Page 10 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

Her voice softens deliberately.

“I was there when he fell apart, Valeria. That kind of thing changes people. It creates bonds.”

She smiles faintly.

“Trust me. Your husband doesn’t miss you when he’s in my bed.”

The words hit exactly where she intended them to.

“And in seven days,” she adds, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her dress, “I’ll be Ms. Ivanov.”

Her eyes move over me slowly.

Triumphant.

“You came back too late.”

Silence stretches between us.

Then I tilt my head slightly.

“Tell me something, Bianca.”

For the first time since entering the room, she hesitates. Just slightly.

“Will you still be able to sleep at night now that I’m back?”

A flicker of doubt crosses her face before she walks out of the room.

The door closes behind her with a muffled slam.

I remain alone in those painfully white restrooms, my hands trembling slightly.

And my last illusions about the woman who used to be my best friend finally disappear.

She regrets nothing.

3. The Team

Valeria

I leave the gala shortly after my confrontation with Bianca.

I got what I came for.

My resurrection is public now: three hundred witnesses, dozens of phones recording, and by tomorrow morning, my face will be everywhere.

Most importantly, Dante knows I’m alive now.

Hugo joins me the moment he spots me.

He slides behind the wheel, and the car pulls away from the curb.

Almost immediately, a second vehicle falls in behind us.

Stephen.

Reliable, steady, discreet. The kind of man people barely notice until they realize he’s already seen everything.