Chapter 48
Vikki’s POV
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I sat by the edge of my bed, my phone pressed to my ear, listening to the soft buzz of the call connecting. The investigator’s deep voice came through after a few rings.
“Mrs. Montgomery,” he greeted, his tone polite but clipped. “You asked me to start this morning. I’m already
on it.”
I swallowed hard, my fingers trembling slightly as I reached for the mug on my nightstand. The coffee had gone cold. “Good,” I managed to say, trying to sound composed. “Just… make sure you keep your distance. I don’t want her to suspect anything.”
He chuckled softly. “I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, ma’am. She won’t even know I exist.”
A chill crawled down my spine. I didn’t know if it was guilt or relief. “Alright. Keep me updated,” I said, ending the call before my voice betrayed the knot forming in my chest.
I sat there in silence for a moment, staring blankly at the wall. What was I even doing? Hiring someone to follow my husband’s doctor like some desperate, paranoid woman?
But then I remembered the way Edmund had looked at her, that softness in his eyes, that stupid, boyish smile that used to belong to me. The way he laughed like she was his safe place.
He had never laughed that way with me. Not in a long time.
By afternoon, I couldn’t focus on anything. The housekeeper asked what I wanted for lunch twice before I realized she was speaking to me. I waved her off, saying I wasn’t hungry. My appetite had been replaced by curiosity, and an ache that wouldn’t let me breathe properly.
When the investigator finally called around three, I nearly dropped my phone in my haste to answer.
“Talk to me,” I said, pacing the living room.
“Well,” he began, “your husband wasn’t at the office today. He met with Dr. Amelia at the hospital early in the morning, and they drove off together about an hour later. They stopped by a small café on Fifth, and sat together for nearly an hour.”
My heart thudded. “Where did they go after that?”
“They went to a residential neighborhood. He didn’t go in, though. He dropped her off and waited in his car for a while before driving off.”
“And her house?” I asked sharply. “Do you have an address?”
“Yes, ma’am. I took photos. I’ll send them shortly.”
I sat down on the couch, rubbing my temple. “Did you find anything else? About her background?”
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Chapter 48
“That’s the interesting part,” he said, his tone shifting. “She’s not just some random doctor.”
1 froze. “What do you mean?”
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“I dug into her records. Medical credentials, employment history… and something stood out. Seven years ago, she worked overseas for a while. Before that, she wasn’t listed under ‘Amelia Garcia.. For a certain period, her name was Amelia Montgomery.”
For a moment, the world tilted. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Your husband’s surname, ma’am. It looks like they were married.”
I blinked, my breath catching in my throat. “That’s impossible,” I whispered, my voice barely there. “You must’ve made a mistake.”
“No mistake,” he said firmly. “There are public marriage records from about seven years ago. It was dissolved quietly. No press, no details. But it’s there. I’m looking at the papers right now.”
My fingers went numb. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
“Send me everything,” I muttered, my voice trembling.
“Already on your email,” he said, before hanging up.
I stared at my phone, disbelief flooding through me. My thumb hovered over the mail app for several seconds before I opened it.
There they were, the documents, grainy but legible. A marriage certificate with her name. His.
Edmund Montgomery.
Amelia Montgomery.
My vision blurred.
The screen slipped from my grasp and landed on the couch beside me. I covered my mouth with my hand, a shaky breath escaping as tears pricked my eyes. He’d been married to her.
My husband had been married before… to her.
I don’t know how long I sat there, maybe minutes, maybe hours. When I finally pulled myself together, I found myself in the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine even though it wasn’t even five yet.
The liquid burned down my throat, but it didn’t numb the sting in my chest.
How long had he planned to keep this from me?
Was I just…. a replacement? A convenient name beside his on papers and dinners and events?
I pressed the glass against my lips again, letting out a shaky laugh that bordered on bitterness. “Unbelievable,” I muttered under my breath.
20:42 Wed, Jan 28
Chapter 48
My phone buzzed. A message from the investigator followed, several pictures attached.
I opened them one by one.
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The first showed Edmund leaning against his car outside the café, waiting. The second, Amelia walking toward the building, her hair tied back, dressed neatly in a white coat. The third…
The third stopped me cold.
It was a close–up of her smiling, the kind of soft, effortless smile that used to make Edmund’s day.
Now I understood why he couldn’t stay away.
My hand clenched around the phone, and my heart twisted with something I couldn’t quite describe, fury, humiliation, maybe even fear.
For the first time, I saw the truth behind the cracks in our marriage. The late nights. The excuses. The quiet phone calls.
It wasn’t work that kept him away. It was her.
That evening, I tried to pretend nothing was wrong. When Edmund came home, I was sitting at the dining table, flipping through a magazine I couldn’t even read.
“Hey,” he said softly, setting his briefcase down. “You didn’t call today.”
I smiled faintly, not looking up. “You said you were busy.”
“Yeah, I was,” he said, loosening his tie. “It was one of those days.”
I hummed, turning another page, though my eyes burned with anger I couldn’t voice.
He walked closer, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “You okay?”
I nodded, forcing a small laugh. “Just tired, Ed.”
He smiled, the same smile that used to make my stomach flutter, now it just made me sick. “You sure?”
“Positive,” I said.
When he left to take a shower, I let my smile drop. The house felt colder, the silence heavier.
He came out later, towel around his neck, talking about a meeting with some investors the next day, and all I could think was, how could he stand there and act like everything was fine?
How could he lie so easily?
*****
I lay awake long after he fell asleep beside me. The faint sound of his breathing only made it worse. Every breath he took felt like a betrayal I couldn’t escape.
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Chapter 48
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I turned onto my side, watching his face in the dim light. He looked peaceful. Maybe even happy.
But I wasn’t.
My mind wouldn’t stop racing, flashes of Amelia’s face, her laugh, the way he’d looked at her earlier that week. The same look he once gave me when we were newly married and everything was new and hopeful.
It was gone now. That version of us was gone.
I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
I couldn’t confront him yet. Not until I knew everything. Not until I was sure.
I picked up my phone from the nightstand and typed out a quick message to the investigator.
me: Keep digging. I want to know everything about their past. Everything.
I hit send and dropped the phone beside me, staring at the ceiling.
If he thought he could play me for a fool, he was mistaken.
I stood by the window the next morning, my reflection faint in the glass.
Somewhere out there, Edmund was probably thinking about her. Maybe wondering if he made the right choice. Maybe convincing himself that his marriage to me still mattered.
But I wasn’t the same naive woman anymore.
I whispered to my reflection, my voice low and steady. “You’re not going to lose this easily, Vikki. Not to her.”
I turned away, wiping the corner of my eye with the back of my hand. The ache in my chest hardened into resolve.
If Edmund wanted to live in the past, I’d drag the truth into the present.
And if Amelia thought she could waltz back into our lives like some savior from his memories.
She was about to find out that I wasn’t the kind of woman who stayed quiet when her world was being stolen.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
