elt obscene, this bright new day, after the darkness of my revelations. I spent the morn

through our new house. It was a masterpiece of modern design I had poured my heart into. Now,

ough my chest. Now, I felt nothing but ash. I took the box to the fireplace, not for warmth, but for destruction. I watched as the flames

wing a small get-together for us tonight at

ghtened. Chlo

Liam," I said, tryin

e went to a lot of trouble." His voice held t

o refuse would be

it Ethan?-had his arm draped casually around Chloe' s shoulders. She was laughing, her head tilted back, her hand resting possessiv

and rushed to hug me. "Ava! You look s

nd mocking. She was sizing me

m' s. "Isn' t he just the bes

ht, brittle sm

e digs. She would "accidentally" call me by the wrong name, or bring up an inside joke between her and the twins

' room and locked myself in a stall. My hands were shaking

oice was a ch

Ben Carter. My colleague, my truest friend. A man

he words tumbling out. "Someth

ard the panic in my voice. "Whatever it i

told him about the "vitamins" Liam had insisted I take for months le

aid, his voice all business

sliver of hope. I w

in a heated, hushed conversation with C

I asked, my voice

dismissive hand. But I saw the look that passed b

rthday. "She' s having a huge party at the

dding anniversary, too. I was hoping to see them." It was a lie about the co

ee your parents any time. Chloe' s party is important. It' s

," I said, my voice s

makes her yours. Don' t make this difficult, Ava. You know how much Noah looks u

other Noah was on a prestigious scholarship funded by a

my voice a dead th

hant and possessive. "I k

eautiful facade for the ugliness within. Chloe was in her element, a queen holding court. She

ights dimmed. A massive screen des

ether!" Chloe trilled into a micropho

grainy, secretly filmed video of a hotel room. My hotel room, from a business trip months ago. And a man, a colleague, was en

hrough the crowd. Whispe

ve it. Ava, how could you do this to Liam?" She turned to the crowd, sobbing. "A

ter opener from her evening bag. Before anyone could react,

she shrieked, collapsing

glance at me. His entire being was focused on Chloe. He rushed to her

disgust so profound it physically hurt. "You bit

om, leaving me alone in the center