Chapter 5

I made a sharp U-turn, heading away from home and pointing the car toward Wendy's design studio instead.

She loved interior architecture. After graduating college, she had co-founded a boutique firm with a classmate.

Word was that the business had been booming lately, taking over two full floors of a prime downtown office tower.

I used the keycard she had given me years ago, stepping out of the elevator smoothly onto the seventeenth floor.

I had visited a few times in the past and still vaguely remembered where her private office was.

As I approached the hallway, I noticed her frosted glass door was cracked open. Faint, hushed voices drifted out.

It was her... and a man.

Who was that?

Just as my hand touched the door handle to push it open, I heard Wendy's voice, tinged with a coquettish, teasing sulk:

"Why did you come back looking for me? Didn't you love ghosting people? Didn't you swear you'd never move back to the States, that you never wanted to see me again?"

A man’s voice let out a low, raspy sigh. "I'm sorry. But I realized... I couldn't stop thinking about you. I needed to see you."

"And what about you? Didn't you say you got married? Why did you still agree to meet up with me today? Did he treat you badly?"

The man’s words were laced with anxiety and tender concern, making Wendy giggle playfully.

My fists clenched tight. I took a step back, forcing myself to stay calm, determined to catch this adulterer red-handed without humiliating myself completely.

"I knew it. As long as I stayed put, you'd always come back to me."

Wendy looped her arms around his neck, her gaze lingering, her tone dripping with intimacy.

"Jealous? Relax, what is he even worth? He could never mistreat me. You're the only one who gets to push me around."

The man hooked an arm around her waist, effortlessly lifting her onto the executive desk, scattering stacks of blueprints across the floor before leaning over her.

"Is he better, or am I? Honestly... why did you even marry him in the first place?"

Wendy chuckled softly, planting a featherlight kiss on his lips, her words muffled against his skin:

"You, obviously. What is he compared to you? Just a little toy to kill time with."

"And you have the nerve to ask? If you hadn't ghosted me and fled the country without a word, I never would have come up with that petty scheme just to piss you off."

"You little brat..."

The man let out a deep groan. Before Wendy could say another word, his lips crashed onto hers, swallowing the rest of her breath whole.

Through the ajar door, watching their dark silhouettes tangling together against the blinds, I stood frozen as they pressed closer and their clothes fell into disarray.

We were all adults. I knew damn well what was happening under those unbuttoned shirts.

My knuckles turned stark white. Standing on the other side of a single thin wall, peeking through the crack, watching my lawful wife fooling around with another man... the final pieces of my heart shattered into dust.

"Julian!"

Wendy gasped out, a mix of breathy pleasure and teasing annoyance. That one name tore the veil entirely off the ugly truth.

So... it really was him.

Julian Vance.

He was actually back.

No wonder. It all made sense now...

A toy to kill time with?

Why the hell did I deserve to be treated like an amusing little pastime?!

Why did his return mean I was suddenly reduced to absolute garbage?!

Unable to stomach the fury tearing through my veins for another second, I raised my boot and kicked the office door off its latch!