Chapter 2 - The Question He Wouldn't Answer
"What does that mean?"
Marcus stared at Serena. "Don't."
She gave a short, bitter laugh. "You were going to tell her eventually, right?"
"Tell me what?" I asked.
Marcus stepped between us. "Danielle, she came up here upset. She'd been drinking. She kissed me. I made a mistake for about ten seconds, and I will spend the rest of my life apologizing for it."
Serena's eyes sharpened. "Ten seconds?"
"Stop talking."
"Why? Because your wife might learn the timeline?"
My chest tightened.
"Timeline?"
Marcus turned to me. "There is no timeline."
Serena reached for her clutch.
Marcus moved first and caught her wrist.
I had never seen him touch a woman like that. Not violently, but urgently enough to reveal fear.
"Let her go," I said.
He did.
Serena pulled out her phone, tapped the screen, and held it toward me.
A photograph filled the display.
Marcus and Serena at a restaurant patio.
His hand on her knee.
The date in the corner was six weeks ago.
Six weeks ago, I had been at home addressing wedding invitations with his mother.
"There are more," Serena said.
Marcus swore under his breath.
I felt something inside me become strangely quiet.
People think betrayal arrives as screaming.
Sometimes it arrives as math.
Six weeks.
Three months.
Last Christmas.
Every date suddenly became a crime scene.
"How long?" I asked.
Serena looked at Marcus.
Marcus looked at me.
"It ended before the wedding."
I almost laughed.
"You were kissing her thirty seconds ago."
"I mean the affair."
The word landed between us.
Affair.
He had said it himself.
I put my ring in my purse.
"How long?"
"Danielle—"
"How long?"
"Eight months."
My stomach turned.
Serena shook her head. "Eleven."
Marcus spun toward her. "You said you wanted to help me fix this."
"No. You said if I stayed quiet until midnight, everything would be fixed."
I stopped breathing.
"Midnight?"
Neither answered.
I checked the clock on the wall.
11:17 p.m.
Forty-three minutes.
"What happens at midnight?"
Marcus's face told me he was already too late.
Then my phone buzzed.
A bank alert appeared across the screen.
May you like
TRANSFER COMPLETE: $480,000.
From an account bearing my name.
