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My Best Friend Helped Me Find My Husband’s Mistress—She Was Her
Novelix
Completed
Claire spends three years trying to prove her husband, Ryan, is cheating—while her best friend Lily helps her search for the other woman. Then Claire overhears the truth: Lily is the mistress, and she is carrying Ryan’s baby. After years of being lied to, gaslit, and made to question her own sanity, Claire stops begging for answers. She files for divorce, claims the share of Ryan’s company she helped build, and starts over in Los Angeles. But leaving them behind is only the beginning of taking her life back.
Chapters (2)
第1章
I know Ryan is cheating on me.
I just can’t find the woman.s finally over.
For three years, I check his phone, watch his spending, track where he goes, and pay attention to every woman who gets too close to him.
At my worst, I swallow an entire bottle of pills in front of him and demand her name.
When I wake up in the hospital, Ryan is sitting beside my bed.
The second he sees my eyes open, he pulls me into his arms.
“Claire, there is no one else.”
“What do I have to do to make you believe me?”
-
Everyone says I’m losing my mind.
After a while, I start wondering if they’re right.
Maybe Ryan never cheated.
Maybe the woman I can’t find exists only in my head.
Only Lily believes me.
She has been my best friend for eighteen years.
Every time I break down, she holds me and says the same thing.
“You’re not crazy. I believe you.”
“If you want a divorce, I’ll take care of you. If you stay, I’ll keep looking with you.”
“One day, we’ll find her.”
But every time I get close, the trail disappears.
Then Lily ends up in the hospital with severe stomach pain.
I make her chicken soup and bring it over.
Before I reach her room, I hear Ryan’s voice through the half-closed door.
“I can’t keep doing this, Lily.”
I stop.
“I’m going to tell Claire the truth. I’m going to tell her I love you.”
My hand tightens around the thermos.
Inside, Lily shoots to her feet.
“No.”
She grabs a small knife from the tray and presses it to her neck.
“You can’t tell her.”
“Lily—”
“After my parents died, Claire was the reason I survived.”
Her voice shakes.
“If she finds out her husband and her best friend have been lying to her for three years, what do you think that’ll do to her?”
Ryan goes pale.
He crosses the room, pulls her into his arms, and says nothing else.
I stand outside with one hand over my mouth.
For three years, I searched for the other woman.
She was beside me the whole time.
My husband.
My best friend.
Me.
Three people are too many for one marriage.
This time, I’m done.
I slip into an empty room next door and splash cold water over my face.
When I can finally look normal again, I pick up the soup and go back.
Ryan and Lily are sitting on opposite sides of the room when I enter.
Lily’s face lights up.
“Claire, finally.”
She takes the thermos, opens it, and smiles.
“Oh my God. That smells amazing.”
She takes a spoonful.
“You still make the best chicken soup. No one takes care of me like you do.”
Everything sounds exactly the same as before.
Lily has loved my chicken soup since we were kids.
After her parents died, it was one of the few things I could get her to eat.
I look at her red eyes and force a smile.
“Then eat more.”
Ryan walks over and reaches for my bag.
I turn away before he can touch it.
His hand stops in midair.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I put the bag on a chair and look at him.
“What are you doing here?”
His eyes shift away.
“I had a client meeting nearby. I heard Lily was sick, so I stopped by.”
Nearby.
Sure.
Lily grips her spoon.
“My stomach got really bad. I called you first, but you didn’t answer, so I called Ryan.”
“Don’t blame him. I’m the one who bothered him.”
I don’t argue.
I pick up an apple and start peeling it.
“You do live alone. It’s hard when you’re sick.”
Then I smile at her.
“When you get married, I’ll teach your husband all your favorite recipes.”
Ryan is pouring her water.
The glass overflows before he notices.
“Especially the soup,” I add. “You’re picky about that.”
Lily’s smile freezes.
Then she looks down.
“I don’t even have a boyfriend. Who am I supposed to marry?”
“Then let’s fix that.”
I pull out my phone and swipe to a photo.
“This guy’s a personal trainer. Easygoing, good-looking.”
Next.
“This one works in finance. Stable job.”
Next.
“And this guy went to college with me—”
Ryan suddenly puts his hand over my phone.
“When did you become a matchmaker?”
