Chapter 1
On our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband’s buddy asked him with a smirk in French:
“So how’s your little assistant in bed?”
My husband sweetly handed me a slice of cantaloupe before casually answering back in French:
“Young. Tender.”
“You guys better keep your mouths shut. If my wife finds out, she’d be gone in a heartbeat.”
The whole table erupted in laughter, promising to guard his nasty little secret.
I stood frozen, white-knuckling my champagne flute.
What they didn’t know? I spoke fluent French.
What they didn’t know? I’d already caught him cheating.
But instead of confronting him with tears and drama, I’d quietly submitted my application to the National Research Facility-the kind where people vanish without a trace.
He’s terrified I’ll leave him?
Honey, in 72 hours, I won’t just be gone.
I’ll have never existed.
Noticing I hadn’t touched the cantaloupe, Blake Donnelly looked at me with concern, switching to English.
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
Just minutes ago, he was bragging about his side piece, and now he’s putting on this devoted husband act. Looking at him stare at me like I was his whole world made me sick.
I couldn’t help but wonder just how deep his lies went.
“Nothing. What were you guys talking about?”
Blake naturally squeezed my cheek, flashing that adoring smile.
“Just discussing overseas business. I know you hate work talk, that’s why we switched to French.”
He must’ve been so busy screwing around that he forgot I’d studied abroad in France during college.
The air in the room suddenly felt suffocating. I pushed past him.
“You guys keep chatting. I need some air.”
Without waiting for Blake’s response, I headed straight for the ballroom exit.
Walking through the crowd, I caught bits of whispered conversations:
“That’s Mrs. Donnelly. God, she’s so lucky-not only did they have that massive wedding everyone talked about, but Mr. Donnelly throws her an anniversary party every single year. Talk about relationship goals.”
“Right? Why can’t I find a guy like that?”
Before, hearing people gush about Blake and me would’ve made me feel all warm inside. Now? Nothing. Not even a flicker.
Nobody knew that Blake Donnelly-the man who supposedly worshipped the ground I walked on-was cheating on me.
Just yesterday, I’d planned to surprise him with his anniversary gift a day early. So I snuck into his office without telling
anyone.
I was dozing off in the storage closet when heavy breathing jolted me awake.
Opening my eyes, I saw Blake-the man who’d sworn I was his one and only-pinning his assistant Sloane Winters against the floor-to-ceiling windows. Two naked bodies leaving streaks all over that pristine glass.
After three hours of them going at it, they finally got dressed and left.
Those three hours? I honestly don’t remember how I survived them.
Just the journey from complete devastation to… numbness.
Walking out of that building, I knew my marriage to Blake was OVER.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed, snapping me out of the memory.
“Hey Meredith, good news-you’re in. The facility’s sending a car for you in three days.”
“Might wanna use this time to say bye to your family, you know?”
Family? My grip tightened on the phone.
Ever since my parents died four years ago, Blake was all the family I had left.
But now that he was cheating? He wasn’t family anymore.
“Professor, scratch that. Actually, could you have them delete all my info?”
My professor’s surprised voice came through the speaker:
“Wait, what?! If they wipe your records, Meredith Cross basically disappears off the face of the earth. You and Blake seem so happy together-what’s he gonna do when he can’t find you?”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“He’s cheating.”
Dead silence on the other end. Then I heard a long sigh.
“When you called yesterday, I had a feeling something was up with you two. I just didn’t think…”
“Alright. I’ll arrange for the record wipe. Use these three days to handle whatever you need to.”
Hearing my professor agree, I finally felt some relief. With wiped records, I wouldn’t have to waste time on divorce proceedings.
“Thanks, Professor.”
The second I hung up, a familiar voice came from right behind me.
“Who’s cheating?”
