Everyone froze except the woman sitting on the couch, the one my husband was hand-feeding fruit to.

She looked me up and down, head to toe. Like she was inspecting a piece of trash. Her eyes dripped with disgust.

Sneaking into my home for her affairs wasn't enough for her anymore. She wanted something more thrilling.

"What are you doing here?"

Jayden's smile was stiff, unnatural.

"You texted me to come."

I watched his flustered expression and understood instantly. That woman had sent the text from his phone without him knowing.

I really was stupid. I'd walked right into my own humiliation.

"Oh... I almost forgot... right... right..."

Jayden stammered through a weak laugh.

Three place settings sat on the table.

I was the extra one.

My nose stung. A bitter ache spread through my chest.

Mrs. Whitney Sr. looked at me with barely concealed contempt. "You're coming back and you can't even give us a heads-up?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't summon the energy to argue with her.

"Oh, this is Aileen James. She's my friend. She came by to visit Mom."

Jayden's eyes darted everywhere except toward me.

"That's right. Aileen is such a sweetheart. She even bought me a gold bracelet."

Mrs. Whitney Sr. smiled warmly at the woman on the couch.

But Aileen didn't look at me. She didn't seem to have any intention of acknowledging me at all. As if she were the lady of this house.

I stared at my mother-in-law's face, but all I could see were images of the two of them together, tangled up in each other.

Nausea surged through me.

I stumbled to the bathroom, gagging, but nothing came up.

When I stepped out, I heard Jayden and Aileen by the door, their voices low and playful.

Jayden's tone was teasing, laced with mock reproach. "You invited her over without telling me first? You little troublemaker."

"I just wanted to see the look on her face when she lost it." Aileen's voice turned possessive. "And remember, you're not allowed to touch her."

"Touch her? She lies there like a dead fish. Nothing like you, you little wildcat."

My brain short-circuited.

So that was it.

All those late nights at the office. All those times he barely touched me.

It was because of a promise he'd made to her.

I looked at the face in the mirror. Not young anymore. I looked at my hands under the faucet. No longer soft. My chest felt like it was going to split open.