Chapter 1

On our fifth anniversary, my husband Nathan Hayes finally takes me to a concert, then hands me a staff badge.

"The VIP seats need extra help tonight," he says. "I need you to help out for now, and we'll celebrate our anniversary after the show."

For a second, I think he must be joking.

Nathan is always good at surprising me, so I believe he has made some big surprise awaiting me at the concert.

The lights go down, and the crowd starts screaming.

I stand near the front section with the other staff while I hold a basket of wrapped candy favors.

Then the three women in the first row stand up at the same time.

They take off their coats, and my fingers turn cold around the basket.

Claire Whitman is Nathan's childhood friend, Sophie Lane is his first love, and Vivian Reed is his assistant.

All three of them are wearing wedding dresses.

The big screen cuts to Nathan as he drops to one knee.

The whole stadium erupts with cheers, screams, and camera flashes.

I stand frozen in the aisle while Nathan takes out three rings.

He slides the rings onto their fingers one by one.

Claire covers her mouth and cries for the cameras.

Sophie smiles like she has waited for this moment her whole life.

Vivian lifts her hand toward the big screen and shows off the diamond.

The candy favors spill across the aisle at my feet.

The manager's voice snaps through my earpiece.

"Nora, clean the aisle now."

I do not move at first.

"Nora, guests are coming through, so pick up the candy."

I crouch down in the aisle and start picking up the candy favors one by one.

My husband smiles on the big screen while he puts rings on three other women.

I kneel at their feet, and Nathan does not look at me once.

By the time the concert ends, my knees hurt and my hands smell like cheap sugar.

The crowd leaves in waves, and the staff begin clearing the floor.

That is when I see a phone under Vivian's seat.

The screen is still on, and a private group chat is open.

The chat has four people in it: Claire, Sophie, Vivian, and Nathan.

My hand stops above the phone.

Claire's latest message sits at the bottom of the screen.

[I bet the actual wife sees the proposal and still won't make a scene, because she'll just pick up the candy like a good girl.]

Vivian replies with a laughing emoji.

[Actual wife? She is just the placeholder who takes care of Nathan and keeps his family off our backs.]

Sophie sends another message.

[What happens if she asks for a divorce?]

Nathan's reply appears right under it.

[Don't give her that much credit.]

[She worked too hard to become Mrs. Hayes, so the title should be enough for her.]

For a moment, every sound in the arena fades behind the blood rushing in my ears.

I keep scrolling through the chat.

The group album shows exactly where Nathan went on every anniversary he missed.

On our first anniversary, he told me he had a late meeting, but he was having dinner with Claire.

On our second anniversary, he said he had a business trip, but he was on a beach with Sophie.

On our third anniversary, he said his mother was sick, but he was drunk in a hotel suite with Vivian.

On our fourth anniversary, he did not even bother with a real excuse, because he sent flowers through an assistant and spent the night with all three of them.

Even the day we got married is in the chat.

That day, I stood outside city hall in a white dress and held our marriage certificate like it was a promise.

That same day, they were placing bets on how long it would take me to find out about them.

Claire guessed one year.

Vivian guessed three years.

Sophie said I already knew but would pretend I did not.

Nathan picked forever.

[For the title of Mrs. Hayes, she can see everything with her own eyes and still put up with it for the rest of her life.]

I stare at that message until the words blur.

For five years, I think I am his wife.

To them, I am a joke, a long-running bet, and a woman desperate enough for a last name to clean up their celebration.

I take screenshots of everything.

Then I record the entire chat from the beginning.

My hands shake, but my mind is clear.

I send everything to my lawyer, Ethan Carter.

[Draft the divorce papers.]

Then I book the earliest flight out.

Nathan thinks being Mrs. Hayes is the lock that keeps me trapped.

He forgets that the lock only works while I still love him.

Now that I do not love him, the title means nothing.