Chapter 4

He walked over and took my purse from me, as natural as ever.

Then he glanced at the roses.

"You got the flowers?"

"Do you like them?"

The man I'd loved for years suddenly looked like a total stranger.

How had he pulled it off?

How had he played the devoted boyfriend to three different women without ever slipping up?

"They're beautiful," I said.

Jack visibly relaxed.

He reached for me.

I calmly stepped aside and set the flowers on the dining table.

"So what made you decide to send me flowers all of a sudden?"

He smiled and went into the kitchen to pour me a glass of water.

"After all these years, I can't keep letting you tell people I don't know how to be romantic."

He handed me the glass. The water was cool, just the way I liked it.

If I hadn't seen everything with my own eyes that day, I probably would've fallen for that little display of tenderness all over again.

Jack sat down across from me, looking worn out.

"By the way, I have to head to Boston tomorrow for a few days."

"Urgent project."

He'd always claimed he was traveling for work.

Sometimes he'd be gone a week.

Sometimes two.

I'd never questioned him.

Now I realized those so-called business trips had been his excuse to visit another woman.

"How long?" I asked.

"Not sure. A week, maybe two."

He tapped something on his phone.

A bank notification popped up on mine almost immediately.

Your authorized-user card limit has been increased for this week.

Jack smiled at me.

"I bumped it up a little this month."

"Buy yourself a nice dress. You never spend anything on yourself."

I looked at the number.

Two hundred dollars.

One of Amy's handbags cost five thousand.

Emma's engagement ring had to be worth at least twenty grand.

And I was the wife who was supposed to feel grateful for an extra two hundred bucks.

I set my phone facedown on the table and looked at him.

"Jack."

"I want a divorce."

His expression froze.

A few seconds passed before he stared at me like he hadn't heard me right.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I want a divorce."

Jack immediately stood up and came over.

He crouched down in front of me, gripping both my shoulders.

"Claire, is this because I've been too busy lately?"

"Have I been neglecting you?"

"I know I'm always working, I know I'm always out with clients, but I'm doing all of it for us."

His eyes filled as he looked up at me.

"You know how hard I worked to get where I am."

"Everyone sees what I have now, but nobody remembers you were the one standing beside me when I was building that company out of a basement."

I watched the performance without saying a word.

Then I asked softly, "Jack, do you really not know why I want a divorce?"

His mouth opened.

Before he could get anything out, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID.

Something flickered across his face.

"Claire, it's an emergency from work. I have to take this."

He stood and hurried out onto the balcony with his phone.

Through the glass door, I watched him lower his voice.

His face was tight with anxiety.

Seconds later, he came back in, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.

"Something came up with the project. I need to handle it right now."

"And don't bring up divorce again."

"We'll talk about this when I get back."

The door slammed behind him.

The apartment fell silent at last.

I stared at the red roses on the table.

Then I laughed.

Because I'd heard the voice on the other end of that call.

It was Emma.

She was crying.

She said she was having severe stomach pains.