At three in the morning, my husband, Nolan Thomson, started talking in his sleep.

"My baby, be good. Daddy's getting you and Mommy a new house tomorrow."

I shot awake. We'd always used protection. What baby?

I shoved his shoulder. "What did you just say?"

He rolled over, eyes still shut. "Just a nightmare. Dreamed some client was chasing me over money."

I didn't push it. In the dark, I grabbed his phone and unlocked it.

Three months ago, there was a $50,000 transfer.

[Down payment.]

[Recipient: Kelsey Ward.]

I searched her name.

The first thing on her feed was an ultrasound photo.

[Our little angel has been on the way. Daddy says we'll be living in a big house by the time you're here.]

Posted the day after Nolan sent the money.

I screenshotted everything and sent it straight to my dad.

[Dad, your perfect son-in-law didn't just cheat. He got another woman pregnant. I want him walking away with nothing.]

Dad replied almost immediately:

[That scum! Sweetheart, don't panic. I'm getting the best lawyer right now. He's about to learn he messed with the wrong family.]

I swallowed back the nausea and kept scrolling through Kelsey's posts.

One month ago:

[We finally picked out our little home today. The area is amazing! Thanks to my hubby for giving me and our baby such a cozy place.]

The photo showed her clinging to Nolan Thomson's arm at a sales office. Her dress showed off her bump, and she was smiling brightly.

Nolan had an arm around her waist.

I'd never seen him look at me that gently.

Two months ago:

[My hubby says our baby and I are his whole world. He's giving us the best life. This steak smells sooo good!]

The picture was from some fancy restaurant. On the table sat the expensive steak I could never bring myself to order.

I remembered that night.

I'd wanted to celebrate my promotion there.

Nolan said it was too expensive.

So we got takeout.

Three months ago:

[Two lines! Baby, you came at the perfect time. Your daddy and I can't wait for you!]

The picture showed her fingers laced with Nolan's over her stomach.

Every photo felt like a knife to the chest.

I cried into my pillow in the dark.

Next to me, Nolan slept peacefully, a tiny smile on his face.

Probably off dreaming about his perfect little secret family.

I stared at his face. Whatever love I had left died right there.

'Nolan, did you really think I'd never find out? I'm not someone you get to walk all over.'

I slipped out of bed, headed to the study, and turned on my laptop.

As the Jourdain family heiress, I had plenty of ways to make him regret this.

First, I needed to know exactly who Kelsey was.

I hired a private investigator and got her background fast.

Kelsey Ward. Twenty-three. Fresh out of a pretty average college. Receptionist at Nolan's company.

Middle-class family. Both parents worked in factories.

Just another girl trying to climb her way up.

What pissed me off even more?

She joined Nolan's company six months after we got married.

Meaning she'd been after a married man from day one.

Shameless.

The next morning, Nolan woke me the same way he always did.

"Babe, breakfast's ready." He kissed my forehead. "I've got an important client meeting today. Might be home late."

I forced a smile. "Okay. Work comes first."

A flash of surprise crossed his face. Guess he wasn't expecting me to go along with it so easily.

"I'll probably be busy the next few days. Don't overthink it."

"I know."

I nodded like the perfect wife, while laughing inside.

Busy taking your side chick to doctor appointments?

After Nolan left, I drove straight to Horizon Tech.

As a business partner, I had every right to show up.

The receptionist at the front desk was young.

Kelsey.

She looked even younger and prettier in person. Long hair. Clear eyes. An innocent face.

You'd never guess she was sleeping with a married man.

"Hi, who are you here to see?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm here for Nolan Thomson."

I looked her over.

She had on a loose business suit, but I still caught it.

The slight curve of her stomach.

She was already showing.

"Mr. Thomson is in a meeting. Can I get your name?"

"Johanna Jourdain."

Her face changed instantly.

She knew exactly who I was.

Nolan's wife.

"Ms. Jourdain! One second. I'll let Mr. Thomson know right away."

She grabbed the phone so fast she almost fumbled it.

I heard her lower her voice.

"Mr. Thomson... your wife's here."

A minute later, Nolan rushed out with a tight smile. "Babe, what are you doing here?"

His eyes flicked to Kelsey.

"I wanted to see your office. Maybe grab lunch with you." I slipped my arm through his.

