Chapter 2

OLIVIA

Two Days Later

"Lock her up and throw away the key. She doesn''t deserve to see daylight ever again!" Nick''s voice cut through the police station like a blade. His eyes were arctic cold, burning with pure hatred.

The officer shoved me hard into the rank, filthy cell and slammed the bars shut with a metallic clang. I turned to see Nick and Sandra standing together, looking like they''d been best friends forever... or maybe something more. She was the reason he''d turned on me, though I couldn''t figure out what her endgame was.

We''d grown up together, been through everything together. We''d always had each other''s backs. And now here she was, standing beside my husband while he threw me in jail for something I never did. Just a few hours ago, I''d been making dinner, waiting for him to come home from work. Even after that kitchen incident with Sandra, even though everything between us had gone sideways since she came back into our lives, I still thought we could work things out.

Boy, was I wrong.

The way Nick looked at me when he showed up with the cops – it shattered something inside me. I''d never seen that kind of raw hatred in his eyes before. Sandra had completely poisoned him against me, fed him a steady diet of lies. And he''d swallowed every single one.

I''d tried desperately to reason with him. "Nick, please! I didn''t do any of this. Sandra''s lying through her teeth. I don''t know why, but she is. Please, you have to believe me! I never pushed her, I never hurt her baby, and I sure as hell never stole from you. You know me – you know I could never do something like that!" But it was like talking to a brick wall.

Instead, he came back from the hospital the next day with a police escort, ready to nail me for theft.

I couldn''t pinpoint exactly when things between us had gotten so toxic that he''d stopped trusting me completely. We used to be happy, making plans, dreaming about our future together. Then I let a snake into our home, and it bit me.

I''d even tried pleading with Sandra. "Sandra, please. Just tell him the truth. Tell him I didn''t do this. I have no idea why you''re stabbing me in the back like this. Why are you lying to him? You know damn well I could never do any of these things. I didn''t push you, and I had no clue you were even pregnant. Why would you do this to me? Just tell the truth!"

But instead of coming clean, Sandra''s eyes welled up with crocodile tears. "Olivia, you''re being so cruel. Even now you''re trying to blame me for what you did. What did I ever do to deserve this treatment? I was your friend – I loved you like a sister. But you never cared about me at all. You knew I was pregnant, and you still pushed me. Hell, I didn''t even tell Nick when you started stealing from him! I kept your dirty secrets, and this is how you repay me?"

That''s when all hope just drained right out of me. None of it was true, but Nick was eating it up.

Sandra turned on the waterworks and spun toward him. "I shouldn''t have said anything about what she''s been up to. This is all my fault – I''m making her act out like this. Just forget everything I told you and listen to your wife."

Then she turned back to me and – when Nick couldn''t see – flashed me the most vicious smirk I''d ever seen. "Olivia, I''ll leave. I''ll go back overseas. I''m sorry I wrecked your marriage. I forgive you for everything, and I know you didn''t mean to push me. But you really should come clean about all that money you stole. I''m sure Nick will forgive you, and maybe you two can patch things up."

Nick''s whole expression softened when he looked at Sandra. He was buying every word of her bullshit, and watching him look at her that way felt like a knife twisting in my chest. That gentle look used to be mine – I was his wife.

"Don''t beat yourself up, Sandra. You''re not the one who''s been cheating, stealing, and scheming behind my back," Nick said, his voice dripping with ice. "You didn''t tell her to pop those pills to avoid having my baby. You didn''t push her down the stairs." Then he fixed his gaze on me. "I promise you this, Olivia – you''re going to pay for everything. As long as I''m breathing, you''ll never know peace."

The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees, and cold dread crawled down my spine. I knew he meant every single word. I never thought he could do something like this to me or spit such poison, and I couldn''t stop the tears from streaming down my face.