On the night of our seventh wedding anniversary, my husband, Julian Pierce, called to me from the terrace of the charity gala.
"Darling, could you fetch a shawl for our guest?"
Before I could even rise, my best friend, Sabrina, was already gliding over with a smile.
She picked up the shawl but didn't hand it to the guest. Instead, she stepped close, intimately straightening Julian's slightly crooked tie.
Leaning into his ear, she whispered a joke that made him chuckle softly.
Only when she saw me watching them did she offer a hasty explanation.
"Oh, you know me, always messing around. It's nothing, really. Don't read into it."
I held my tongue, gliding through the rest of the evening with a placid smile plastered on my face.
Once we were in the car, I let Julian bask in the glow of the evening's success for a few moments before I spoke.
"Let's get a divorce."
The smile on Julian's face froze. He stared at me in disbelief.
"Are you insane? Just because she helped me straighten my tie?"
…
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1
"Genevieve, for seven years, I've put you on a pedestal. I've given you everything a woman could ever dream of."
"And now you want a divorce over an innocent joke? Is your heart made of stone?"
Julian rounded on me, his eyes red-rimmed, as if I had committed some unforgivable crime.
I ignored his shouting, my gaze drifting to the glittering New York City nightscape outside the car window.
"For seven years, at every single gala, you never left my side."
"But tonight, you and Sabrina were sharing private jokes no one else was in on."
Julian's breath caught. He retorted irritably, "So what? We're all friends. What's wrong with a little conversation?"
I shook my head, my voice hoarse.
"It wasn't just the private jokes. When someone proposed a toast to Sabrina, you instinctively drank in her place."
"When she was deep in conversation with someone else, you caught her eye across the room and shared a secret smile."
"Julian, love is instinct. When you love someone, you subconsciously put them first."
"That instinct—the one that made you protect another woman without a second thought—that's the real reason I want a divorce."
Julian's face darkened. He looked at me like I was deranged.
"Genevieve, are you out of your mind? You've twisted a few normal social interactions into some grand conspiracy. With a talent like that, you should join the FBI."
"Besides, she isn't just some random woman! That's Sabrina! Your childhood best friend!"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't give her a second glance! How do you twist that into an affair? Can't you be reasonable for one second?"
He pulled up a photo on his phone and shoved it in my face.
The three of us on the slopes in Aspen, all smiles.
Julian and I were standing shoulder to shoulder. Sabrina was on his other side.
She was wearing a fire-engine-red ski suit, her gaze fixed on Julian with an undisguised, possessive hunger.
In the next photo, Sabrina and I were hugging in the snow, but she was smiling over my shoulder, her eyes on someone just out of frame.
Judging by the angle, it was Julian.
A cold, mocking smile crept onto my face.
"Look at how she looks at you. That isn't friendship. That's obsession."
"And here, while she's hugging me, she's smiling at you."
"She's wanted you for a long time. No wonder she's turned down every man who's ever asked her out."
"So what about you? When did it start?"
Julian recoiled as if I'd struck him, his face a mask of disappointment and fury.
"Genevieve, I thought you were just in a mood, making a scene over nothing. I never imagined you'd become this paranoid, twisting everything to fit your narrative!"
"I've spoiled you. That's the problem. I've made you paranoid, suspicious, and completely unreasonable!"
"I'm giving you one day to cool off. Tomorrow is the launch of my grandfather's family foundation. If you have any shred of respect for the Pierce family name, you will not cause a scene in front of my grandfather!"
He flung his suit jacket to the floor and slammed the guest room door behind him.
