just wasting the best years of your life on a man who's barely here."

Kaitlin shook her head. "I don't see it that way."

She wasn't the most social person, and she never expected much from marriage to begin with.

After seeing her mother suffer under the betrayal by a loved one, driven into a breakdown and eventually to suicide, she carried a wound so deep it left a lasting scar on her mind.

Noticing the sorrow in her expression, Nicolas swiftly lifted his glass in an attempt to brighten the mood. "Come on now, no more gloomy talk on such a cheerful day. Let's raise a toast to Kaitlin and wish her all the success that lies ahead!"

The toast drew Kaitlin's focus, and she clinked glasses with her friends, letting herself smile for a moment. None of them noticed her phone on the table, its screen lighting up again and again before fading into darkness.