I sat at the marble kitchen island, sipping my coffee as Silas walked into the room, his hands hidden behind his back.
He was wearing his tailored suit trousers and a crisp white shirt, looking every bit the devoted, loving fiancé.
"I have something for you.”
He brought his hands forward and placed a beautifully carved, antique wooden music box on the counter. My breath hitched.
It was a rare, 19th-century piece I had admired in a Mayfair antique shop window months ago, but it had been sold before I could buy it.
"I know you were devastated when you missed out on this," Silas murmured, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "When I was on my Scottish retreat, I spent days tracking down the private collector who bought it. I wanted to give you something special to make up for my absence."
I stared at the intricate woodwork, forcing my face to soften into a mask of touched gratitude. "Silas, it’s beautiful. Thank you."
"Only the best for my bride," he whispered, stroking my hair. "I'm going to jump in the shower. I'll see you tonight, darling."
He turned and walked toward the master bathroom. A moment later, I heard the heavy glass door slide shut and the water turned on.
I looked down at the music box. Beside it, resting on the marble counter, was Silas’s smartwatch. He had taken it off to shower.
Suddenly, the small screen illuminated. A new text message had just come through.
I leaned closer. The sender was Clara. My maid of honor. My supposed best friend.
[Hope the idiot liked the music box I found. See you at the office, love.]
An hour later, I pushed through the heavy glass doors of Silas’s investment firm in the financial district. I had told the receptionist I was surprising my fiancé for lunch.
When I walked into Silas’s corner office, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Clara was sitting on the edge of Silas’s mahogany desk, laughing brightly at something he had just said. When they saw me, they both jumped slightly, but Silas recovered instantly, his smooth, charming mask sliding flawlessly into place.
"Vivienne! Darling, what a wonderful surprise," Silas said, walking over to kiss me.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," I said, my voice perfectly light and breezy as I looked at Clara.
"Not at all," Clara chirped, hopping off the desk and giving me a tight, familiar hug. She smelled like expensive vanilla and betrayal. "I was just dropping off some files."
"Clara has been an absolute lifesaver," Silas lied smoothly, not missing a beat. "With the wedding coming up, the firm's PR has been a nightmare. I brought her on as a freelance PR consultant to help manage our public image. I wanted to keep it a surprise until her first campaign launched."
"How... resourceful of you both," I murmured, turning my back to them to pretend to admire a large, abstract painting hanging on the wall.
"We make a great team," Clara said behind me.
I kept my eyes on the painting, but my gaze shifted to the dark, reflective glass of the framed artwork. The reflection of the room was clear.
Silas was standing right behind Clara. As she spoke to me, his hand reached out, subtly and intimately trailing down her lower back, his fingers lingering on the curve of her hip.
My stomach violently turned. The sheer audacity of them touching each other in the same room as me was suffocating.
"I actually just remembered I have a meeting with the florist," I lied, turning around with a bright, plastic smile. "I should let you two get back to work."
"Nonsense, let me walk you to the elevator," Silas said, stepping away from Clara. "Actually, give me one second. I need to ask my assistant to print a file for my next meeting. I'll be right back."
He kissed my cheek and stepped out of the office, leaving the heavy oak door slightly ajar.
Clara immediately pulled out a compact mirror from her designer purse, humming happily as she touched up her red lipstick. She didn't even look at me.
I stood by the desk, my hands trembling slightly. My eyes fell on Silas’s open leather briefcase resting on his chair.
A thick, glossy envelope was sticking out of the side pocket. The gold-embossed logo on the front belonged to one of Europe's most exclusive private aviation charters.
I don't know what possessed me, but while Clara was busy admiring her own reflection, I reached out and silently slid the itinerary out of the envelope.
My heart stopped.
It was a confirmation for a private jet. Two first-class, one-way tickets to Zurich.
Passenger 1: Silas Vance.
Passenger 2: Clara Hayes.
I looked at the departure date. It was the 24th. The exact day of our wedding.
I looked at the departure time. 3:00 PM.
The exact hour I was scheduled to walk down the aisle at St. Paul's Cathedral.
But it got worse.
Clipped to the back of the flight itinerary was a dense legal document. It was a marital asset transfer form, authorizing the complete liquidation of my family’s massive trust fund into an untraceable offshore account.
At the bottom of the page was my signature. Flawlessly forged.
"Alright, all sorted," Silas’s voice rang out as he walked back into the office.
I quickly dropped the papers back into the briefcase, my blood turning to pure, unbreakable ice.
Silas walked over, wrapping his arm around my waist, completely unaware that I had just seen my own execution order.
"I'll see you at home tonight, my love," he smiled, his eyes shining with that perfect, deadly devotion. "I can't wait for our wedding day."
