Chapter 1

• Aurora’s Point of View
• It was raining hard outside. I reached the bar, soaked all over, my phone screen still shining in my face with that message.
• “Babe, emergency! Bring me a box of condoms, the address is…”
• My mind ran through a bunch of cheating scenes, each one twisting my stomach like a knife.
• The moment I pushed the door open, the heavy music hit me like a punch to the head.
• But the awful scene I had imagined did not show up.
• Inside, a crowd of people stood around my husband, Kevin, cheering him on.
• “Yo, Aurora really came! Kevin, you’re killing it!”
• Kevin’s eyes lit up when he saw me, but then they dropped when he noticed I wasn’t holding anything.
• He frowned at me, full of blame. “Why didn’t you bring the condoms?”
• Rain dripped from my hair into my collar. I felt freezing cold, and a sharp ache twisted through my lower belly.
• “What is this crap?” My voice shook with barely held anger. “You had me bring condoms to a bar?”
• Kevin lifted his shoulders. “It’s just a joke. I lost a game, and the forfeit was for you to bring something over.”
• He sounded a bit annoyed. “You’re already here. Why didn’t you just grab a box downstairs?”
• I couldn’t believe I was hearing this.
• “You’re joking about this?” My fingers dug into my palm, and my voice jumped up. “I’m your pregnant wife! You’re using me like some kind of game dare?”
• I turned to leave. I didn’t want to stay in that place for even one more second.
• I’d had enough.
• My body was trembling, maybe from the rain, maybe from anger.
• Kevin grabbed my wrist. “Don’t go. Betty’s not done having fun yet.” His tone tried to sound gentle, but it wasn’t meant for me. “She’s been helping me a lot lately. The company’s been doing way better.”
• My frown deepened. We’d been married for three years.
• For three years, his company had been losing money. I’d watched him stress every day about work. To help him feel better for the sake of our baby, I even arranged some projects for him.
• And now suddenly, it was all thanks to Betty?
• “Kevin, about that project—”
• “Enough.” He cut me off immediately, irritation sliding into his voice. “You’re just a housewife. What do you know about business? Don’t ruin the mood.”
• It felt like someone dumped ice water over my entire body. I went cold from the inside out.
• Betty walked out of the bathroom, freshly touched up, her hair falling in loose waves, lips painted a vivid red.
• “Come on, come on, keep going!”
• Not long after, Betty lost.
• A drunk guy shouted, “Spill it! What’s the wildest thing you’ve done with any guy here?”
• Betty’s eyes slid toward me with a sly glint, then she fluttered her lashes and locked eyes with Kevin, her tongue brushing over her glossy lips.
• “Does giving Kevin a blowjob count?”
• For a split second, the whole room went silent. Then it erupted into an even louder, messier mix of laughter and crude jeers.
• Kevin actually laughed too, reaching out to smack Betty’s ass. “With your skills? I’m the only one who doesn’t mind.”
• “Oh yeah?” Betty shot back, not backing down. “Funny, because whoever couldn’t last more than a few minutes in my mouth was screaming like a virgin, ‘No, no, stop!’”
• The guys around them went wild, shouting.
• “Kevin’s got some game! How many minutes exactly?”
• “Come on, Betty, tell us! How long does Kevin last when he’s hard? We gotta know!”
• The heckling and questions stabbed at my ears like a thousand needles.
• My stomach twisted painfully. I felt something drop inside me.
• Betty finally glanced at me, pretending to look shocked as she covered her mouth. “Aurora, you’re not mad, right? We’re just good bros helping each other out. Guys have needs, you know.”
• Before I could speak, Kevin cut in, “She’s cool with it. She’s the chillest one here.”
• Then he leaned close, his voice low but commanding. “It’s all for this family. For the kid. You need to be reasonable.”
• For the kid?
• I almost laughed at his shamelessness. Giving blowjobs to other women was for the kid? What kind of insane logic was that?
• I turned to leave, not wanting to look at them for a second longer.
• But Kevin grabbed my wrist with a grip so tight it frightened me.
• “The game’s not over yet. Don’t kill the vibe. I’ll take you home later.”
• The next round, the bottle spun and stopped directly on Kevin.
• “Kevin! You lost! Quick! Truth or dare?”
• “Dare!”
• “Kiss someone of the opposite sex here, tongue, for three minutes!”
• The moment he said it, his friends went wild, pushing Kevin and Betty into the center of the room.
• Kevin looked at me for a second, a bit unsure, but most of it was the buzz from the alcohol and the heat of the moment.
• Betty fluttered her lashes again and wrapped her arm around Kevin’s neck. “We’ve kissed before, no need to act shy.”
• And right there, in front of me, she kissed him.
• Kevin stayed stiff at first, but he gave in fast under Betty’s teasing. They kissed so hard, and I swear, I even saw a gross line of spit at the corner of their mouths. I stared as Kevin’s hand slid under the edge of Betty’s shirt.
• That was the last thing I could handle.
• “Crash!”
• I grabbed the whiskey bottle from the table and smashed it on the floor right by their feet. Brown liquid mixed with broken glass went everywhere.
• The whole room went silent.
• They both jumped apart, scared by the noise. Kevin finally snapped back to reality, finally remembering I was still there.
• Betty’s eyes watered. “Aurora, I’m sorry… we were just playing a game, don’t be upset…”
• Kevin rushed to calm me down, talking to me like I was a kid throwing a fit. “Alright, alright, cut it out. Everyone’s watching.”
• “Well, since Miss Betty likes playing the homewrecker so much, and bragging about her awful blowjobs,” I said as I pulled out my phone and unlocked it slowly, “why don’t we make a video call to your dad? Let him enjoy his sweet daughter’s tricks?”
• A guy nearby let out a short laugh. “You have Mr. Schneider’s number? Don’t make me laugh.”
• “Yeah, a housewife pretending she’s rich,” another added.
• I ignored them and thought back to the night at that fancy party, when Mr. Christopher was there, and a bunch of rich people were fighting to add me as a friend. I couldn’t help but give a cold little smirk.
• Without wasting time, I pulled up his number from my contacts and hit video call.
• “What the hell are you doing?!” Kevin snapped, trying to grab my phone.
• His friends laughed at me from the side. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a kiss. Didn’t you tell her to use a condom earlier? Now you’re acting all picky?”
• “Yeah, trashy background and still acting high-class.”
• Betty folded her arms and looked down at me with a small, nasty smile. “Forget it, don’t bother with Aurora. She just doesn’t understand our kind of friendship. But… honestly, I’m kinda worried. With her personality, I bet her future kids won’t even have one friend.”
• That line hit me like a blade straight to the softest part of my chest.
• I moved past Kevin, stepped forward, and slapped Betty hard across the face while she was still running her mouth.