"Right, if you don't let the cops straighten someone like her out, who knows what she'll do next."
"She just barged into your home and attacked you. What if she comes back and actually hurts someone?"
"No, that's not—"
Delilah's eyes darted sideways. Terrified of being exposed, she forced the words through gritted teeth. "I... I know her."
The coworkers exchanged bewildered glances. "You actually know her? Who is this lunatic?"
"She's..."
I watched Delilah stammer and stall.
She clutched the hem of her blouse, knuckles white, and turned her most pitiful gaze on Allan, silently begging him to speak for her.
A second later, the man stepped in front of her. His eyes locked on mine, sharp with irritation.
"Katherine, if there's something to discuss, we'll do it in private. Today is Delilah's birthday. She's been looking forward to it for a long time, and I don't want her disappointed."
His voice hardened at the end. "Don't embarrass me and her in front of all these people."
I stared at this man I'd spent five years with, and for a moment, it was like looking at a stranger.
He was cheating on me without a shred of guilt and now expected me to cover for his mistress. To protect their dignity.
And what about mine?
I was supposed to just take it. Supposed to let them carry on right under my nose, play me for a fool, and smile through it.
The fury and indignation boiling inside me had already eclipsed whatever pain the betrayal itself had caused.
I tilted my head, a smile that wasn't really a smile curving my lips. "Allan, do you even know what today is? You two have been sneaking around behind my back, and now you want me to keep your secret? Do you honestly think I owe you that courtesy?"
My gaze cut straight to the male coworker holding his phone. "Call the police. If you won't dial, I will."
That sent Delilah into a genuine panic. She whipped around to face the group, her voice pitched high and sweet.
"It's all a misunderstanding. We know each other. There are just some things we need to sort out today, so why don't you all head back? Allan and I will treat everyone to dinner another time."
She said it with the breezy authority of a hostess in her own home.
A cold laugh escaped me. "You and Allan treating people to dinner? With whose money? Every dollar he has comes from our—"
"Katherine, that's enough!"
Allan's voice sliced through mine, low and dangerous.
With Allan firmly at her side, Delilah's confidence swelled. She straightened her shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.
"Miss Gilbert, I truly had no idea you harbored these kinds of feelings. My husband only visited your little bakery because I have a sweet tooth, and somehow you developed a crush on him. Now you've followed us all the way here on a business trip, showed up at our door uninvited. Don't you think that's a bit much?"
I almost laughed out loud at the sheer audacity. The thief screaming "thief."
"Delilah, you're calling me a bakery clerk. Then what exactly are you?"
"I'm Mrs. Delgado." She lifted her chin. "Everyone here can vouch for that."
The heavily made-up woman was the first to chime in. "Of course she's Mrs. Delgado. Every time Mr. Delgado comes here on business, she's right by his side. We've met her plenty of times. You think we'd get that wrong?"
She turned to the others for confirmation. "We've had dinner with her more times than I can count. How could we not recognize her?"
Heads nodded all around.
"Take a good look in the mirror before you dream about being with Mr. Delgado. You need to apologize to him and his wife right now."
"Mrs. Delgado is being generous, calling it a misunderstanding to save your face. You came here to be a homewrecker, and the most pathetic part? Nobody even wants you."
So that was why every time Allan was away on business and I called Sweet Bliss to order pastries, Delilah always claimed the shop was closed for personal reasons.
She'd been with my husband the whole time.
And now that I'd caught them red-handed, she had the nerve to turn it around on me.
I drew a long, steadying breath. "You say you're Mrs. Delgado. What proof do you have?"
