Chapter 3

After the auction, Carter didn't come home for two days straight, using a business conference as an excuse.

Serena thought bitterly that he was probably at some upscale hotel with Vivian. She didn't bother calling him.

But on Saturday, Carter called her.

"Honey, Leo doesn't have fencing today. I'm having the driver bring him to the office suite so he doesn't bother you at home."

Serena heard his words, a bitter taste rising in her mouth.

One minute before this call came in, Vivian had texted her.

"Serena, Carter gives me whatever I want. Including your only son."

Serena closed her eyes, her voice flat with exhaustion.

"Okay. I'll have the nanny bring him over."

On the other end, Carter didn't notice anything off. Instead, he started complaining.

"Honey, you don't care about me anymore. I worked through the weekend, and you didn't call once."

Serena swallowed the accusations rising in her throat and simply said, "I know you're busy."

Before, when Carter worked late, she would make healthy sandwiches and have the driver bring them to his office so he'd have something to eat.

But since discovering his affair, Serena didn't want to give anymore.

She thought for a moment, then tested the waters. "I'll come keep you company, then."

There was a pause on the line before Carter's gentle voice returned.

"It's fine. The merger work is almost done. I'll bring Leo home tonight."

After hanging up, a faint, bitter smile tugged at Serena's lips.

His so-called devotion couldn't even survive one simple test.

As Leo headed out cheerfully with the nanny, the elderly nanny wore a worried expression.

"Ma'am, Leo is still young. Weekends are when he needs his mom the most."

Serena gazed out the window at the child she had nearly died to bring into the world, a flicker of emotion crossing her face.

After a long moment, she said softly, "It's okay. He'll have someone."

Vivian would make sure to be the perfect stepmother to Leo, if only to maintain her image in Carter's eyes.

Serena turned away and walked into the master bedroom.

Settling onto the plush sofa, she looked up at the massive wedding portrait on the wall.

Carter looked so full of life and pride in the photo, but she felt none of the excitement she once had.

Even now, she still didn't understand how they had ended up like this.

When Vivian first started as an executive assistant at Sterling Group, Carter had offered to replace her with a male assistant if Serena felt uncomfortable.

That level of consideration hadn't been fake. Why would she have doubted him?

So when she occasionally caught hints of expensive perfume or blonde strands on his suits, she didn't overthink it.

But after she added Vivian on social media, the first message she received was a photo of Vivian in bed with Carter.

Her pale arm, marked with red marks, draped over Carter's chest in some five-star hotel suite.

And Serena's world crumbled.

She pressed a hand over her eyes, blocking out the painful memories.

It wasn't until eight that night that Carter returned with Leo.

Seeing the matching smiles on their faces, Serena's heart still clenched despite everything.

Carter handed her a velvet bag. "I stopped by a jewelry store on Madison Avenue on the way back. Picked this up for you. See if you like it."

After ten years of marriage, Carter still remembered to surprise her now and then.

Serena opened it mechanically. Inside was a diamond bracelet that was clearly expensive.

She forced a smile. "It's nice."

Carter's smile widened. "I'm glad you like it."

He sat down on the sofa and reached for his phone.

A few minutes later, he stood up. "Honey, I'm going to take a shower."

As soon as he left, Leo, who had been fidgeting impatiently, ran off to his playroom without a word.

The living room fell silent.

Serena picked up Carter's phone, left on the coffee table.

All his passwords were her birthday, but she had never gone through his phone before. It was a boundary of trust between them.

Maybe Carter was so sure she'd never check that he hadn't even logged out of his chat with Vivian.

She unlocked it, and their conversation filled the screen.

Vivian: "Did Serena like the gift I picked out?"

Carter: "She loved it. But it looks better on you."