Chapter 4
Betrayal
(Maya’s POV)
I sat the dinning table, trying to figure out where everything changed. Thinking about the man I had loved so deeply, so completely.
A man who was cheating on me.
David was cheating on me.
My brain was struggling to comprehend David’s actions. How could he do this to me… to us?
The sound of the front door unlocking felt louder than usual, pushing me out of my thoughts and into the real world.
I stood in the kitchen, one hand resting on the counter, the other clenching the plush toy I'd picked up earlier. My chest felt tight, but my face… my face was calm. I didn’t want David thinking I was on to him… yet.
The door opened, and in he walked—David. Smiling. Whistling. Arms full.
His hair was a mess, and he wasn’t wearing the same clothes I saw him in earlier and my mind jumped to the worst thoughts. Thoughts about everything he could have been doing with that woman.
"Happy anniversary," he said brightly, stepping into the entryway like he hadn’t just spent the afternoon wrapping another woman in his arms.
He held a bouquet of red roses and a small velvet box.
I froze.
The roses. I recognized them instantly. They were the same ones he’d placed beside his mistress during lunch—the same deep, blood-red petals arranged in the same black wrapping.
And the box…
I didn’t need to open it to know.
It was the necklace.
The same one I’d watched him fasten around another woman’s neck only hours ago.
The irony tasted bitter in my mouth. David was giving me the same necklace as his mistress. And for a minute I wondered if it was a financial benefit or it was easier to keep track of everything, he gave to me and her. To make sure he didn’t mess up.
God I was going to throw up.
I took a deep breath and forced my lips into a smile. “You remembered.”
He crossed the room and kissed my cheek. I didn’t lean in.
“I wanted to make today special,” he said, holding the roses out like a peace offering I hadn’t asked for. “I know I’ve been distracted lately, but I’ve been thinking about us, really thinking. And I wanted to show you how much you mean to me.”
He wanted to show us both. His mistress and me.
I reached behind me and lifted the small paper bag from the boutique—the one with the bear inside. I handed it to him without a word.
He opened it, expecting… something else. Something more.
His smile faltered when he pulled out the plush toy. His fingers curled around the soft fur like it might transform into diamonds if he held it long enough. I knew exactly what David had expected form me.
“A toy?” he asked, confused. “It’s… cute.”
How had I not noticed how materialistic David had become. I could tell he was unhappy with the gift. It wasn’t a Rolex after all.
I smiled gently. “It means something to me. I picked it up today while I was thinking about our future.”
He looked up, slightly confused and cautious. Hope was flickering behind his eyes. “Our future?”
I nodded, eyes glassy but dry. “I’ve made a decision. A decision I know you’ve been wanting to hear for a while now. I’m going to quit the hospital. Focus on us. Start trying for a baby. I’m not getting any younger and I know how much you want us to have a family.”
David stared at me, stunned. Then a wide, grin broke across his face, and he swept me into his arms, nearly knocking the roses to the floor.
“Are you serious?” he asked breathlessly. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that.”
I hugged him back—lightly. Enough not to make him question me. But internally I felt like I was going to combust.
When he leaned in to kiss me again, I pulled away just slightly.
David looked taken a back by my move but then smiled at me. “Are you alright honey?”
“I’m exhausted,” I said. “Today’s been long. I just need a shower and some sleep.”
He didn’t push. “Of course. Go get some rest. I’ll pour us some wine, before dinner. We can celebrate properly tomorrow.”
“Perfect,” I whispered.
I slipped away to the bedroom, showered and changed into soft cotton pajamas, and crawled under the covers. I didn’t sleep.
Not a second.
I couldn’t be around David. All I wanted to do was ask him why he was torturing me, why had he decided I wasn’t enough. When had he decided that I wasn’t enough.
God.
My brain refused to shut off. And the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted answers to my questions.
- - - -
By midnight, the house was quiet. David was fast asleep, and I couldn’t get away from the bed I shared with him, quick enough.
At least he was a heavy sleeper and I could sneak out of our room without waking him.
I padded barefoot into the living room, wrapped in a shawl, and curled up on the couch.
My phone glowed against the darkness.
I opened the photo album.
One by one, I stared at the images I had taken earlier.
David. Smiling. Kissing her. Giving her my necklace. Or a duplicate. Maybe I was given the duplicate.
My fingers hovered over the screen. I zoomed in. The woman’s profile. The turn of her head. Her hand brushing her hair.
I still couldn’t see her face. But I would.
I would find out.
I would know exactly who she was.
I pulled out information on a friend I hadn’t talked to in a while, but she was perfect and discreet. She would help me find out who the mistress is.
Isabelle Ryker. Private Investigator.
I tapped her contact. Filled in the information I had and attached the photos I had taken earlier in the day.
I have a job for you; your discretion is needed. Find the woman in the attached picture and all information her and on my husband, David Smythe. I look forward to all the information your able to gather.
Thank you,
Maya.
I stared at the message for a while before I finally took a breath and hit send.
The plush toy sat on the side table, its stitched smile mocking me beneath the dim light. I had wanted to give David everything I could. I had wanted to give him a family. But there was no way of coming back from betrayal.
I stared at it for a long time, then reached over and pressed it against my chest.
I had trusted David with my body. My love. My future.
Now, I trusted no one.
And I was done being the fool.
For all I knew she wasn’t the only one.
I wiped away the tears that had fallen.
I was going to find out who this woman was and then I was going to get her and David for the pain they had caused me.
My phone dinged and I looked at the screen. There one new message from Isabella.
Consider it done.