The pounding on my door continued, each knock making my heart race faster. I grabbed my robe and wrapped it around myself, my hands shaking as I approached the door.
"Emily! I know you are hiding in there like a coward!"
Vanessa's voice was angry, nothing like the sweet tone she used when Alex was around. I pressed my back against the door, trying to think. How had she found me? Why was she here?
"Open this door right now, or I will make a scene that will wake up this entire motel!"
I did not doubt she would do it. Vanessa loved drama and loved being the center of attention. The last thing I wanted was to drag Mrs. Martinez and the other guests into whatever mess this was.
I unlocked the door and opened it just a crack, keeping the chain latch in place.
"What do you want, Vanessa?"
She looked different than I remembered. Her usually perfect blonde hair was messy, her makeup smudged. She was wearing a wrinkled dress that looked like she had slept in it. This was not the polished, put-together woman who had stolen my husband.
"Open the door properly. We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Well, I have plenty to say to you." Her eyes were wild, desperate. "Do you have any idea what you have done?"
"What have I done?" I could not believe what I was hearing. "You destroyed my marriage. You took my husband. What could I possibly have done to you?"
"I did not take anything that was not already mine!" she screamed. "Alex never loved you! He told me so himself, over and over again!"
The words stung, even though I already knew they were true. Alex had made his feelings clear the night I left.
"Then why are you here? If you won, why do you care where I am?"
Vanessa's face crumpled, and for the first time, I saw something other than arrogance in her expression. She looked broken.
"Because he fired me," she whispered.
I opened the door wider, staring at her. "He what?"
"He fired me from Reed Industries. Yesterday. He said I was a distraction, that he could not focus with me around." Tears were streaming down her face now. "He threw me out of the house, Emily. The house where we were living together. He changed the locks."
I felt a mix of shock and something that might have been satisfaction. Alex had finally seen Vanessa for who she really was.
"I do not understand. You got what you wanted. You got Alex."
"No, I did not!" She pushed past me into my room, and I was too shocked to stop her. "He has been different since you left. Cold, distant. He barely talks to me anymore. All he does is work and drink and stare out windows like he is looking for something."
She collapsed into the single chair by my small table, sobbing. I had never seen Vanessa cry before. She had always been so controlled, so perfect.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, still standing by the open door.
"Because I think he is looking for you."
I was shocked and surprised. "What?"
"He has been asking questions. About joint bank accounts, about legal separation papers. His assistant told me he has been trying to figure out where you went." She looked up at me with red eyes. "He misses you, Emily."
"How did you find me?" I asked, ignoring her claim about Alex missing me.
"I hired a private investigator," she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I needed to know where you went; I needed to understand why Alex suddenly could not stop thinking about you."
A private investigator. That made sense. Vanessa had money and connections. If she wanted to find me, she could.
"What do you want from me, Vanessa?"
"I want you to go back to him."
I stared at her. "What?"
"Go back to Alex. Take him back. Make him happy again so he will take me back too."
I could not believe what I was hearing. "You want me to go back to my husband so that you can be his mistress again?"
"Yes! It worked before. We were all getting what we needed. You had the title and the house, I had Alex's attention and affection, and he had both of us for different things."
"That was not working, Vanessa. That was destroying me."
"So? You were fine! You had everything a woman could want!"
"I had nothing!" I stood up with anger. "I had a husband who treated me like furniture, a marriage that was a lie, and a life that was not worth living. I was dying inside, every single day."
"You were being dramatic—"
"I was being human!" I cut her off. "I was a human being who wanted to be loved by the man she married. That should not have been too much to ask."
Vanessa stared at me, and for a moment, I thought she might actually understand. Then her expression hardened again.
"Fine. Be selfish. Live in this pathetic motel room, working your little job, pretending you are better off without him. We both know you will never find anyone better than Alexander Reed."
"Actually, I think I already have."
The words slipped out before I could stop them. Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
"Oh really? Who? Some loser who works at this motel?"
I should have kept quiet. Should have ended the conversation and made her leave. Instead, I felt the need to defend the new life I was building.
"Someone who sees me as more than just a pretty decoration. Someone who values my opinions and my dreams and my art."
"Your art?" Vanessa laughed, a cruel sound. "Emily, you paint flowers and landscapes like a child. That is not art; that is a hobby."
Her words hit like a slap, bringing back all the insecurities I had been working so hard to overcome. For a moment, I felt small again, worthless.
Then I thought about Miguel's face when he looked at my paintings. The genuine admiration, the way he talked about my work like it mattered. The way he saw beauty in my ordinary moments.
"You know what, Vanessa? You are wrong. My art does matter. It matters to people who understand what real beauty looks like, not just expensive things and perfect faces."
"Like who? Your imaginary boyfriend?"
I should have stopped there. Should have realized she was baiting me. Instead, I let my pride get the better of me.
"His name is Miguel, and he is kinder and more genuine than Alex ever was."
Vanessa went very still. "Miguel?"
"Yes, and he actually listens to me when I talk. He makes me feel like my thoughts and feelings matter."
"Miguel who works here? At this motel?"
Something in her voice made me uncomfortable. There was a strange urgency, almost fear.
"How do you know he works here?"
"I told you, I hired an investigator. When you find someone, you find out about the people around them too." She stood up suddenly, her face pale. "What is his last name?"
"Why does that matter?"
"Just tell me his last name, Emily."
"I am not telling you anything about him. You have done enough damage in my life."
"Is it Reed?" she whispered. "Is his last name Reed?"
I felt cold suddenly. "How do you know that?"
Vanessa's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "Oh my God. Emily, you have no idea, do you?"
"No idea about what?"
She started backing toward the door, shaking her head.
"Vanessa, what are you talking about?"
"I have to go. I have to think about this."
"Think about what?"
She grabbed the door handle and then turned back to me one more time.
"Emily, you need to ask Miguel about his family. You need to ask him why he really came to work at this motel."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ask him about his background, Emily. Ask him if he knows who Alexander Reed is."
She ran out of the room, leaving me standing there with my heart pounding and my mind racing.
What did Miguel have to do with Alexander? How did Vanessa know Miguel's last name was Reed?
I grabbed my phone and scrolled to Miguel's number, my fingers hovering over the call button.
Reed was not exactly an uncommon last name. There had to be thousands of Reeds in New York. It did not have to mean anything.
Did it?
I sat on my bed, staring at my phone, suddenly afraid to call the one person who had been making me feel safe and happy.
Who was Miguel Reed, really?
And why did I suddenly feel like my new life was about to come crashing down just like my old one had?