Chapter 2
I wandered almlessly through the streets for hours before finally returning home at dosk
The moment I stepped through the front door of the Sterling Estate, the soft, melodic sound of a plano drifted down from upstairs.
Martha, our housekeeper, rushed over, her face creased with worry.
“Mr. Sterling’s home already?” I asked.
Nathan had been working late at the firm for a month straight. It was unusual for him to be home this early.
Martha hesitated, her words hesitant and evasive.
“You’re back, Mrs. Sterling. Are you hungry? I can make you something light–maybe soup?”
I shook my head.
When your husband’s betrayal sits like lead in your gut, there’s no appetite left for anything
As I made my way up the spiral staircase, curiosity pushing me forward, Martha suddenly stepped in front of me, arms outstretched.
“Mrs. Sterling, you can’t go upstairs!” she said, visibly flustered. “Mr. Sterling. he said he’s busy with something important. No unauthorized visitors allowed upstairs.”
Unauthorized visitors?
I stared at her at her nervous, exaggerated expression.
Cold fury began to churn beneath my. ribs.
“Unauthorized? You mean me?”
She opened her mouth but couldn’t give me an answer.
I pushed past her.
But as I reached the landing and caught sight of what lay beyond the glass doors, I froze.
The floor–to–ceiling windows weren’t covered.
Bathed in golden light, Nathan had his arms around her.
Delilah Moore.
She sat at my Steinway grand piano–the one I had spent months saving and searching for–while he leaned into her, their fingers dancing in a messy duet across the keys.
Chapter 2
And then, in a moment of twisted euphoria, he scooped her up:
Lifted her onto the glossy black surface of the plans, the one that once echoed with my laught
His hands roamed freely over her skin.
Exposed skin marked by fresh traces of his kisses–evidence of intimacy that still burned raw
She looked nothing like the radiant, Innocent girl from the gallery today.
Now, she was all curves and seduction, hier expression dripping with desire.
Maybe that’s what drew him in.
That shifting, adaptable charm.
Sweet girl in public, sexy in private.
Before I could fully register the scene, Nathan’s assistant–Paul–hurried up the stairs, holding an unmistakably large black box.
When he spotted me at the top of the landing, he flinched, instinctively hiding the box behind him.
“M–Mrs. Sterling-
But I’d already seen enough.
The box was filled with condoms, lubrication, and electronic toys I never allowed in our bedroom.
My nails dug deep into my palm as a sharp pain jolted me back to reality, the sting stronger than the
numbness in my chest.
Nathan’s impatient voice echoed from the bedroom.
“Paul! What the hell is taking so long? You want me to transfer your ass to our Africa office? Maybe a few rounds with lions will speed you up!”
Paul glanced at me, torn between fear and shame.
I gave him a small, bitter smile.
“Go on. Don’t keep Mr. Sterling waiting.”
My voice was dry, hollow.
Like it no longer belonged to me.
I turned and descended the staircase one shaky step at a time, like I’d left my body behind at the top.
In the living room, my eyes fell on the brown paper bag I had placed on the dining table that
morning.
Charter
Inside were packets of carefully selected herbal supplements for Nathan’s recurdig problems.
Without thinking, I pleked them up and handed them to Marthia.
She frowned, confused.
“Mrs. Sterling, you’ve always personally selected and prepared the Mr. Sterling’s medicine yourself. Why…?”
I paused. Then spoke with unnatural calm.
“That was then. I doubt he even remembers the warmth of my hands anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter. Anyone can brew it.”
A tomb–like silence filled the vast living room.
And then, from upstairs-
Soft, rhythmic moans.
Her voice Delilah’s–high, breathless.
His–low, guttural.
The sound hit me like a punch to the stomach.
I doubled over with nausea, a wave of sickness rolling through me.
Pain clawed at my chest, raw and ruthless.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I turned on my heel and fled.
Out of that suffocating house.
Out of that life I no longer recognized.
Chapter 3
