My husband said he was working late. I came home to change, only to find him “working late” in our marriage bed—with my best friend under him.

When I got Jaylon Knight’s text, I was already downstairs from our apartment.

He wrote, “Ramona, you’ve been working so hard lately. Once Mom feels better, you can move back home.”

Mrs. Rixon hadn’t been well, so Jaylon had asked me to stay at her apartment for a while and take care of her. I could only come home once a week.

That afternoon, her stomach had acted up. She threw up all over me, then complained that I looked awful and wasn’t good enough for Jaylon, whose career was finally taking off.

I didn’t argue. I just wanted to go home and change.

The moment I stepped inside, I nearly tripped over a pair of shoes in the entryway.

Next to Jaylon’s black dress shoes sat a pair of red heels.

I hadn’t worn heels in years.

Those shoes were definitely not mine.

“Ah…”

A woman’s soft, breathy moan came from the bedroom.

My heart dropped. I moved quietly toward the door.

Then I heard a man’s voice.

I had meant to push the door open, but my fingers froze against the wood. My mind went completely blank.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Jaylon on top of another woman.

His body blocked most of her, but I could see her curls spread across the pillow and spilling over the edge of the bed.

Her voice was becoming more and more familiar.

Back in college, only one person used to drag out my name like that.

Rosie.

“Then tell me,” the woman said, wrapping her arms around Jaylon’s neck. “Do you love me, or do you love Rosie?”

My breath stopped.

Corinna Irwin—my best friend.

She suddenly lifted her eyes toward the door.

Our gazes met through the narrow gap.

She didn’t hide. She didn’t push Jaylon away.

She only curved her red lips into a slow smile.

It wasn’t panic.

It was a challenge.

Jaylon didn’t notice a thing. He lowered his head and kissed her. “Of course I love you. You know exactly how to keep me hooked.”

I stood outside the door, and the empty space inside my head exploded.

I kicked the bedroom door open.

Jaylon jerked around. When he saw me, shock filled his face. “Honey?”

This man had just been tangled up with another woman, and somehow, he still had the nerve to call me honey.

“Seen enough, Rosie?” Corinna looked up at me, not a trace of guilt in her voice. “Or do you want to watch a little longer?”

“How are you planning to explain this?”

Corinna leaned into Jaylon and wrapped her arm around his waist. “Honey, explain it to her. If you don’t do a good job, I might just leave.”

“What is there to explain?” Jaylon said. “You saw everything, didn’t you?”

“So you want a divorce?”

Corinna lightly pinched him.

Jaylon’s expression hardened. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Look at you. We’ve only been married three years, and you’ve already stopped taking care of yourself. What is that smell on you? It’s disgusting.”

That disgusting smell was Mrs. Rixon’s vomit. She didn’t keep any spare clothes at her place, which was why I had rushed home in filthy clothes.

Before I could speak, Jaylon went on.

“My mom was right. I’m moving up in life, and all you do is embarrass me.” He gave a cold laugh. “You’re tired, dull, and even in bed, you act like you’re finishing a chore. Compared to Corinna, you’re not even a real woman.”

Every word stabbed straight into my chest.

Jaylon, Corinna, and I had all been classmates in college.

Back then, everyone said Jaylon didn’t deserve me, including Corinna. But I believed quiet love could last.

Because Jaylon brought me breakfast every day. Because he made me honey water when I had cramps. Because he waited outside my dorm in the rain.

Thinking about it now, it all felt like a joke.

“Fine,” I said. “Tomorrow morning at nine, City Hall. We’ll sign the final papers.”

Then I forced back my tears and turned to leave.

In the elevator, I stared at myself in the mirrored wall.

My dress was dirty. My hair was a mess. My eyes were painfully red.

Jaylon’s text from half an hour ago was still glowing on my phone screen.

I’m stuck at work. Love you.

I looked at it for two seconds, then deleted it.

After leaving the apartment, I went to the nearest mall. I bought a new outfit and threw the old one straight into the trash.

In that moment, I suddenly didn’t want to wait for anyone to keep their promises anymore.

Clothes or marriage—it didn’t matter.

I could change both myself.

After dinner, I called several real estate agents and made appointments to see apartments the next day.

My overnight bag was still at Mrs. Rixon’s place. My ID, charger, and other things were inside.

At nine that night, I went back to her apartment.

The hallway was hot and stuffy. I had just taken out my key when I heard Mrs. Rixon’s voice from inside.

“Jaylon, have you lost your mind?”

She was on the phone. My hand stopped on the lock.

“Do you think you can find another woman like Ramona?”

God. Was she actually speaking up for me?

The next second, Mrs. Rixon’s voice came again.

“Do you know how hard it is to find a woman who will take care of me, run your home, and put her own salary into the mortgage?”

“You think she isn’t classy enough? But she’s obedient. She’s easy. She doesn’t make trouble. And she’s easy to coax.”

“Buy her some flowers tomorrow. Say a few sweet things. She’ll come back.”

My hand went stiff on the doorknob.

So she wasn’t speaking up for me.

Easy to coax.

I thought of last year, when Jaylon had flirted with an intern at his company. He came home with a bouquet of roses and said he had only been confused for a moment.

That time, I believed him.

This time, I wouldn’t.

I pushed the door open.

Mrs. Rixon spun around. Her face changed at once, and she quickly hung up.

“Ramona? What are you doing standing at the door?”

“Getting my things.”

I walked straight into the guest room and picked up my overnight bag.

Mrs. Rixon followed me to the doorway, lowering her voice. “You heard all that?”

“Enough.”

“Since you heard it, I’ll be honest. Jaylon already told me what happened tonight. Marriage takes patience. Men make mistakes. You can’t ruin your life over one mistake.”

“One mistake?” I looked at her. “He was in my bed with Corinna.”

“Don’t make it sound so ugly. If you leave Jaylon, what will you have left? You don’t have a real career, much savings, or a powerful family. Do you really think starting over is that easy?”

I tightened my grip on the strap of my bag.

Three years ago, I gave up an offer on Wall Street because I thought marriage was worth slowing down for.

Not so they could use it to humiliate me.

“I took care of you because I saw you as family,” I said. “Not because I owed the Knight family anything.”

I turned and walked toward the door.

“You’ll regret leaving Jaylon,” she called after me.

“I won’t.”

I opened the door and didn’t look back.

Tomorrow morning at nine, I would end this marriage with my own hands.