Chapter 1On my way back to work, I suddenly realized I'd left my phone at my in-laws' place.
Shit! I took the next exit and turned back.
But when the door opened,
Some WOMAN I'd NEVER SEEN stood there with a screaming BABY on her hip.
I froze.
Turned out my husband had been using MY money to bankroll a whole SECOND family!
I looked at my guilty-faced in-laws.
At this smug woman standing in the doorway.
They thought I was still that desperate girl who'd sacrifice everything for love?
The one who'd beg and cry and take whatever scraps they threw at me?
WRONG!
I'd spent five years working construction in the middle of nowhere.
Dealt with every kind of lowlife scumbag imaginable.
You wanna play dirty?
I'll play DIRTIER.
...
I was twenty minutes down the highway when I realized my phone wasn't in my bag.
Left it at my in-laws'. Damn it.
I took the next exit and headed back.
When the door opened, some woman I'd NEVER seen was standing there with a screaming baby on her hip.
I stared. She looked me up and down. "Yeah?"
"Hey, sorry—I left my phone here earlier. Just need to grab it."
She let out this short laugh.
Then she leaned into the doorframe, blocking my way in.
"Think you've got the wrong house, sweetheart."
"This is my husband's and my place. Your phone definitely isn't here."
Her husband's and her place?
I looked past her into the living room.
That's when I saw the massive WEDDING photo on the wall.
MY husband.
And he had his arm around this woman.
I looked around the background, the furniture—
Everything matched my in-laws' house exactly.
The woman caught me staring at the photo and her face shifted. The attitude dropped.
"Oh wait—you here to see my husband? For work or something?"
She stepped back and waved me in.
"He's got surgery this afternoon, won't be back for a while. You can wait inside if you want."
I followed her inside like I was on autopilot.
My brain just... flatlined. Pure static.
"Shoes are fine. We're not precious about that stuff."
She shifted the baby on her hip and nodded toward the couch.
"There's water in the fridge if you need it. Gotta get this one down for a nap. Dr. Thornton's schedule is insane—people are always showing up here trying to pull strings. You're definitely not the first."
She assumed I was some patient's desperate relative looking for a favor.
I stood frozen in the middle of the living room. My fingers were numb.
I bought this fucking apartment.
Five years ago, Daniel and I got married at the courthouse.
I sold my place so he could live closer to the hospital, then emptied my savings for the down payment on this two-bedroom.
Right after closing, my company offered me a field assignment out west.
Double my salary.
Year-end bonuses that could've paid off a car.
The catch? Five years in the middle of nowhere.
Daniel grabbed both my hands.
"Babe, take it. This is for our future. I'll be fine."
"Don't worry about fixing this place up. My parents will handle it. When you come back, you'll walk straight into our dream home."
And like an IDIOT, I believed him.
For five years I worked myself into the ground in that godforsaken desert.
Every month I kept barely enough to live on and transferred the rest—twenty-two grand, sometimes more—straight to Daniel.
I told him: Use good materials. The non-toxic stuff. Don't cut corners.
He said okay.
I told him: Get the smart appliances. We'll need them when we start a family.
He said okay.
Now I'm back.
The place looks incredible.
Except the woman living here is NOT ME.
In that enormous wedding photo on the wall,
Daniel's beaming like he just won something. Laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes.
The woman tucked under his arm looks fresh out of college.
Clear skin, bright eyes. Maybe twenty-three at most.
"Hello? Earth to mysterious visitor?"
She walked over with a glass of ice water. The baby had finally zonked out.
"Dr. Thornton comes off all serious and intimidating, but he's actually a total marshmallow."
Her tone dripped with wifely smugness.
"You're here about getting someone a bed at the hospital, aren't you? Honestly, all I have to do is mention it tonight and he'll make it happen."
I stared at her face. Bile rose in my throat.
"How long have you guys been married?"
My voice came out like sandpaper.
She paused, then this bashful smile spread across her face.
"Coming up on two years. And this little guy just hit six months."
Two years.
I was pulling seventy-hour weeks back then, three consecutive all-nighters trying to meet an impossible deadline.
My fever hit 103. I called Daniel just to hear another human voice.
He said he was in rounds and hung up after twenty seconds.
Turns out he was busy starting a whole NEW FAMILY.
