Chapter 2: The Cracks She Had Ignored
Six months earlier, Claire had started noticing the changes in Ryan’s behavior.
At first, it was small things. He began staying late at the office more often. His work trips increased from once a month to nearly every week. When he was home, he seemed distracted, constantly checking his phone and smiling at messages that weren’t from her.
Claire had tried to convince herself that she was overthinking.
Ryan had always been charming and sociable. It was part of his job as a sales executive. She told herself that the long hours and frequent travel were necessary for his career. After all, she was also ambitious. She understood pressure.
But then Chloe’s name started appearing more and more.
Ryan would mention her in passing during dinner.
“Chloe handled that client meeting really well today.”
“Chloe booked the best hotel for the conference.”
“Chloe is so organized. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
Claire had met Chloe a few times at company events. She was young, beautiful, and quiet in a way that made people underestimate her. But Claire had noticed the way Chloe looked at Ryan — with open admiration and something deeper.
At a holiday party in Seattle, Chloe had stayed close to Ryan the entire night. She laughed at all his jokes, found excuses to touch his arm, and watched him with an intensity that made Claire uncomfortable.
When Claire brought it up later that night, Ryan had dismissed her immediately.
“You’re overthinking again,” he said. “Chloe is just a good assistant. You’re being insecure.”
Those words had stung more than Claire wanted to admit.
She had never considered herself an insecure person. She was thirty-two, successful, and respected in her industry. She had worked hard to reach her position as Operations Director. She didn’t need constant reassurance.
But something about Ryan’s defensiveness made her uneasy.
Still, she chose to trust him.
She chose to believe that the man she had married eight years ago was still the same person.
That choice had led her here — sitting on a plane, watching her husband comfort another woman in first class while calling her his wife.
Claire closed her eyes and took a slow breath.
She wasn’t going to cry.
Not yet.
Instead, she opened her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for.
May you like
She had been hoping she would never have to use this number.
But Ryan had left her no choice.
