Chapter 1
On Christmas Eve, my husband Donovan went out to celebrate with his friends. He left me alone at home, seven months pregnant, with a pile of unwrapped gifts.
Later that evening, a text from his number lit up my phone with the address of a nightclub.
[Honey, I have a Christmas surprise. Come here.]
Feeling a flutter of foolish hope, I put on my coat and hurried to the club, my swollen stomach making every step a little harder.
Inside the private booth, the air was thick with smoke and blaring Christmas music. The scene waiting for me felt like a sudden blow to the chest.
Chloe, his new secretary, was straddling his lap. Her eyes were glassy from drinking, and her posture was a mix of innocent and suggestive. Donovan's hand gripped her waist so tightly his knuckles were white.
She was wearing my custom red silk wedding gown. It was hiked up to her hips, with one shoulder pulled bare. Seeing her in it made my stomach turn. They kissed and touched each other without any shame, while his friends watched without saying a word.
In an instant, I realized Chloe had sent that fake text to lure me here.
Blake threw his head back and laughed, crude and mocking. "That dress is incredible! No wonder you ditched your wife for her."
Donovan just pulled Chloe tighter against him, looking cold and arrogant. "A wife is for respect, but a mistress is for pleasure," he said. "Elena is too stiff—and she's gotten fat and sloppy lately. Chloe is the fun one."
He pulled a diamond necklace from his pocket and slipped it down the front of her dress. She let out a shrill, triumphant giggle.
When one of his friends joked about divorce, Donovan gave a sharp, cruel laugh. "So what? She loves me. She's carrying my baby, and she has nowhere else to go."
Sick to my stomach, I pushed the door to the booth wide open.
The room fell completely silent.
Panic flashed across Donovan's face. He grabbed a coat and draped it over Chloe, as if modesty mattered now.
I stared him down, my fists clenched so hard my nails dug into my palms. "Why hide it?" I asked. "She was all over you in front of everyone."
"She's just a shy girl," he snapped, immediately defensive.
Looking entirely too pleased with herself, Chloe leaned into his chest and purred. "We're just celebrating! Out with the old, in with the new."
His friends offered weak, nervous smiles and stumbled over their excuses.
But I said nothing. I only stared at the man who had once promised me forever.
That night, I learned the man I loved had already chosen someone else, right on the eve of our child's first Christmas.