The Billionaire Who Faked A Split To Keep His Affair Chapter 01

The Billionaire Who Faked A Split To Keep His Affair Chapter 01

When the car came barreling toward us, my best friend, Tamsin Greer, shoved my boyfriend, Kellan Dacre, out of the way.

Kellan survived.

But after the accident, he claimed hedeveloped another identity.

The Kellan I knew still loved me. His alter, however, only listened to Tamsin.

During the day, Kellan was mine.

He went to the library with me, helped edit my papers, and if I so much as complained that my coffee was too bitter, he’d walk three blocks just to replace it with something sweeter.

At night, his alter took over.

And then he belonged to Tamsin.

We were terrified of making his condition worse, so Tamsin and I went along with it.

Every night at nine, I left him with her.

Until this afternoon.

I’d gotten back early from my internship at Rookwell Biotech. As I rounded the corner, I saw Kellan pinning Tamsin against a tree, kissing her like he couldn’t breathe without her.

His fingers tangled in her hair. His voice shook.

“I’m so sick of this. How long are we supposed to keep sneaking around? Tamsin, when are you finally going to let me be with you for real?”

Tamsin pushed weakly at his chest, tears in her eyes.

“We can’t. Marlowe can’t find out. She’s my best friend. I can’t lose her.”

“And you’re fine making me pretend I’m crazy for the rest of my life?”

Kellan pulled her tighter.

They clung to each other like two tragic lovers being kept apart by fate.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

There was no alter.

There never had been.

Kellan simply didn’t love me anymore.

And if that was the truth, there was no reason for me to keep holding on.

…

I watched them kiss for another second, then quietly walked away.

When I opened the door to our apartment, everything smelled like Kellan.

The engraved love lock we’d picked up at Silverpine Overlook last year sat on the entryway shelf. His notes were still scattered across my GRE prep book on the coffee table.

Because I’d always had a sensitive stomach, there was even a note stuck to the fridge in his handwriting.

Eat on time. No skipping meals.

Every corner of the apartment looked like proof that we’d once loved each other.

My throat tightened.

Kellan and I had met in high school.

He helped me with math. I helped him with English.

We started dating after graduation, and everyone said we were perfect together.

Five years.

I’d loved him from eighteen to twenty-three, convinced he was the person I’d spend my life with.

Tamsin had been my college roommate.

The first time she met Kellan was at my birthday party.

She thought he was boring. He thought she was loud. I was the one who practically forced them to exchange numbers.

Whenever they argued, I was the one stuck in the middle.

I could still remember Tamsin groaning, “Marlowe, how is your boyfriend this boring?”

And Kellan frowning afterward.

“Your friend’s exhausting.”

Then, at some point, Tamsin stopped complaining.

She started telling me how thoughtful he was. How attentive.

Like an idiot, I’d been happy they were finally getting along.

When had it started?

I searched every memory I had.

I couldn’t find the moment I’d missed.

Late that night, I packed my suitcase.

My phone lit up.

Mom had texted me.

Mom: Marlowe, I finished organizing the paperwork for your graduate program. Everything’s ready.

I opened the airline app and booked a flight for three days later.

I didn’t sleep at all.

The next morning, I was about to leave when Kellan walked in.

He froze when he saw me.

Then his hand went straight to his collar.

His fingers trembled as he adjusted it, but the reddish bruises along the side of his neck were impossible to hide.

I looked away and picked up my bag.

“Where are you going?” he asked suddenly.

I stopped.

For the past three years, he’d almost never asked where I was going.

I forced my voice to sound casual.

“Work trip. I’ll be gone a few days.”

He was quiet for a moment before his eyes landed on the cheesecake on the table.

Then he noticed the shadows under my eyes.

“Something came up at work yesterday. I got busy and forgot to tell you.”

He opened the box and spoke gently.

“Don’t overthink it.”

Before I could answer, he broke off a huge piece and shoved it into his mouth.

Something inside me sank.

Kellan hated sweets.

I’d picked that cheesecake specifically for him anyway.

I’d even decorated the top myself.

Just then, the door flew open.

Tamsin stood there in a white dress with a plunging neckline. Her neck was covered in dark red marks.

She was holding a man’s jacket.

“Kellan, you left your jacket at the hotel—”

She stopped dead.