PART 1
“As soon as your father hands over the ten million dollars, I am leaving Audrey and coming with you,” my husband said into a phone he did not realize was still active. That was the very first thing I heard when my husband, Mark, called me by mistake and forgot to end the connection before he began his private conversation.
I was standing in the kitchen of our beautiful home in Charlotte, quietly putting away the groceries while I still wore my favorite cooking apron. My cell phone started vibrating against the granite counter and the screen displayed the name of the man I had loved for nearly a decade. I answered the call immediately, but there was no greeting and no sound of his voice directed toward me.
At first I assumed it was a simple pocket call because I could hear the muffled sounds of the busy street and a distant car horn. I was just about to press the red button to hang up when I heard a familiar laughter that made my blood turn into ice. I recognized that specific sound instantly because it belonged to Lydia, who had been my closest friend since our first year of college.
Lydia was the woman who sat by my side when my mother passed away and the person who helped me choose the lace for my wedding dress. She was the one who called me her sister every single time we shared a bottle of wine on a Friday evening. Then I heard the voice of Mark, which sounded low and confident in the same way he spoke when he was trying to impress a high level client.
“My father in law is almost ready to sign the final papers because Thomas trusts me more than he trusts his own team of expensive lawyers,” Mark boasted to her. “Once the investment is finalized, those ten million dollars will be under my direct control for ninety days, and that is all the time we need to disappear,” he continued. I felt my chest tighten until it was difficult to draw a single breath while I stood frozen in the middle of my kitchen.
Lydia let out a small and nervous giggle that sounded like a serrated blade against my skin. “What about Audrey?” she asked with a tone that suggested she did not really care about the answer. Mark answered her without a single moment of hesitation or a hint of guilt in his voice.
“Audrey will not understand anything because I will simply tell her that our relationship has cooled off and that I need some personal space,” he replied coldly. “She is a nice woman, but she is incredibly naive and she truly has no idea how to fight for herself,” he added. I stood there holding a can of green beans while my knuckles turned white from the pressure of my grip.
The can eventually slipped from my numb fingers and hit the hardwood floor, rolling until it came to a stop against the leg of the breakfast table. I did not move a muscle to pick it up because I was paralyzed by the betrayal echoing through the tiny speaker. Lydia then said something that completely shattered whatever remained of my heart.
“You had better follow through with this plan, Mark, because I am not going to keep hiding our relationship any longer,” she warned him. “I certainly cannot keep hiding it now, given the current circumstances,” she said with a heavy weight in her words. Mark let out a long and weary sigh that sounded like he was carrying a great burden.
“I know, my love, and I promise that with the baby coming, we cannot afford to wait much longer,” he replied softly. The entire world seemed to go silent around me as that single word hung in the air like a poisonous cloud. Lydia was pregnant with my husband’s child while she continued to pretend to be my most loyal companion.
This was the same Lydia who had come to my house only two weeks ago to eat lunch and hug me while we talked about the future. She had looked me in the eyes and asked if Mark and I were still trying to have children of our own. “Do not wait too long, Audrey, because you were truly born to be a mother,” she had told me with a fake smile.
I had to lean against the kitchen island because my legs were trembling so violently that I thought I might collapse. Mark continued to speak as if he were merely planning a summer vacation instead of destroying a family. “We are going to move to Nashville or perhaps Tampa for a while after we buy a house in a different name,” he explained.
“Then, as soon as the divorce is finalized and the money is moved, everything will finally fall into place for us,” he said. “What if your father in law suspects that something is wrong with the deal?” Lydia asked with a hint of genuine concern. Mark laughed in a way that sounded incredibly arrogant and cruel.
