Valeria's POV
I stood frozen in the doorway, unable to breathe.
Kane jumped away from Sarah like she had burned him. His face went pale, then red.
"Valeria! What are you doing here?" His voice came out too high, too guilty.
Sarah slid off the desk smoothly, fixing her hair. She didn't look embarrassed at all. Instead, she smiled at me like we were old friends meeting for coffee.
"Oh, you must be the wife," she said sweetly. "Kane talks about you sometimes."
Sometimes. Not often. Just sometimes.
My throat closed up. I couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
"This isn't what it looks like," Kane said quickly. He stepped toward me, hands raised like he was approaching a scared animal. "Sarah is just helping with the investor meeting. We were celebrating because she found someone willing to fund the company."
"Celebrating?" The word finally escaped my lips. "By having her sit on your desk?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Kane's tone shifted from guilty to annoyed. "You're overreacting."
"Am I?" My voice shook. "Then why did her message say you'd finally have time alone? Why did she tell you to wear her favorite cologne?"
Sarah's smile faltered for just a second. Kane's eyes widened.
"You read my messages?" he asked, his voice dangerous now. "You went through my tablet?"
"You left it behind," I said. "And I'm glad I did."
Kane ran a hand over his face. "This is exactly why I can't talk to you about business. You don't understand professional relationships. Sarah is an investor. She's saving my company. Our future."
"Our future?" I laughed, but it sounded broken. "What future, Kane? The one where you sneak around with other women?"
"I'm not sneaking anywhere!" He slammed his hand on the desk. "I'm trying to save everything we've built! But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You just serve coffee and ask stupid questions!"
Each word hit harder than a fist.
Sarah put a hand on Kane's shoulder. "Maybe I should go. This seems like a private conversation."
"No." I looked straight at her. "You should stay. Since you're such an important part of Kane's life now."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. The sweet smile disappeared. "Look, I don't know what you think you saw—"
"I know exactly what I saw."
Kane moved between us. "Enough, Valeria. Go home. We'll talk about this later."
"Later?" My hands curled into fists. "When? Between your late meetings? Your missed dinners? Your ignored phone calls?"
"I've been busy!"
"Too busy for your wife, but not too busy for her?"
Silence filled the room. Heavy and thick.
Kane's jaw tightened. "At least Sarah understands what I'm trying to accomplish. At least she supports me instead of questioning everything I do."
The words knocked the air from my lungs.
"I've supported you," I whispered. "I've done nothing but support you."
"By working at a coffee shop? By cooking dinner?" He shook his head. "That's not support, Valeria. That's just existing. Sarah brought me real help. Real connections. Real money."
Real money. The words echoed in my head.
If only he knew. If only he knew my family could buy his entire company with pocket change.
But he didn't want me. He wanted my money. Money he didn't even know I had.
"Leave," Kane said coldly. "Before you embarrass yourself more."
I looked at him. Really looked at him. The man I had married seemed like a stranger now.
"Fine," I said quietly. "I'll go."
I turned and walked out. Each step felt like walking through water. Behind me, I heard Sarah's voice, low and satisfied.
"She seems nice."
Kane's response was too quiet to hear, but Sarah laughed.
That laugh followed me all the way to the elevator.
I drove home on autopilot, my mind blank and screaming at the same time. When I finally stumbled through the apartment door, I collapsed on the couch.
My phone rang. Sienna.
"Val? Please tell me you're okay. You never called back and I'm worried sick."
"I found him with her," I said flatly. "In his office. Together."
Sienna cursed loudly. "That worthless piece of— I'm coming over right now."
"No. Don't. I just need to think."
"Think about what? He's cheating on you! There's nothing to think about!"
"Maybe I misunderstood—"
"Stop it." Sienna's voice turned sharp. "Stop making excuses for him. You've been doing that for months and I'm tired of watching you hurt yourself."
"Months?" My stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"
She went quiet.
"Sienna? What do you mean by months?"
She sighed heavily. "I didn't want to say anything. I thought maybe I was wrong. But I've seen him around the city. At restaurants. Always with that same woman. They looked... close."
The room started spinning.
"When?" I asked. "When did you see them?"
"The first time was about three months ago. I convinced myself it was business. But Val, I saw them last week at Luminaire."
Luminaire. The fanciest restaurant in the city. Reservations took weeks. Meals cost more than our monthly rent.
"He told me he was meeting Elias that night," I said slowly.
"I know. That's why I didn't tell you. I hoped I was wrong."
Three months. He had been seeing her for three months.
"I have to go," I said.
"Val, please don't do anything—"
I hung up.
My mind raced. Luminaire. Last week. Kane had come home late, smelling like expensive perfume. He said Elias spilled wine on him and he borrowed cologne.
I had believed him.
I stood up and went to Kane's side of the closet. His suits hung neatly in a row. I checked the pockets of the one he wore last week.
Nothing.
I checked his dresser drawers. His desk. Under the bed.
Then I found it. In his jacket pocket from two weeks ago. A receipt.
Luminaire Restaurant. Dinner for two. Wine. Dessert. The total made my eyes water.
But it wasn't the price that made my hands shake.
It was the date.
Our anniversary.
Kane had taken Sarah to dinner on our anniversary. The same night he texted me saying he had to work late. The same night I waited up until midnight with a homemade cake.
The same night he came home and didn't even remember what day it was.
Something inside me cracked. Not broke. Cracked. Like ice on a frozen lake right before it shatters completely.
I grabbed my phone and called Kane.
It rang. And rang. And rang.
Voicemail.
I called again.
Voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
On the fourth try, he finally answered.
"What, Valeria? I'm in the middle of something."
"Where are you?"
"Still at the office. Why?"
"Are you alone?"
He paused. "What kind of question is that?"
"A simple one. Are you alone?"
"Elias is here. We're working on contracts."
Liar. Elias was out of town. He had posted pictures from a beach resort this morning.
"Come home," I said quietly. "Please. We need to talk."
"I told you, I'm busy. We'll talk tomorrow."
"Kane—"
"I have to go. Don't wait up."
He hung up.
I stared at the phone in my hand. At the receipt in the other.
Tomorrow. Always tomorrow. Never today. Never now.
My phone buzzed with a text. Unknown number.
I opened it.
My blood turned to ice.
It was a photo. Kane and Sarah. At a hotel entrance. His arm around her waist. Her head on his shoulder. Both of them smiling.
Below the photo, a message:
Thought you should know the truth. He's with her right now. Room 2847 at the Grandeur Hotel. Sorry.
My hands shook so hard I almost dropped the phone.
The Grandeur Hotel. Five blocks away.
Room 2847.
I looked at the clock. 11:47 PM.
I grabbed my keys.
This time, I wasn't going to run away.
This time, I was going to see everything with my own eyes.
And then, I was going to burn his world down.