Semua Bab The Affair Revenge My Bestfriend's Husband Offered Me: Bab 1 - Bab 10

My fifth wedding anniversary was the day I learned my husband had never stopped loving her. But I should have known much earlier. The first time I heard him whisper her name, I was standing in the kitchen with a glass of water, that was on the first month of our marriage. He was in our bedroom, packing for our honeymoon when I could hear the tremor in his voice. The soft, desperate way he said "Jovi" that made my stomach drop because I'd heard that exact tone before. When we were seventeen. When she was still his. I stood there for a long time, telling myself I'd misheard. Telling myself I was paranoid. I kept telling myself since then that now we were married he would slowly move on and only look at me. I never heard he mentioned her name in front of me since then. I convinced my self he was healing. He didn't. When he thought he was alone or I wasn't looking at him, I would still noticed his sadness. The sadness of a man who lose his whole universe and still standing straight pret

"Jovienne."Just her name. It hung there like a verdict.He took one step forward. "There you are."Jovi shrank. The confident, radiant woman I'd known since childhood seemed to disappear into herself. She looked from Vance's impassive face to mine, her eyes wide with a panic I'd never seen. This wasn't a drama she could control. She was looking at two facts she couldn't spin: her husband and her best friend, the wife of her lover emerging from a hotel room together at dawn."Vance," she whispered. Her voice broke.Zane found his voice first. A raw, protective anger tore out of him. He stepped slightly in front of Jovi-a protective gesture of a devoted lover shield her from danger, or anything that could hurt her. It hit me right into my chest.That had always been his position. Her shield, her protector.I'd always been the one standing beside him. Not behind him."What the hell is this, Nerissa?" His gaze burned into me, ignoring Vance entirely.Vance answered. Quiet. Calm. Deadly."

All talking stopped when I walked in. Everyone looked at me-a woman in yesterday's wrinkled clothes with smudged makeup, walking into their space. I could see them writing me off before I even spoke. It shook my resolve. I should have tidied up my makeup even a little before confidently entering the room. Vance sent me a disapproving look regarding my appearance. His cold assessing eyes pinned me to the floor but then he looked away. "Gentlemen," Vance said, his voice cutting the silence. "This is Nerissa Sullivan, my lead data strategist. She runs our European analytics. She will explain what the Zenith proposal is missing." He didn't call me a data analyst. He made up a better title on the spot, giving me authority I didn't officially have. It was support. And a challenge. Harrington's bushy eyebrows went up. "We're short on time, Blackwood. We've seen the cost projections. They're too high." I didn't wait for Vance. I walked to the front, plugged in my laptop, and showed my fir

The Lexington Club was everything I expected, quiet, expensive, and full of people who made a hobby of noticing things. I saw Vance the moment I walked in. He was standing near the maître d' station, checking his phone. He looked up as I approached. And he stopped. For one second... one single, unguarded moment—his professional mask completely fell away. His eyes widened just slightly. They traveled from the sharp line of my black dress to my face, which I'd done differently tonight. Bolder makeup, my hair down and smooth. His lips parted as if he'd been about to say something, but no words came. He looked... struck. It lasted only a heartbeat. Then his expression smoothed over, the mask sliding perfectly back into place. But in that brief crack, I saw it: he hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected me, not like this. Not as someone who could walk into a room and command it without saying a word. He recovered quickly, giving a single, firm nod. "You understand the assignment," h

237 unread messages.The newest ones appeared every second.Wait... isn't Ms. Sullivan married?Wasn't she seen with Mr. Blackwood tonight?Tell me this isn't about the promotion...I knew something was going on.Someone had attached a blurry photograph.Vance.Me.Laughing across the table.Someone had circled the distance between us in red.I stared at the picture.It had been taken from inside the restaurant.Not by accident.On purpose.I hadn't slept well that night. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the photograph.By morning it had spread farther than I wanted to imagine.The email went out at 9 AM.Subject: Leadership AnnouncementPlease join me in congratulating Nerissa Sullivan on her promotion to Vice President of Strategic Operations...My inbox exploded within minutes as if they had anticipated and waited for this moment. Congratulations from people who'd never spoken to me. Questions from colleagues. A calendar invite from HR for a "transition meeting."At 9:15, my phone