The Lie

ANNA

My hands were shaking.

Everything was there. The cloud linked it all. All of her photos. Old notes. Her social media.

~I shouldn’t.~ I thought, my finger hovering over the messenger icon. ~He said you can trust him.~

But could I? I had the opportunity to know for absolute certain.

~One quick peek…~

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of his voice.

“Annalise? Is that a timer going off?”

~Shit.~

I shoved the phone in my pocket, trying to regain my composure. “Yeah, sorry. Margaret made dinner before she left. I’ll grab it.”

I took the lasagna to the dining table, where Gavin was waiting for me. He looked as sexy as ever, with the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up at the elbows and the top button loose.

“Mmmm, it smells great.” He smiled.

“Margaret is a great cook,” I said numbly.

He speared his first bite. “You okay, babe? You look a little pale.”

I studied his face, looking for any small sign of guilt, and found nothing. He looked as content as I’d ever seen him.

“Must just be stress,” I murmured, staring at my plate. My appetite was suddenly nonexistent.

~Just tell him. Give him back the phone and tell him.~

He covered my hand with his own, and I fought the urge to flinch. I didn’t look up, not trusting myself.

“Hey.” Gavin reached out and lifted my chin until I was forced to meet his dark, searching gaze. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of.”

I closed my eyes, blocking out the shame of my deception.

“Right. Nothing to worry about.”

***

That night, I waited until Gavin was softly snoring before I slipped out of bed.

He’d hovered over me the entire evening, clearly sensing something was amiss. When asked, I brushed him off, attributing my quietness to stress, exhaustion, whatever I had to in order to keep my dirty secret.

I crept down the stairs before locking myself in Gavin’s office. I had to know, had to make sure there was nothing he was hiding.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I slid the screen open. I scanned quickly while keeping my ear tuned to the apartment and any sign of approaching footsteps.

To my short-lived relief, Gavin had kept his word. He hadn’t responded to a single message from his ex.

But Chelsea?

The color drained from my face.

I scrolled through hundreds of texts between Chelsea and her friends, all of them discussing her various plans to get Gavin back.

She knew what he wanted more than anything—was a baby. All she needed was one night with him, and she would make sure he had no choice but to marry her.

And if she didn’t get pregnant from a single tryst? It seemed Chelsea had very few qualms about lying.

~A trait they both share.~

Bile rose in the back of my throat. I knew she wanted him, but getting pregnant just to trap him? It was diabolical.

My mind was spinning on how she planned to get to him in time to sleep with him prior to our wedding when I scrolled to a different chain of messages.

Apparently, the year prior, Gavin agreed to cohost a charity ball with Chelsea. Over the last few weeks, their attorneys had sent both of them emails about what they were legally obligated to do.

To his credit, it seemed like Gavin was fighting having to attend—tooth and nail. Chelsea was using the contract agreements he’d signed to blackmail him.

If he didn’t show, he would lose out on millions of dollars promised to the underprivileged youth his organization supported. Instead, he would owe Chelsea because her cosmetics company was using the event as advertising.

~He’s too proud to cancel it~, she wrote. ~I’m going to make it the event of the year. His face will be everywhere. Right next to mine.~

~Right. Next. To. Mine.~

She was backing him into a corner.

I almost felt a sense of relief. Gavin was trying to avoid her, and the frustrated texts she sent proved he had completely refused to engage. It’s what I wanted.

Then it dawned on me—the information I’d been looking for and hoping I didn’t find.

The charity ball was the following night. Gavin had not postponed the trip for our wedding because of a supposed meeting he couldn’t get out of.

He was planning to attend the ball—and he’d lied about it.

Tears welled up in my eyes. ~How could he do this?~

After all the promises, all the insistence to the contrary, he was still betraying my trust. For her.

I knew Chelsea was forcing his hand. If he didn’t go, there would be a million questions and lots of speculation. Not to mention the financial aspect.

The piece I couldn’t figure out was why he didn’t tell me. Better yet, why he didn’t ask me to go with him?

~He didn’t want you there.~ The small, insecure voice in my mind had me clenching my fists.

But really, what other explanation was there? Certainly not a good one.

My heart was racing as I paced. I could come up with a plan, but I was going to need help.

I had yet to reset Chelsea’s old phone for fear everything would be erased. I definitely couldn’t risk it now. Fortunately, Gavin still kept a landline in his office, and I knew the number I needed by heart.

“Hello?” Kris’s groggy, confused voice came over the line.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Anna? What time is it?”

I winced. “Just after midnight. Sorry. I’m in a crisis.”

There was a rustling of sheets. “Say less, babe. How bad? Bottle of wine? Body bag?”

When I didn’t respond, Kris sounded more concerned. “Anna? Is everything okay?”

I swallowed the sob that threatened to burst out. I was done crying over this man. He clearly didn’t care enough about me to deserve my tears.

I took a deep breath. “How fast can you get me a dress?”

She paused. “Cocktail? Or wedding?”

I scoffed at the irony. “Evening, actually. I’m going to a charity ball.”