Chapter 2
1163 Words
The time Emily lied was really hard for her.
The second time was a little easier.
By the time, Emily did not even recognize herself in the mirror.
She never thought she would be the type of person to hide her phone or delete messages before going
She never thought she would practice what to say to her husband before she walked in the door.
That is exactly what she was doing.
Emily was living two lives.
One life was with her husband, Daniel Carter.
In this life, Emily was the wife.
She went to charity events with Daniel.
She hosted parties.
She smiled for pictures. Everyone thought they had a great marriage.
The other life was with Damian Kingsley.
This was the life where Emily could be herself.
She could. Talk about her dreams.
For an hour, she could forget that she was doing something wrong.
The two lives were very different, and it was tearing Emily apart.
Every morning, Emily told herself she would stop seeing Damian.
Every afternoon, she found herself looking for his name on her phone.
Every evening, she felt guilty.
Damian Kingsley never thought he would fall in love.
He thought love was something that got in the way.
He thought marriage was something that ended in divorce.
Then he met Emily.
She was different from the women he had met.
She did not care about his money.
She did not want gifts.
One time, she even gave back a handbag he bought for her.
"I do not need gifts," she said.
"I just want you to be honest with me."
No woman had ever said that to him before.
Of making him angry, it made him interested.
For the time in years, Damian thought about his future.
He thought about what it would be like to have breakfast with Emily.
He thought about what their kids might look like.
He even thought about whether Emily laughed in her sleep.
These thoughts scared him.
They made him feel vulnerable.
Damian did not like feeling vulnerable.
Daniel Carter did not notice what was going on.
Maybe he did notice, but he did not want to believe it.
His company had just gotten a contract.
This contract was going to change everything for his business.
It also meant he had to work very long hours.
His assistant would remind him to go
He never did.
By the time he got home, Emily was already asleep.
At least she was pretending to be.
He told himself they would spend time together when the project was over.
He had been saying that for years.
Emily's friend, Rachel Monroe, knew something was wrong.
The two women met every Friday at a café.
Rachel had known Emily since college.
She knew Emily's expressions better than anyone.
"You have changed, " Rachel said, stirring her coffee.
Emily forced a smile.
"Have I?"
"You laugh more," Rachel said.
"Is that a thing?"
"No," Rachel said.
"Your eyes tell a different story."
Emily looked away.
"I do not know what you mean," she said.
"You have been elsewhere lately," Rachel said quietly.
"If you are unhappy, you should talk to Daniel."
Emily's fingers tightened around her cup.
"It is not that simple," she said.
"Marriage is never simple," Rachel said.
"Secrets always make it worse."
Emily wanted to tell Rachel the truth.
She wanted to tell her about Damian.
She just nodded.
"I will figure it out," she said.
Rachel was not convinced.
Damian's sister, Olivia Kingsley, had watched her brother go from one relationship to another.
She loved him. She also knew his flaws.
When Damian canceled another family dinner, Olivia went to his apartment.
She found him smiling at his phone.
That surprised her.
"I do not think I have ever seen you smile like that," she said.
Damian locked his phone.
"What smile?" he said.
"The smile people have when they are really into someone," she said.
He laughed.
"You are imagining things," he said.
Olivia folded her arms.
"What is her name?" she said.
Damian was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "Emily."
Olivia smiled.
"So she is real," she said.
Damian frowned.
"What does that mean?" he said.
"I always wondered which woman would make you stop running," she said.
He looked out at the city.
"She is married," he said.
Olivia's smile disappeared.
"What?" she said.
"I did not know at first," he said.
"Now?" she said.
"I cannot stop seeing her," he said.
Olivia stepped closer to him.
"Damian, this is not like your relationships," she said.
"I know," he said.
"You need to walk," she said.
"I have tried," he said.
"Try harder," she said.
He did not say anything.
That silence scared Olivia.
One Saturday morning, Daniel surprised Emily.
"I took the day off," he said.
Emily was really surprised.
"You what?" she said.
He smiled.
"I figured my wife deserves at least one day with her husband," he said.
For a moment, Emily felt hopeful.
Maybe they could fix their marriage.
Maybe they were not too late.
They spent the afternoon at the botanical gardens.
This was where they had their date.
They. Talked and held hands.
Daniel apologized for working too much.
Emily apologized for being distant.
They did not tell each other the real reasons.
As the sun started to set, Daniel looked at Emily with the love he had when they first met.
"I miss us," he said.
Emily felt tears in her eyes.
"So do I," she said.
Daniel kissed her forehead.
For one afternoon, it felt like their marriage was back on track.
Then Emily's phone vibrated.
It was a message from Damian.
"I miss you already," it said.
Her heart sank.
She quickly silenced the phone before Daniel saw it.
She already felt guilty again.
Across the city, Damian stood on his balcony looking at the lights
For the time in his life, being successful did not feel good enough.
Every achievement felt empty without Emily.
He knew what he wanted.
He wanted Emily to leave Daniel.
He wanted them to be together.
He wanted the impossible.
It was ironic.
The man who never wanted to commit was now waiting for a married woman to choose him.
Fate had a sense of humor.
Away, someone else was watching.
A private investigator named Marcus Hale was taking pictures from his car.
He was not watching Emily or Damian.
He was watching someone
He kept seeing the same luxury car at different places.
He saw the wealthy man and the same married woman.
He took pictures of them together.
At the time, he did not think much of it.
He just filed the pictures away.
He did not know those pictures would become very important soon.
Every secret will be found out eventually.
Every betrayal will leave a trail.
The only question was who would find out first.
Damian,
Emily
Daniel, the husband who still thought his marriage could be saved.
- Writer
