Page 1 of Fierce Secrets

CHAPTER 1

MEREDITH

The pristine white walls of my apartment felt like they were closing in as I stood in the doorway of my bedroom, staring at the scene before me. Logan, my fiancé of two years, was tangled in our Egyptian cotton sheets with a woman I recognized from his office Christmas party. A junior in accounting. Because of course she was.

"Meredith!" Logan scrambled to cover himself, his face flushed from more than just embarrassment. "Baby, this isn't?—"

I held up my hand, my engagement ring catching the dim light. The three-carat diamond he'd bragged about financing suddenly felt like it was burning my skin. "Don't. Just... don't."

The woman – Shannon? Susan? – had the decency to look mortified as she clutched the sheets to her chest. My sheets. The ones I'd spent an obscene amount of money on because Logan had complained about thread count, that my bargain buy was too inferior to what he deemed as good quality.

"I can explain," Logan started again, but I was already turning away, my heels clicking against the floor as I moved through our shared apartment. Three years of my life, packed into this space, and now it felt contaminated. Ruined.

This home we'd made together felt alien now. Wrong.

My throat tightened, tears prickling the edges of my eyes. I wanted to scream, to hurl something, but my heart was pounding hard now, my blood thumping in my ears. The tightness in my chest had set in, and the edges of my vision were darkening.

He'd betrayed me. Hurt me in the cruelest way. Seeing him thrusting into her as I'd come home early to surprise him for a date night…

It tore me to pieces.

The man I'd promised to love, the one who spoke of getting married and traveling the world.

The man who I no longer knew.

I grabbed my purse from the kitchen counter, knocking over a frame that held our engagement photos. The glass shattered as it hit the floor. Fitting. I ignored it, trying to draw in steadying breaths as my hands shook.

Keep it together. It hurts, but you can do this. You have friends, family, you are loved.

"Meredith, please!" Logan's footsteps pounded behind me, and I could hear him struggling to pull on pants. "It was a mistake! It didn't mean anything!"

The laugh that escaped my throat was almost hysterical. "A mistake? Like accidentally falling into our bed? In our home?"

I didn't give him another look, not wanting the tears to start falling as I yanked the door open.

"Merry!"

The nickname shouted after me tore a strangled sob from my throat, the wretched tears streaking down my cheeks as I headed for the elevator.

My phone was already in my hand as I jabbed the button by the door. I sucked in another breath, grateful the doors opened within seconds while Logan was still scrambling at our apartment door.

"Just wait!"

I stepped into the elevator, jamming the button to close the doors repeatedly as my vision swam. I blocked out his shouts as best I could, focusing on steadying my breathing as the doors shut and the levels beeped down.

It's okay. You're safe. You're not in real danger.

I closed my eyes tight, shivers coursing through me as I battled the panic threatening to consume me. I'd done so much work to get control of this side of myself. I could do this.

I blinked through my tears as I unlocked my phone, staring at my best friend's name on the call list.

Right, Sofia was out of town for work, and I wasn't about to call her and make her drive all the way back here. I knew this was a big career move for her that could change her path. As much as I wanted to lean on her right now, to cry my eyes out while she cursed Logan to the moon and back and probably came over to give him a mouthful, I wasn't going to ruin her chances for work.

This is not a life or death situation. I'm safe. Hurting inside, but not in real danger.

I repeated various calming phrases in my mind as the elevator finally hit the ground floor.

December wind whipped through the lobby as I burst through the building's front doors, the night air biting at my exposed skin. I'd left my coat upstairs, but there was no way I was going back.

---