LA: Loyalty or Annihilation

Chapter 3

Jade's POV

There is a special kind of pain that comes with discovering you've been replaced.

Not because you died, left your husband nor stopped loving him.

But because somewhere along the way, while you were busy building the future you thought the two of you wanted, another woman quietly stepped into the life you believed was still yours.

Kristal Jones.

Even thinking her name makes my chest hurt.

And the f****d-up part?

I don't hate her.

How could I?

She didn't know.

As far as Kristal knows, Shawn Montgomery is her handsome, successful, loving fiancé. The man she left New Jersey for. The man she's spent five years building a life with.

She probably thinks she's going to become Mrs. Montgomery.

Poor woman doesn't know that title already belongs to me.

For seven years.

Seven.

My eyes burn as Los Angeles passes outside Shawn's window.

I know I'm not innocent in how our marriage fell apart.

I know that.

My career consumed me.

Law wasn't merely something I did.

I loved it.

I loved walking into a courtroom prepared for war. I loved impossible cases. I loved research, strategy, negotiations, finding that one tiny detail everyone else overlooked.

Unfortunately, loving my career took me farther away from my husband than either of us expected.

Europe was supposed to be temporary.

Temporary became three years.

Three years of hotel rooms.

Airports.

Courtrooms.

Video calls.

Lonely dinners.

Sleeping alone.

Shawn thinks he was the only lonely one.

He wasn't.

There were nights I cried myself to sleep because I wanted my husband beside me.

There were birthdays I hated missing.

Anniversaries celebrated through screens.

Times I wanted to abandon everything and fly home.

But I didn't stray.

Not once.

I had opportunities.

Plenty.

Men flirted.

Men asked.

Men propositioned.

Some knew I was married and didn't give a damn.

I did.

Because regardless of what country I woke up in, this ring stayed on my finger.

I was still Shawn's wife.

Apparently, from thousands of miles away, it didn't look like I loved him anymore.

I can see that now.

And that realization hurts.

But knowing another woman has practically taken your place?

Your home.

Your husband's bed.

His mornings.

His nights.

His heart.

That tears something out of a woman's soul.

When I found out about Kristal, I wanted to hate her.

God, I tried.

Then I saw the investigator's report.

She didn't steal my husband.

Shawn presented himself to her as available.

He built a relationship with her.

He proposed to her.

He let that woman believe she had a future that legally wasn't his to promise.

Now?

I can only imagine what Kristal is going to feel when she finds out.

And finding out through a f*****g butt dial?

Jesus.

I shake my head.

This whole situation is a disaster.

One Shawn created.

One I refuse to keep participating in.

---

Shawn's POV

The drive to Jade's house feels like a f*****g funeral procession.

Neither of us says much.

When I finally pull into the driveway, I turn off the engine and walk her to the front door.

Our home.

Technically.

The house Jade and I bought after we married.

Seeing her standing beneath the porch light does something to me.

I reach for her.

"Jade."

She looks up.

I cup her face and lean down, trying to kiss her deeply.

For half a second, she lets me.

Then both hands press against my chest.

"No."

I freeze.

"What?"

She steps away.

"You need to go find out if she knows and make a decision."

My jaw tightens.

"Jade—"

"I'm done being the mistress to my own husband."

That shuts me up.

Her eyes glisten, but her voice remains steady.

"You shouldn't have to take this long to choose."

I stare at her with raised brows.

Is she serious?

"Don't call me," she continues, "and don't come here unless I'm the choice."

"You're giving me an ultimatum?"

"I'm giving myself some f*****g dignity."

I blink.

"Jade, you know what we've been through."

"Exactly."

"You understand how complicated this is."

"No, Shawn. I understand how complicated you've made it."

I take a step back.

She folds her arms.

"You have a wife and a fiancée. That's not complicated. That's selfish."

My eyebrows shoot up.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"After everything we already discussed?"

"Yes!"

Her voice cracks.

"I understand why you were lonely, why you were hurt and even how you could've fallen for someone else. What I don't understand is why, once I came home, you continued lying to her and sleeping with both of us."

I don't have an answer.

Not one that won't make me sound like an asshole.

Jade nods slowly.

"Exactly."

"Jade—"

"Goodnight, Shawn."

"Wait."

She steps inside.

"Don't do this."

Her laugh is humorless.

"I'm finally doing what you should've done months ago."

SLAM!

The door shuts directly in my face.

I stare at it.

"What the f**k?"

I can't believe this.

She knows what we've been through.

She understands what happened.

And now she's giving me an ultimatum?

I drag both hands down my face.

"f**k!"

I turn toward my car.

Fine.

I guess I better head to my other home.

I stop walking.

Other home.

Jesus Christ.

Even thinking it sounds insane.

I have two homes.

Two women.

Two lives.

And apparently, by sunrise, I'm supposed to decide which one I want.

---

Two f*****g hours.

That's how long it takes me to reach the apartment.

Traffic.

Construction.

An accident.

And enough time alone with my thoughts to make me want to drive straight into the Pacific.

It's after midnight when I finally pull into the parking garage.

Kristal's car is there.

My stomach drops.

She's home.

Of course she's home.

I park and sit behind the wheel.

The building suddenly looks like a courthouse where I'm about to be sentenced.

I check my phone.

Nothing from Kristal.

Not a text.

Not a missed call.

Nothing.

That scares me more than fifty angry messages would've.

I climb out, grab my phone and briefcase from the back seat, and head toward the elevator.

The doors close.

Top floor.

I stare at my reflection in the mirrored wall.

I look like s**t.

Good.

I feel worse.

The elevator climbs.

With every floor, another possible scenario runs through my mind.

Maybe she never heard the call.

Maybe she heard only part of it.

Maybe her phone died immediately.

Maybe she's asleep.

Maybe—

Ding.

Top floor.

"Fuck."

I step out.

The hallway is silent.

Every step toward our apartment feels heavier.

Then I reach the door.

I don't unlock it immediately.

I just stand there.

Listening.

Nothing.

No screaming.

No footsteps.

No objects crashing against walls.

That's...

Not reassuring.

I pull out my keys.

My hand stops inches from the lock.

Behind this door is Kristal.

The woman who followed me across the country.

The woman who believes she's going to marry me.

The woman who may have accidentally heard me confess my love to the wife she doesn't know exists.

I close my eyes.

Jade's words return.

Don't call me nor come here unless I am the choice.

Then another voice enters my head.

Kristal's.

Her laugh.

Her saying yes when I proposed.

Her telling her mother she'd finally found her forever.

Fuck.

I lean my forehead against the door.

How did I let it get this far?

I already know the answer.

Cowardice.

I wanted Jade.

I wanted Kristal.

And instead of choosing, I convinced myself I needed more time.

Now neither woman is willing to give me any.

I straighten.

"Alright."

Time to face this s**t.

I slide the key into the lock.

Turn it.

Slowly push open the door.

And brace myself for the explosion.