My grip on my purse strap tightened until the leather bit into my palm.
"You've done a really nice job with the place." I forced myself to look around.
She practically glowed.
"Oh my god, right? Daniel designed literally everything himself. Spent months hunting down the perfect pieces."
She stroked the baby's head.
"He kept saying he wanted everything to be perfect for me. That I deserved the best."
Designed everything himself? Months hunting?
That Italian marble coffee table—I SENT him the product link.
The Swarovski chandelier—I PICKED it out online.
This buttery-soft Italian leather sectional—I TRANSFERRED the money for it.
My paychecks funded their perfect little love story.
Jesus Christ, I'm such a fucking moron.
Chapter 2
I ran my fingers along the armrest. "This couch must've set you back a bit."
She grinned.
"Thirty-two hundred. Daniel said I earned it after all those sleepless nights with the baby."
Thirty-two hundred bucks.
Six months of hazard pay in that godforsaken desert.
I scanned the room.
"Could I peek at the bedroom? Heard the renovations turned out great. Thinking about redoing my place."
"Sure thing." She waved me toward the hallway.
The master bedroom had that king-size bed I'd bookmarked a million times but never bought.
Their wedding photo sat on one nightstand.
A professional baby portrait on the other.
The closet door hung open—his dress shirts lined up next to her floral dresses.
And on the vanity? A complete La Mer collection.
Last month Daniel hit me up saying his mom's birthday was coming. Needed five grand for a gift.
Guess "mom" is a hell of a lot younger than I thought.
I pointed at the skincare. "That stuff's expensive."
"Daniel bought it all." She beamed. "Says I need to take care of myself. Can't let myself turn into some frumpy housewife."
Frumpy housewife.
I touched my own cheek. Every line carved by wind and sun and sand.
I'd worked myself into the ground for this family while he bankrolled someone else's glow-up.
She grabbed a serum bottle and reached for my hand.
"Try this—it's amazing for damage repair."
I pulled back.
These hands had stacked cinder blocks and hauled equipment in 110-degree heat.
They didn't deserve luxury skincare.
But she snatched my wrist anyway, then frowned.
"Jesus, your hands are so rough. You really need to take better care of yourself. Daniel hates seeing women struggle."
She held up her own hand—porcelain fingers, massive diamond sparkling.
"From his proposal. He said every dollar he makes is so me and the baby can have the best."
"Last week I mentioned wanting lobster rolls from this place downtown. He'd just finished a twelve-hour surgery at midnight and drove an hour there and back to get them."
"Got home at 2 AM. Food was cold, but god, my heart was SO full."
Mine turned to ice.
One winter I got brutal food poisoning on-site. Could barely stand, voice completely shot.
I called Daniel. "Babe... I feel like I'm dying."
He cut me off. "I'm in a meeting. You're an adult—go to urgent care. Stop being dramatic."
Then he hung up.
"Sounds like he really takes care of you," I said flatly.
She drifted over to the crib, practically glowing.
"He does. And after I gave birth? Even MORE. Says childbirth is risking your life, that he'll spend the rest of his making it up to me."
"He keeps me stocked with prenatal vitamins, protein shakes, the works. Said his mom's health tanked after she had him, and he's not letting that happen to me."
I'd lived on ramen and PB&J for two months to help with the mortgage.
Ended up with gastritis so bad I was writhing on the floor.
When I called him?
His mom's back was bothering her.
He had to take her to the doctor. Told me to suck it up.
Oh, he KNOWS how to take care of people.
Just not me.
"You're so young," I said. "What made you want a baby already?"
She blushed.
"Daniel was the one pushing for it. Said he's not getting younger, loves kids, that a real family needs children."
"He's working his ass off so our son can go to the best schools."
I almost laughed.
First year of marriage, I brought up having kids.
He said his career was just starting. Bad timing. We couldn't afford it.
Turns out he just didn't want them with ME.
And my paychecks funded their perfect fucking family.
They'd bled me dry.
Before I could say anything else, I heard voices at the door.
"Is my precious boy awake?"
Linda.
"Quiet—don't wake him."
Rick.
I turned.
My in-laws walked in weighed down with grocery bags—
then FROZE when they saw me standing in the bedroom doorway.
The color drained from both their faces.
"J-Jenna?"
Linda dropped the carton of strawberries.
