Love is Gone novel Chapter 1

The lacy lingerie lay on the bed, a silent accusation. I’d thought it was Lily’s Valentine’s Day surprise, but when I opened the package, a cold dread coiled in my gut. Had the store messed up? Turns out, it wasn't the wrong item, just the wrong address.

Clicking through Lily's DMs, I landed on the guy’s Instagram. His latest post: a video from some swanky resort in the Maldives, Lily in a bikini, beaming at the camera. In the final seconds, the guy filming grabbed her hand, pressing a lingering kiss to her bare ring finger. Only a faint tan line remained where her wedding ring used to be.

I clenched my own ring, a wave of nausea washing over me.

Scrolling further, I found a picture of a brand-new MacBook. The caption: "How’d you know this is exactly what the husband wanted?"

My heart pounded as I opened Lily’s Amazon account. There it was – her chat history with customer service, requesting laptop recommendations.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, then flipped on my screen recorder and captured their entire conversation. It wasn’t much – mostly Lily arranging their next hookup, or Oliver whining about when she was coming to see him. But peppered throughout were flirty messages that twisted my gut. This Lily was a stranger.

I sent the recording to myself, deleted the chat, then wiped it from my phone’s trash. Just as the shower stopped, I put my phone back, my heart heavy in my chest.