Chapter 2

I hung up and drove to The Riviera Club.

At the entrance, I saw Chloe's car.

I didn't go in.

I just sat in my car, staring at the club's main door.

At ten o'clock that night, Chloe walked out, side by side with a man.

The man was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a simple T-shirt that showed off his strong arms.

It was Jake.

Chloe was smiling beside him, a joy I hadn't seen in the three years of our marriage.

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Jake said something, then reached out and ruffled Chloe's hair.

In that moment, *they* looked like a couple. And I? I felt like a pathetic fool, hiding in the shadows, watching.

I started my car and quietly drove away.

Back home, I deleted that short video.

And I deleted my account too.

I sat in the dark, waiting for her to return.

At midnight, the door opened.

Chloe came in, smelling of alcohol.

She saw me sitting on the couch and jumped.

"Why are you sitting in the dark? You want to scare someone to death?"

She complained as she switched on the living room light.

"Have fun?" I asked.

Her expression stiffened.

"It was... just okay. A class reunion, what do you expect? Dinner, drinks."

She spoke, but her eyes kept avoiding mine.

"Really?" I stood up and walked closer to her. "I thought you went swimming."

"No swimming." She was still lying.

"Chloe, Jake touched your hair."

She snapped her head up to look at me, her pupils constricting.

"You... you really did follow me! Alex, you're terrifying!"

I pulled out my phone and played a video.

In the video, Jake was ruffling her hair, and she was on her tiptoes, straightening his collar.

"My friend sent me this video. If you're brave enough to do it, why can't you own up to it?"

Chloe's face instantly drained of all color.

She stared at the video, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Finally, she lost control.

"I was drunk! He was just helping me, what's wrong with that!"

I smiled.

"Then that bracelet he bought you, did you accept it?"

Chloe subconsciously touched her wrist.

"How... how do you know about the bracelet?"