It hit the floor with a wet SMACK.
Red juice splattered everywhere.
Chapter 3
The woman looked between my in-laws and me, totally confused.
"Mom, Dad—do you know her?"
Mom. Dad. She said it so damn easily.
Like it was nothing.
I'd called them that for FIVE YEARS.
Every visit, they either bitched about how much I spent on gifts or complained my cooking was too salty.
Never once did they show up with bags of groceries for ME.
Linda snapped into action. She rushed over and blocked the space between me and the other woman.
"Yes! Yes, we know her."
Linda's smile looked like it hurt.
"She's Daniel's distant cousin. Just passing through town, decided to drop by."
Distant cousin?
I nearly burst out laughing.
I locked eyes with Linda. Sweat was beading on her forehead. She couldn't look at me.
Rick scrambled to help, crouching down to grab the strawberries off the floor.
"That's right, yeah. Just family. Distant family."
"Listen, Jenna, weren't you on a tight schedule? You should probably hit the road. Don't want to keep you."
He was trying to shove me out the door.
Terrified I'd blow up their perfect little lie.
I didn't budge. Instead, I planted myself on that thirty-two-hundred-dollar couch.
"Actually, I've got time. And since we're FAMILY, we should definitely catch up."
I crossed my legs and stared them down.
"Came all this way and you're not even gonna offer me dinner?"
Mia glanced around at all of us, clearly lost.
"If she's family, she should totally stay for dinner."
She was all warm hospitality, gesturing for Rick and Linda to sit.
"Mom, can you wash the berries? Dad, can you take the baby? I'll get started on dinner."
Linda stood frozen. Completely stiff.
She looked at me, all that earlier fire gone, replaced with something desperate.
"Jenna, sweetie, the place is kind of a disaster right now. We're really not prepared for guests."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not picky."
I cut her off and snatched my phone from the coffee table.
The one I'd supposedly forgotten.
I stuffed it in my pocket.
"Plus, I'd really love to see my COUSIN Daniel."
I hammered that word HARD.
Rick and Linda's faces drained of color.
Mia didn't pick up on it. She actually looked pleased.
"You're Daniel's cousin! That's so weird—he's literally never mentioned you."
"He's busy. Important people forget stuff."
I kept it casual, just waiting for the bomb to drop.
The baby in Rick's arms was fat and happy.
Those features—a carbon copy of Daniel.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
Mia kept chatting while she chopped vegetables.
"So what do you do, Jenna?"
"Construction management. Out in the desert."
"Oh god, that sounds rough. I mean, your skin—"
She stopped herself.
"Anyway, Daniel always tells me I should just stay home with the baby. That he'll take care of everything financial."
My jaw clenched so hard it ached.
I take care of everything financial.
You take care of spending MY money.
Real cute division of labor.
I'd become their personal ATM while they lived it up.
Rick and Linda kept shifting on the couch like they were sitting on hot coals.
Linda tried pulling me aside multiple times. I dodged her every single time.
I pulled out my phone and hit RECORD.
From the kitchen, Mia called out:
"Mom, what time did Daniel say he'd be back?"
"S-soon, I think." Linda's voice was shaking.
She poured me a glass of water, then leaned in close and hissed.
"Jenna Clark, what the HELL do you think you're doing?"
"I'm warning you right now—don't start shit here, or you WILL regret it."
I looked at her dead-on and smiled.
"Mom, I'm just visiting my own home. How's that starting shit?"
"YOUR HOME? This place has NOTHING to do with you!"
Linda's voice shot up. She'd lost it.
Mia stuck her head out. "Mom? Everything okay out there?"
"Fine! Everything's FINE."
Linda instantly switched back to her fake-sweet voice.
"Just family talk. Nothing important."
5:30 PM.
The lock clicked.
Everyone froze.
Rick and Linda jumped to their feet.
Mia wiped her hands on a towel and rushed out, her whole face lit up.
"Honey! You're home!"
The door swung open.
Daniel stood there in his expensive suit, holding a bakery box.
He kicked off his dress shoes without looking up.
"Hey babe, I'm back! Got you that chocolate mousse you've been craving."
Then he raised his head.
And saw ME sitting on the couch.
His voice died mid-sentence.
The bakery box slipped right out of his hands.
SMACK.
Chocolate mousse exploded across the hardwood.
