His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret

Chapter 2

Lia didn't go home.

She drove to the only five-star hotel in Silvercrest where the Whitmores didn't have connections. Where Julian wouldn't think to look for her. Where she could disappear for one night and not be Mrs. Julian Whitmore.

The Azure Hotel. All glass and steel and money. The kind of place where people came to have affairs and pretend their real lives didn't exist.

Perfect.

She checked in under her maiden name, paid cash for the room, and rode the elevator to the twelfth floor in silence.

Inside, she stripped off the designer dress Margaret had picked out, the pearls Julian had given her for their anniversary, the wedding ring that felt like a shackle. Left them in a pile on the bathroom floor.

Stood in the shower until the water ran cold.

When she finally looked at her phone, there were nine missed calls from Julian and four from Margaret. She blocked them both.

Then she called Isla.

"Where are you?" Isla answered immediately. "I've been worried sick."

"The Azure. I needed space to think."

"Alone?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because thinking isn't what you need right now. You need a plan." Isla's voice turned sharp. Focused. "Julian wants an open marriage. So give him one. But make him regret it."

Lia sat on the edge of the hotel bed in a towel, water still dripping from her hair. "How?"

"You said it yourself. He thinks you're boring. Predictable. That you'll just sit at home crying while he screws his secretary." Isla paused. "Prove him wrong."

"I don't know what you're suggesting..."

"I'm suggesting you call his bluff. He wants permission to cheat? Fine. But the same rules apply to you. And I know someone who can help make sure Julian never underestimates you again."

Lia's heart started pounding. "Who?"

"A friend of a friend. Very discreet. Very professional. Very expensive." Isla lowered her voice. "The kind of company that makes sure you have the best night of your life and nobody ever finds out."

It took Lia a second to understand. "You're talking about..."

"A call boy. Yes. High-end escort service. The kind that caters to people like you who need something their marriage can't give them."

"Isla, I can't... I've never..."

"Neither has any woman before her first time. But if you're going to do this, if you're really going to fight back, then do it right. Don't pick up some random guy at a bar who'll sell his story to TMZ. Get someone who knows how to keep his mouth shut."

Lia's hands were shaking. This was insane. She'd never even thought about being with another man. Had been faithful to Julian for five years while he screwed half of Silvercrest.

But the image of him in their bed with Vanessa wouldn't leave her mind.

The way he'd looked at her. Like she was the problem. Like she deserved this.

"How much would something like this cost?" she heard herself ask.

"For a full night? Five grand. Maybe more for someone really good."

Lia thought about the credit card in her wallet. The one Julian paid off every month without checking the statements. The one she'd been too afraid to use for anything fun because Margaret monitored her purchases.

Well. Margaret could go to hell.

"Give me the number," Lia said.

Twenty minutes later, it was arranged.

Tomorrow night. The Azure's penthouse suite. A professional who came highly recommended and wouldn't ask questions.

Lia sat on the hotel bed, staring at the confirmation text, wondering what the hell she'd just done.

Her phone buzzed. Julian.

Julian: Where the f**k are you? Get home. Now.

Something inside her snapped.

Lia: No.

Julian: What do you mean, no? I'm your husband.

Lia: And you want an open marriage. So I'm out. Enjoying my freedom.

Julian: You're being childish.

Lia: You're being a cheating bastard. I guess we're even.

She blocked his number before he could respond.

Her phone rang immediately. Margaret. She blocked that too.

Then she ordered room service, expensive champagne she wasn't allowed to drink at home, chocolate cake Margaret said would make her fat.

Ate it all while watching trashy reality TV in her bathrobe.

I fell asleep with the TV still on and crumbs in the bed.

Woke up at 6 AM feeling lighter than she had in years.

Like maybe, just maybe, she could survive this.

The Next Evening

Lia stood in the Azure's penthouse suite wearing a black dress she'd bought that afternoon. Something that cost more than her monthly grocery budget. Something that made her feel dangerous.

The suite was ridiculous. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. King bed with silk sheets. Champagne on ice. Two thousand dollars a night and worth every penny for the privacy.

She'd left five thousand in cash on the nightstand. Just like Isla had told her to.

Her phone buzzed. Isla.

Isla: You okay?

Lia: Terrified.

Isla: That's normal. Just breathe. This is your choice. Your power. Remember that.

Lia: What if I can't go through with it?

Isla: Then don't. But Lia? You deserve to feel wanted. To feel alive. To be more than Julian's disappointing wife.

Lia set her phone down.

Poured herself champagne with shaking hands.

The knock came at exactly 8 PM.

She opened the door.

And forgot how to breathe.