"Sure. Let's eat at the restaurant upstairs."

Way too quick.

He was already trying to get me out of there.

In the elevator, I asked casually, "That receptionist is pretty cute. How old is she?"

"Not sure. She's a new intern."

Too fast.

"I don't really pay attention."

"Oh."

I nodded, already filing that under bullshit.

During lunch, I asked if he'd been stressed lately, if he wasn't feeling well.

I kept putting food on his plate.

He looked touched. "You care about me the most. I'm so lucky to have you."

I almost lost my appetite listening to him.

"By the way," I said like I just remembered, "a friend told me about this new neighborhood. Should we start looking at houses too?"

His fork froze.

"Looking at houses? Isn't our place fine?"

"It's kind of small. If we have kids someday, we might need more space."

His face shifted.

"No rush on kids. Things are tight right now."

Tight?

Funny. Money didn't seem tight when he bought his side chick a house.

"You're right. We can wait."

I smiled and played along.

But now I saw him for exactly who he was.

That afternoon, I used the bathroom as an excuse and walked past the front desk on purpose.

Kelsey was chatting with a coworker.

"The doctor said the baby's healthy. Due date's at the end of the year."

"Kelsey, you're seriously so lucky. Your boyfriend spoils you. He bought you a house and treats you like a princess."

"Yeah. He said he'll marry me after the baby's born."

She looked like she was glowing.

Marry her?

I almost laughed.

He hadn't even divorced me yet.

Kelsey looked up and saw me.

The color drained from her face.

"M-Ms. Jourdain."

I walked over and smiled sweetly.

"You're Kelsey, right? You're pregnant? Congrats."

She instinctively covered her stomach.

"Thank you, Ms. Jourdain."

"The baby's father treats you well, right?"

"Yeah."

She wouldn't look at me.

"Good. People should appreciate what they have. And stay away from scumbags."

I held her gaze for a second, then walked away.

Outside the building, I took a slow breath.

'Kelsey, do you really think staying in the background keeps you safe? I'll show you exactly what a wife can do.'

That night, Nolan came home late, smelling like women's perfume.

"Client dinner. Had a few drinks."

He let out a small burp. "I'm gonna shower."

The second he walked into the bathroom, I grabbed his phone.

Kelsey: [Honey, the appointment went great! The doctor said we could find out the gender. It's a boy!]

Nolan: [That's amazing! My son! I'll take you shopping for baby stuff tomorrow.]

[You're the best. I love you!]

[I love you and our baby too. Once he's here, we'll finally be a real family.]

I felt sick reading it.

They already had it all planned out.

Just waiting for me, the wife, to disappear.

Keep dreaming.

I put his phone back and pasted on a sweet smile.

When Nolan came out of the shower, I walked over and started rubbing his shoulders.

"You've been working hard. So many client dinners lately."

He leaned back and enjoyed it, looking way too pleased with himself.

"It's all for our future."

"Oh, right." I kept my voice casual. "I saw your receptionist today. She looks pregnant. Pretty young to be having a baby."

His body went stiff. "Really? I didn't notice."

"She looks at least three or four months along."

"Young people these days don't know how to be careful."

He let out a fake laugh.

I laughed inside but kept smiling.

"I hope her boyfriend's doing the right thing. Otherwise it'd be pretty messed up."

"I'm sure he is."

He was already sweating.

The next day, I had the PI keep following them.

No surprise there.

Nolan took Kelsey to some upscale baby store. The pictures showed them acting like a happy little family.

His arm around her waist. His hand on her stomach.

The way he looked at her—

It was the same look he used to give me when we first got married.

Then it got worse.

They stopped at a jewelry store.

He bought her a twenty-thousand-dollar diamond ring.

Back when we got married, I'd told him I didn't need anything expensive.

He'd looked so touched he almost cried.

Now he could drop twenty grand on his side chick?

I saved every photo.

Future divorce evidence.

That afternoon, I went to the shopping district Kelsey always hung around and pretended to shop.

Didn't take long to find her.

She was sitting in a café with a friend.

I grabbed a seat nearby and listened.

"Kelsey, are you sure about this? He's married."

"So what?" Kelsey looked completely unbothered. "He doesn't even love his wife. He's only still with her because her family's rich.

"He said once I give him a son, he'll find some excuse to divorce her."