Soft lace, silk stockings, and scattered perfume vials covered the living room floor. They trailed in a careless line toward the stairs. My chest tightened. My stomach knotted.
I told myself it had to be a mistake. Perhaps a cleaning service had misplaced things. Maybe I had imagined something. Anything but the reality forming in front of me.
Then I heard laughter. Soft, familiar laughter. My blood ran cold.
“What if Emily comes back early?” a woman giggled.
“She won’t. And even if she does, what can she do? I pay for everything,” Lucas said, his voice cold and dismissive.
Emily. My closest friend from college. Someone I had trusted more than anyone besides Lucas.
I stood frozen outside the bedroom door, hands trembling, heart pounding. The anger inside me roared. The betrayal was palpable.
