One: Bailee

I held my breath as the housekeeper pushed open the hotel room door. 

The woman gave me a pitying look as I slipped her the cash I had promised in exchange for her help getting into my husband’s luxury suite. 

Caleb had been so rushed for his ‘urgent business meeting’ that he had forgotten his laptop. 

Like the loving wife I was, I raced over to grab it for him. I had made it my goal to make his life at home as easy on him as possible by helping where I could with the cooking and cleaning since he worked so hard to provide for us. 

It was never good enough for him, but little things like bringing him his laptop would surely make him happy.

Only I had frozen in horror when I saw the messages popping up on his computer from his phone. 

The smiling, half-naked woman stared back at me. 

I could see her nipples through her lace bra, and she had one hand down between her legs, covering herself.

His assistant. 

Lorna: I got your gift. I’m at the Rosewood Hotel. Don’t make me wait too long.

Caleb: I’m on my way, baby. I’ll be there soon.

I felt like I was hallucinating. My hands felt tingly, and my vision blurred as I stared at the screen.

I knew he hadn't been happy for a while. He had made that clear with all his harsh words, but I thought that was just because of our struggle with infertility. 

It had taken us two years to make our beautiful little girl. For the past year, we had been trying for another, a boy this time if we would be so lucky, but it seemed that wasn't in the cards for us. At least, it wasn’t for me. According to my fertility doctor, I was the one with the issues.

He was just fine, a fact he and his family never let me forget and had openly come to hate me for. 

I didn't wait for our driver to return for me. 

I didn't want him to warn Caleb that I was on to him. Instead, I grabbed the keys to my car and drove straight to the Rosewood Hotel.

Bribing the housekeeper had been easy enough. A grand in anyone's direction made things happen. 

Music was playing in the dimly lit room, the only light source coming from the patio door where I could see her silhouette as she looked over the city. 

A small part of me wanted to go outside and push her, but I refused to let my intrusive thoughts ruin my life any more than marrying Caleb already had. 

Her long black hair was expertly styled in large curls, diamond clips pinning her hair out of her face. It hung down the open back of the silver, floor-length dress she was wearing. 

White hot fury licked at my veins as I recognized it. I knew it well.

I had been working day and night for weeks to design it, slaving over it to make sure it was perfect for me to wear to the gala Caleb’s company was hosting in a month. I had wanted to make him proud to have me on his arm. 

I wanted to surprise him and remind him of who I was before I had our daughter, Brinley, and began dressing for comfort and convenience to keep up the house and take care of our daughter, back when I had more confidence and dressed well. 

How did she get it from my shop? Had she broken in? 

Tears lined my eyes, and I stumbled back into a chair, my hand covering my mouth.

Had he gone in there to get it for her? Was this the gift she had mentioned him giving her in her text?

It made my stomach twist to realize that all my hard work to design something to impress him had been pointless. He didn’t see or respect how much time and effort I had put into it or my work if he had been willing to do this.

I had built my shop from nothing, and I was disgusted that he had the nerve to steal from it after how hard he had seen me work to make it successful. He knew how much it meant to me, and he didn’t care.

Design had always been a hobby of mine, and when I found an old sketchpad with my grandmother’s designs that never made it off the pages, I knew I had to turn that hobby into a career to honor her and bring her dream to life.

That dress had been inspired by one of my grandmother’s designs, and I had mixed our two styles to create a masterpiece that she would be proud to see me in. It was my most meaningful dress to make thus far, and he had just destroyed that. 

I heard the bathroom door open and watched as Caleb passed through the crack in the bedroom door, not noticing me as he made his way to his assistant. 

The sound of the patio door opening made my heart stop. I moved to the side so they wouldn't see me in the doorway if they were to turn around. 

This was what I had come for. I needed the truth. 

For years, I had put up with him complaining about everything I did, from my cooking, to the pound or two I put on over the holidays, to my ‘stupid, little’ business taking my attention away from what was really important…him. 

Nothing I did was ever up to his standards.

I struggled to keep up with him and all his demands. I was exhausted. After years of fighting and yelling, of never being good enough, wealthy enough, or successful enough for him and his family, this was the final straw. 

This was my closure, proving that there was no fixing us. 

“I knew that dress would look good on you,” Caleb said, his deep voice making me press my hand harder over my mouth to hide the sob threatening to break free. 

“Thank you. It’s beautiful. You were right when you said Bailee could never pull something like this off.” Lorna giggled in a high-pitched baby voice that sent a shiver of disgust down my spine. 

I should have known. 

They had been working together since he opened the firm a few years ago and had been joined at the hip since. He claimed that Lorna was essential to running his business and that he couldn’t do it without her. 

It should have been obvious between her late-night calls and texts about ‘work’ and how she always found a reason to touch him when she was around. Yet, I had refused to accept it. 

I was too scared to bring it up because I knew he would just yell at me and call me crazy. He loved to say that I was looking too much into things and making things up for attention. 

“It’s not like she would ever wear it anyway. She gained weight after the kid. She doesn’t have the curves that you do anymore. Hell, she can’t do a lot of things that you can,” He said, and while he could have been referring to any number of things, my other hand dropped to my stomach.

I had worked hard to get my body back after having our daughter, but it wasn’t as easy as some women made it seem. He was right that I hadn’t worn a dress like that in a while. That was why I designed it in the first place. 

I was done with the baggy clothes to hide the weight I had put on during my pregnancy. That dress had been crucial to that step. Every stitch had been made for my body, and I had felt powerful and confident again when I had tried it on. 

Now, she was in it. 

My own husband had stolen it from me to give to her.

“Come here.”

The room was silent for a minute before I heard the undeniable sound of them kissing. Lorna moaned. 

This was it. I knew I needed to burst in there and catch him in the act, but my body was numb. I couldn’t move. 

“Turn around and bend over,” Caleb demanded, and bile rose in my throat. 

At least he was consistently selfish. No foreplay. Just down to business. 

“Mh, yes, boss.” Lorna purred, and I cringed in disgust. Just get on with it. I needed to know if he was actually going to go through with it. 

Maybe this was just a moment of weakness. Maybe Caleb would remember our family and his vows to me and stop himself before taking it further.

“No,” Caleb said, and hope filled me. 

Come on. Just turn around and walk out of the room. We can go back to counseling. We can figure this out for our daughter's sake.

I sent the prayer to whoever might be listening, but it was pointless. 

“Leave the dress on. Hold it up over your hips. I want you in it.” He ordered, and I leaned forward over my knees, taking several deep breaths, unable to hold myself up anymore.

I was going to be sick. 

Pushing to my feet, I rushed to the door to leave, bumping the table next to me and knocking over a lamp in my hurry to escape.

"Who's out there?" Caleb yelled with anger. 

I heard them rush to get decent as I wiped at my cheeks with my shaking hand before the bedroom door was thrown open.