Chapter 1

• Bella
• Experiencing the feeling of being secure, happy, and confident that your life is falling in place when you believe to have found the perfect match for you is an unrivaled feeling. This was the feeling I currently experienced and I firmly believed that nothing could ever go wrong and that my life would only get better with the person I was engaged to.
• I headed to my soon-to-be husband's apartment to inform him of the last-minute arrangements for our wedding tomorrow. Even though I could have opted for a phone call, I decided it was better to see him in person since issues related to our wedding were vital to me. Furthermore, I needed an excuse to see him before D-day.
• It was hard to believe that by this time tomorrow, I would have officially tied the knot with the love of my life and would then be referred to as Mrs. Reeds, the wife of the tech guru, Thomas Reeds. Thomas and I had been together for five years, and during these years, he had been my biggest support system. He had not only been my partner but also a mentor and best friend, and I couldn't be more grateful to the heavens for sending such a perfect man my way.
• Thomas and I were two people that never seemed like a couple that would last forever, based on our differences and contrasting interests. Our friends and even my parents thought we wouldn't last too long because of the fifteen-year age difference between us. However, we proved them wrong by loving each other despite all our differences, and that's all that mattered.
• A few hours before our wedding, as I was headed to his apartment building, I saw him walking towards his car in a hurry. He had made me believe that he wouldn't leave his apartment until tomorrow for our wedding, so it was quite surprising to see him in such a hurry and his sudden departure made me wonder if something had happened.
• As I tried calling out his name, Thomas got in his car and drove out of the apartment building. I decided to follow him instead of just calling him to ask where he was headed. He drove for about twenty minutes and arrived at a hotel that I wasn't familiar with. However, I assumed he knew the place well and probably had some work there or knew someone who resided there.
• I had the urge to call him and let him know that I followed him, but I refrained from doing so as it could give him a wrong impression that I don't trust him, which was entirely false. I trusted Thomas and had no doubts about his actions.
• Nonetheless, I wanted to know why Thomas decided to come here at this time of night. I kept following him, hoping to find out the reason before he entered the elevator.
• To my relief, Thomas had only just met his cousin, Anthony. However, my relief soon faded away when I saw them hugging each other tightly in a way that I did not expect. Though I had met Anthony before and knew that he was close to Thomas, the hug seemed strange to me.
• I couldn't help but wonder why Thomas decided to visit Anthony late at night or why he was even lodged in a hotel, to begin with. I thought that they probably wanted to celebrate Thomas's last night as a bachelor, but he had mentioned that he wouldn't be throwing a party tonight as he was not the party type. Therefore, I was curious to know why they were there.
• Initially, I planned to leave and mind my business. However, when I saw Thomas and Anthony suddenly hold hands, my curiosity was piqued, and I decided to follow them to find out what was going on. It was late, and I had no idea where they were going exactly, but I knew I had to satisfy my curiosity. I quickly made a decision that following them was the best way to find out what was happening.
• But the thought of getting caught and creating trouble before the wedding was too risky for me, so I decided to use the handkerchief I had with me as a mask to cover my face. I was anxious that Thomas would recognize me regardless but still, I had to find out what was happening without him suspecting that I was following them.
• To my luck, there was a stranger near me with a hat on. I approached him and asked him to borrow his hat to cover my face. "Hi, good evening,"
• "Excuse me, sir. I know this might sound strange, but could I possibly borrow your hat? It's important," I requested, unable to mask my impatience.
• "Uh, may I ask why?" he asked, visibly confused.
• "I'm sorry, I can't explain right now, but it's really important. I promise I'm not a weirdo or anything like that," I answered, getting restless at the thought that I’d lose sight of Tom and Anthony.
• "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with…," he's about to reply but I quickly cut him off when I noticed that Thomas and Anthony had already walked into the elevator.
• "I understand it’s weird and I'm really sorry about this but it's really urgent. I promise to return it to you as soon as I can," I apologized quickly before snatching the hat the stranger had on and running towards the elevator.
• I knew that I was doing something that was out of bounds and uncharacteristic for me, and it made me a little nervous. I struggled to keep my hair in the hat and make sure that my mask was intact. With luck on my side, the stranger didn't follow me, and I made it into the elevator undetected. It was fortunate that more people were in the lift, and nobody paid attention to me wearing a handkerchief mask and a camouflage hat. Once inside, I tried to keep calm and focused. The only sound I could hear was the sound of the lift going up and down.
• Thomas and Anthony had their hands interlocked and were whispering and giggling with each other, which seemed very odd between cousins. Though the situation was suspicious, I tried to keep myself calm and waited for them to get off before I followed them.
• I followed Thomas and his cousin, Anthony, as they left the elevator and walked slowly toward their room on the 13th floor. They were still holding hands, but their conversation was no longer a hushed whisper as it had been before. "You do plan on staying the night with me, right? You always leave too early and I don’t like that," Anthony said, pouting his lips in a way that rang bells in my head.
• Thomas replied with a smile on his face, "Don't worry babe, I'm not going anywhere,"
• My heart sank as I heard Thomas refer to Anthony as "babe" and confirm that he would be spending the night with him. It all did not make any sense to me since Thomas had told me earlier that he would not be going anywhere. I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting, but watching Anthony and Thomas interact as they walked, it was impossible not to feel suspicious. When Anthony interlocked his elbow with Thomas's, and they both smiled excitedly at each other, I knew that something was not right.
• I felt a rage boiling inside of me as I continued to follow them to their hotel room, hovering in the shadows so that they wouldn't notice me. When Anthony struggled with the keycard, I took a deep breath and braced myself for what was to come. And then I watched in horror as Anthony leaned in and kissed Thomas passionately.
• My heart shattered into a million pieces as I realized what was happening. Thomas was cheating on me and it was none other than the man he had introduced to me as his supposed cousin.