Chapter 2

*I need to see the doctor tomorrow,* I thought. *The dosage needs adjusting.*

I prepared to set the phone back on the nightstand.

The screen lit up.

A notification from her work group. Someone had tagged Sarah.

Before I could tap it, my elbow knocked the diary off the table. It hit the floor with a dull thud.

Sarah jolted awake. Her eyes darted around in confusion before landing on the lit phone screen. She snatched it up. As she read the message, her expression tightened. She scrambled out of bed, grabbing her coat.

"There's a crisis with the project. I have to go back to the office immediately."

She paused at the door, her voice dropping to a soothing cadence. "Jayden, stay put. Be good. I'll have the housekeeper come over. Call me if you need anything."

She stepped into the hallway, then hesitated. Seeing me sitting motionless in the dark, she turned back.

"If... if you really don't want me to go, I can stay."

The hallway light backlit her silhouette, leaving her face in shadow. But exhaustion dripped from every word. Since my breakdown, I had been a volatile burden. To support us, to pay for my treatments, she ran herself ragged between the company and our home.

The coffee table was always stocked with my favorite fruits. The bookshelves were filled with therapy guides she had bought. Her eyes were perpetually bloodshot.

Sarah, who sacrificed everything for me—how could she be cheating?

Where would she even find the time?

I reached out, my fingers brushing her cheek.

"It's okay," I said, my voice hoarse. "Go. Handle your work."

"I took my meds. I'm feeling stable. I'll cooperate with the doctor. I want to get better for you."

Relief washed over her face. She leaned in, kissed my cheek, and hurried away.

As the front door clicked shut, I frowned.

Was it my imagination?

Or did a faint scent linger in the air?

*Cigarette smoke.*

I shook my head, dismissing the thought, and bent to retrieve the diary.

New ink glistened on the page.

*"Go to the Mid-Mountain Villa. You will find your answer there."*

*Mid-Mountain Villa.*

My hands began to tremble. A chill radiated from my spine, freezing the blood in my veins. I bit my lip, fighting back the sting of tears.

Mid-Mountain Villa was the dream home we had poured our life savings into.

It was also the tomb of our happiness.

Years ago, we sacrificed our health for our careers. Conception was a miracle after years of failure. Sarah was ambitious, and I understood her drive, so I stepped back. I became the househusband.

When our child was one year old, I slipped.

I fell down the stairs. The baby in my arms... didn't survive.

The guilt had hollowed me out. I punished myself with starvation, with pain, drowning in memories to escape the reality of my empty arms. Sarah, watching me wither, sold the villa. She moved us here to save me from the ghosts of that house.

Mid-Mountain Villa was a taboo.

A scar we never touched.

I thought she sold it to protect me.

But the diary was screaming a different truth.

*She kept it. To hide her lover.*

Nausea roiled in my stomach. On the page, the words appeared faster now, jagged and urgent.

*"Jayden, I know this hurts. But you have to wake up."*

*"Sarah doesn't love you. She hasn't for a long time."*

*"She is sick of your moods, your depression. She found comfort in the arms of her secretary."*