Chapter 3

On the screen, the moment Mandy and Samuel were sure I was completely passed out, they dropped the act.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"Mandy, you've been spending all your time with that loser these past few days," he muttered. "Did you forget about me already?"

She looped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"We just got married. If I didn't play along for a couple of days, he'd get suspicious. Don't worry, you're the only one I love," she coaxed. "If you could have kids, I never would've married him just to get my parents off my back. Once I have a baby, I'll divorce him, and we can be together out in the open."

He scoffed. "Who knows if you really mean that?"

A suggestive smile spread across her face. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it. Since the wedding, I've only let Liam touch me once."

He swept her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

"I even bought the bed you liked best," she purred. "Come try it out with me."

Before long, their clothes were scattered across the floor. The two of them tangled together on the bed, filling the recording with breathless, sickening moans.

Numb, I turned off my phone.

I had asked her once before—since she and Samuel were always joined at the hip, why hadn't they just gotten together? Why make me her boyfriend?

Every time the three of us went out on a date, I felt like the actual third wheel.

Back then, she'd held me close, her voice full of gentle reproach. "Sam and I grew up together. I've only ever seen him as a little brother. Stop imagining things. You're the only one I love."

And I'd believed her sweet talk. I thought he was just a brother to her, that she loved me, and that she truly wanted to marry me.

I thought that, at the very least, there was still a small place for me in her heart.

Now, I finally knew she'd been lying to me from the very beginning.

To her, I was nothing but a tool to give her a child. Once she was done using me, she'd kick me to the curb.

My eyes burned as I called Frank.

"Frank, I got the video. Mandy's been committing marriage fraud this entire time…"

Frank lost it the second I finished telling him what was on it. "That cheating snake! She's going to get exactly what's coming to her!"

He took a breath, switching into lawyer mode. "Now that we have concrete proof of the affair, I'll draft the divorce papers immediately and help you fight her in court."

"No," I said, my voice dropping. "Wait a little longer."

Frank sounded confused. "Wait for what?"

"I want Mandy to feel what it's like to crash from pure joy straight into devastation," I said firmly.

I hung up and wiped the lingering tears from the corners of my eyes.

Something inside me went cold. "Mandy, you were the one who played with my feelings first. Don't blame me for what happens next."

…

For the next few days, I acted as if nothing were wrong, playing the doting husband as best I could. Then I handed her a rigged pregnancy test and asked her to take it.

When the test showed two lines, she was ecstatic. She reached for her phone right away to call her parents back home and share the good news.

I smiled and caught her arm.

"Mandy, your parents haven't visited us since the wedding. Why don't we invite them down for a few days and tell them in person?"

She praised me for being so thoughtful and called them that very night.

The next day, Mandy's parents, Oscar Sanchez and Daisy Foster, arrived by train. To welcome them, Mandy booked a table at a hotel restaurant.

At noon, when I arrived at the hotel with everything I'd prepared, I found Samuel already there, standing right next to Mandy.

Mandy noticed my eyes lingering on him and quickly explained, "My parents haven't seen Sam in a long time either, so I invited him along."

The corner of my mouth twitched into a smirk. "Of course. He absolutely needs to be here for this."

After all, he was one of the stars of the show I had planned for them.

Once everyone was seated, Mandy raised her glass, radiating joy. "Mom, Dad, besides having you here for a visit, we actually have some incredible news to share. It's—"

Before she could finish, I pulled out the divorce papers and slammed them onto the table.