Page 10 of Vows of Deceit
They sat side by side on the white linen sofa, sunlight pouring through the windows, casting a warm glow on the sharp edge of betrayal. Delia pulled up a timeline she’d been building quietly for weeks.
“Damien and Kelly have been in contact consistently over the last two years,” she said. “Texts. Private calls. Shareddrivers. Discreet meeting points. Spa weekends. I traced several travel overlaps.”
Cassie stared at the screen.
“There are purchases that match her style, hotels they checked into separately but always ended up at the same place. Surveillance footage from some, timestamps from valet logs at others.”
She clicked open a folder titledPhotos.
Cassie inhaled sharply. Kelly in a pool cabana, her head resting on Damien’s shoulder. Damien at a boutique hotel rooftop bar, smiling down at her in a way that used to be reserved for Cassie.
“You were right,” Delia said softly. “It didn’t start recently. It’s been ongoing. And…” She hesitated.
Cassie turned to her. “What?”
“...it started the week of your wedding. The night before was just the beginning. They didn’t stop.”
Cassie sat still, her back ramrod straight.
“I found text messages,” Delia added. “From months ago. He told her he was ‘trying to let go’ and that ‘Cassie didn’t deserve to be hurt like this.’”
Cassie’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “He was trying to be loyal to both of us.”
Delia’s tone hardened. “No. He was trying to avoid consequences.”
Cassie nodded slowly.
“Print all of it,” she said. “Back up the evidence. We’ll need copies.”
“For lawyers?” Delia asked.
Cassie turned her gaze out the window, toward the city skyline she once felt safe in.
“For legacy.”
Later that night, Cassie hosted a dinner.
A casual one, just Harper, Delia, Leo, and Damien.
Damien was all smiles, a little more attentive than usual. He poured her wine, touched her back when he passed, praised the lamb Delia had arranged from her favorite caterer.
Leo, observant as ever, seemed unusually quiet.
Harper, on the other hand, gave Damien a tight-lipped smile each time he spoke.
“So,” Harper said as dessert was served, “any plans for your third anniversary? Something private or something grand again?”
Damien chuckled, wrapping an arm around Cassie’s chair. “I’ve been thinking maybe something in Tuscany. Just us this time.”
Cassie tilted her head, sipping her wine. “Tuscany sounds lovely.”
Delia gave her a small, secret nod. They were all playing roles. Harper the amused friend. Delia the discreet assistant. Leo the friend torn between silence and truth.
And Cassie?
Cassie was the woman who’d been wronged but not broken.
The next day, she scheduled a quiet lunch with Elaine Sterling, her mother-in-law.
