Chapter 1 Ninth Betrayal
At the Lucero Group's centennial gala, I walked in on Xavier Lucero pressing Evelyn Singleton down onto a sofa, the fabric of his suit pants brushing against her torn stockings.
"Get out!"
He snapped, his voice full of irritation at being interrupted.
I looked away and said calmly, "I'm sorry," before shutting the door behind me.
Even with the door closed, Evelyn's breathless gasps and the unmistakable sounds of them together echoed into the hall.
It felt like half the city had gathered outside.
They all stood there, watching me be humiliated outside the room while my husband slept with someone else.
I hesitated for only a moment before coming up with a graceful excuse. "Xavier and Ms. Singleton are dealing with something urgent. They may be a while."
Someone let out a dry laugh.
One of the socialites patted my hand with a knowing sigh. "Aurora, you're always so composed."
The pity in her eyes was unmistakable.
She wasn't wrong. By now, Xavier's wife being understanding had become a running joke in this circle.
This was the ninth time.
The ninth time I had caught him and Evelyn together.
The first time was in our marital home.
Back then, I still believed in love. I smashed everything within reach, crying as I demanded to know why.
He stood there, watching me with cold eyes. When I finally collapsed from exhaustion, he said, "Aurora, stop acting like a madwoman and embarrassing the Lucero family."
The second time happened in his car.
I followed them for three hours and blocked the car before they could leave.
He pressed Evelyn back against the passenger seat and looked straight at me. "If you're that determined to watch, then watch carefully. At least Evelyn knows how to please a man better in bed than you do."
The third time... The fourth time...
I cried, fought, and made scenes.
None of it changed a thing.
The only thing that changed was the hollow in my chest. It kept getting wider until, eventually, even the pain stopped feeling like pain.
*****
"Mrs. Lucero is unbelievably generous. If my husband did that to me, I'd have divorced him already!"
"She was an orphan before she married Xavier. Landing him was the luckiest thing that ever happened to her. Of course, she doesn't dare make trouble."
I stood there and let every stare, every whisper, every cutting remark land where it wanted.
Half an hour later, Xavier and Evelyn finally came back out.
He looked loose and perfectly at ease. Her stockings were torn, her lipstick was smeared, and the flush still lingered across her face.
No one needed an explanation.
The moment Xavier's grandfather, Frank Lucero, saw them, his expression darkened.
"Xavier! What kind of occasion is this? What the hell were you..."
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears at once.
"Please don't blame Xavier. I caught my dress on something, and he was only trying to help."
Frank was shaking with anger by then. He turned to me. "Aurora, say something!"
Everyone waited.
They were waiting for me to lose control the way I always did. They were waiting for me to humiliate myself and give them all something to laugh at.
I set down my wineglass and smiled. "Xavier and Ms. Singleton studied under the same mentor. He was only helping her. I understand."
At that, Xavier finally looked at me. He smiled slightly, and his tone made it impossible to tell whether he meant it as praise or mockery. "Well, you're finally acting reasonable."
Frank stormed off in disgust.
Evelyn, meanwhile, didn't even bother hiding how pleased she was. She tugged lightly at one strap of her dress and asked softly, sounding embarrassed.
"Xavier, you tore my dress. Is there anything else I can wear?"
Silence fell over the room.
When Xavier turned to me, impatience written all over his face, I told him the truth. "There isn't another dress here."
The words had barely left my mouth before Xavier frowned.
He probably thought I was about to give Evelyn a hard time again, because irritation flashed across his face.
"Aurora." He said my name like a warning. "Have you had enough? Can't you see Evelyn..."
I said, "She can wear the wedding dress upstairs."
The room went still.
Evelyn's breath caught, and she looked toward Xavier on instinct.
The annoyance on Xavier's face slowly hardened into disbelief. He stared at me as if he couldn't have heard me right, then grabbed my wrist.
"What did you just say?"
I met his eyes. "Ms. Singleton needs a dress, doesn't she? A wedding gown should be perfect."
He said immediately, "The last time another woman so much as touched that dress, you got so furious you shoved her down the stairs. So what's this supposed to mean now?"
He was right.
That dress used to be the thing I treasured most.
Xavier had designed it himself. He went through dozens of revisions.
He flew to Australia to pick out every pearl himself, then had a couture atelier spend three months hand-stitching the gown.
Later, one of the women he brought home wanted to try it on.
I pushed her. He slapped me across the face.
Then he said, "Once you wore it, it was worthless anyway."
So I repeated his own words back to him.
For the first time that night, something in Xavier's expression faltered. He looked me over from head to toe as if he couldn't figure out who I was anymore.
Then Evelyn stepped out wearing the gown, and for one brief second, Xavier looked genuinely dazed.
He hadn't expected it to fit her so well.
I stepped outside to take a call.
"Ms. Reyna, this is the Antarctic Research Expedition Committee. Congratulations. You've cleared final review. We depart for the station in fourteen days for a three-year assignment. We look forward to seeing you."
For one suspended second, the world around me fell away.
The Antarctic research program I had applied to three months earlier had finally accepted me!
