Chapter 1: Are You Kidding Me?
“Are you kidding me?””
The words escaped my mouth before the grocery bags hit the patio.
One second, I was walking into the backyard of the Georgia mansion I had called home for nearly three years, thinking about dinner and whether I had remembered to buy lemon juice.
The next, I was watching my boyfriend kiss another woman in my swimming pool.
Not a stranger passing through the neighborhood. Not someone who had accidentally wandered into the wrong backyard.
A woman in a blue swimsuit had her arms wrapped around Marcus’s neck. His hands rested comfortably on her waist. Their faces were pressed together, and neither seemed particularly concerned about being caught.
My eggs rolled across the stone tiles.
A carton of strawberries burst open near my shoes.
Marcus opened his eyes first.
For half a second, he looked annoyed.
Then he saw me.
He released the woman so quickly that she stumbled backward in the water.
“Lauren?””
I stared at him.
The late-afternoon sun reflected off the pool, illuminating his bare shoulders. His navy swim trunks clung to his waist. On the lounge chair beside the pool lay his shirt, trousers, and the woman's cover-up.
Evidence arranged so casually that it almost looked deliberate.
Marcus raised both hands.
“Lauren, please don't make a scene.””
I looked at the scattered groceries.
Then at the clothes.
Then at the man who had told me that morning that he loved me.
“Don't make a scene?”” I repeated.
He glanced toward the neighboring houses.
“Baby, just listen to me.””
“Baby?””
I laughed once.
“You're standing in our pool with another woman, and you want to discuss my behavior?””
The woman finally spoke.
“Marcus, you said she wouldn't be home until tonight.””
Her words hung in the air.
Marcus turned toward her.
“Brianna, stop talking.””
Brianna.
I knew that name.
Two weeks earlier, I had seen a notification from Brianna on Marcus's phone. He had dismissed her as a coworker.
I had believed him.
That suddenly hurt more than the kiss.
Marcus stepped toward the pool ladder.
“Lauren, please. It's not what you think.””
“Then tell me what I should think.””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Brianna climbed toward the steps and grabbed a towel.
“Don't talk to me like I'm the problem,” she snapped at Marcus.
“You knew I had a girlfriend.””
“And you told me you were ending it!””
“Both of you,” I interrupted.
They stopped.
I bent down and picked up a crushed strawberry. Red juice stained my fingers.
“I invited you into my life, Marcus. I gave you a key to my home. I trusted you with my money, my family, and every plan I made for the future.””
He looked genuinely wounded.
“Lauren, I love you.””
I held his gaze.
“Then you should have treated me like someone you loved.””
He had no answer.
I turned toward the lounge chair.
Marcus seemed to think I was going inside to cry. His shoulders relaxed slightly, as though he had regained control of the situation.
He had always been good at that.
A soft apology. A carefully chosen explanation. A promise that whatever happened would never happen again.
But I wasn't going inside to cry.
I gathered his white shirt, trousers, and Brianna's cover-up.
Marcus called after me.
“Lauren, what are you doing?””
I walked toward the outdoor fireplace.
“Don't.””
I dropped the clothes into the contained fire.
The fabric landed across the glowing logs. The edges began to darken and curl.
Marcus lunged toward the steps.
“Stop! Are you crazy?””
I stepped aside.
“I'm not the one who brought another woman into my relationship.””
Brianna stood beside the pool, clutching her towel.
“You're both unbelievable,” she muttered.
I turned toward the wall-mounted security panel beside the patio door.
Marcus followed my gaze.
His face drained of color.
“Lauren,” he said slowly.
“Don't touch that.””
I pressed my thumb against the screen.
A soft electronic beep sounded.
Then another.
The security system began its activation sequence.
Marcus grabbed the pool railing.
“What the hell are you doing?””
I looked at him through the glass reflection of the panel.
“You already explained everything.””
His mouth fell open.
A moment later, the gate motor began humming somewhere beyond the garden.
Marcus suddenly stopped looking at me.
“Lauren, wait. We need to talk.””
I folded my arms.
“No. You need to leave.””
He climbed out of the pool, water streaming down his legs.
“Baby, you're overreacting. Let's go inside and calm down.””
“Don't call me baby.””
“Three years, Lauren. You're throwing away three years over one mistake?””
I looked at Brianna.
“Was it one mistake?””
She lowered her eyes.
Marcus grabbed a towel and rubbed his face.
“Fine. I made a mistake. But you're acting like I committed a crime.””
I almost smiled.
Then the security panel displayed a notification.
<text weight="semibold" color="secondary" size="xs">GUEST ACCESS REVIEW</text>
*Two active guest credentials detected.*
I stared at the screen.
I had given Marcus his own access code when he moved in. But the system was showing two additional credentials.
One belonged to Brianna.
The other was registered under a name I didn't recognize.
“Marcus,” I said quietly.
“Who is Daniel?””
May you like
His towel slipped from his hands.
And for the first time that afternoon, he looked truly terrified.