His palm presses hard enough to hurt my fingers.
I look up at him.
“I’m introducing Lily to a few men. Why are you nervous?”
His hand immediately loosens.
“I’m not nervous. I just don’t want you setting her up with someone you barely know and getting her hurt.”
“Exactly,” Lily says.
She puts down the soup and wraps her arms around my waist.
“I don’t want a boyfriend right now. I have you.”
She presses her cheek against me.
“If no one ever wants me, I’ll get a little place of my own.”
Then she laughs.
“And if Ryan ever treats you badly, you can move in with me. I’ll take care of you forever.”
She hugs me the same way she did when we were kids.
These arms once pulled me out of my stepfather’s house after he hit me.
They held me all night after I swallowed those pills.
Now Ryan stands between us.
I slowly pull her arms away and set the apple on the plate.
“Fine. If you don’t like any of them, forget it.”
I look at her.
“But if you ever fall for someone, promise you’ll tell me.”
Both of them look at me.
Ryan’s shoulders go rigid.
Lily lowers her eyes.
Neither of them says a word.
A moment later, Ryan reaches for my forehead.
“You look tired. Let’s go home and let Lily rest.”
I step back before he can touch me.
Then I pick up my bag and walk out first.
No one sees my hands shaking.
第2章
Ryan glances at me several times after we leave the hospital.
I lean against the window and say nothing.
He turns up the heat, then reaches over and touches the back of my hand.
“You’re freezing. Did making the soup wear you out?”
I pull my hand away.
His hand hangs there for a second before returning to the wheel.
“We’re not going home yet. I’ll take you to dinner.”
“Okay.”
“Italian? Sushi? There’s a new bistro downtown.”
“Whatever.”
His patience starts to slip.
“You always say whatever. Then if I pick the wrong place, you don’t eat. How am I supposed to guess what you want?”
I stare out the window.
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
“Take me wherever you usually take other women.”
Ryan slams on the brakes.
My seat belt catches late, and my forehead hits the glove compartment.
For a second, everything goes dark.
Ryan unbuckles immediately and grabs my face.
“Where did you hit? Let me see.”
His thumb brushes the red mark on my forehead.
I turn away.
His hand drops.
Concern hardens into anger.
“Claire, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not cheating on you.”
Cars behind us start honking.
He pulls back into traffic.
“When are you finally going to believe me?”
I turn toward the window.
A tear slips down my cheek.
He doesn’t see it.
A few minutes later, he drives into a shopping center and parks.
His voice softens again.
“There’s a place here you’ll like. Good food. Great soup.”
Lily mentioned this place once.
She was lying across my couch, grinning as she told me she had found a new favorite restaurant and promised to bring me next time.
I wonder if Ryan was the one who brought her.
His phone lights up before we get out.
No name.
Just a small blue cloud icon.
I barely get a look before he flips the phone facedown.
“Client call. I’ll take it outside.”
He gets out and walks far enough away that I can’t hear him clearly.
Through the windshield, I watch the tension leave his face.
Then he straightens.
“Seriously?”
Even from inside the car, I hear the excitement in his voice.
The call ends fast.
Ryan comes back smiling.
The second he opens the door, he forces the smile away.
“One of my biggest clients wants to sign tonight. I have to go.”
I look at him.
“If I asked you to stay?”
He pauses and then takes out his phone and transfers me some money.
“Don’t start.”
“Eat something. Buy whatever you want.”
“If you get tired, call the driver. I’ll probably be home late.”
I want to say something.
I don’t.
I just watch him shut the door and walk away without looking back.
Inside the shopping center, I move with the crowd until I stop in front of a small gift shop.
A tarot deck sits in the window.
Lily and I used to play with tarot cards when we were younger.
Once, we both pulled the same love card.
She laughed so hard she nearly fell off the bed.
“Claire, what if we fall for the same guy one day?”
I shoved my card into her hand.
“Then you tell me.”
“Men come and go. You’re my best friend. If you want him, I’ll walk away.”
I meant it.
That’s the worst part.
If Lily had told me she loved Ryan, I would have left.
I would have hated it.
I would have cried.
But I would have left.
Instead, they lied.
For three years.
I take out my phone and open Lily’s chat.
My thumb hovers over the screen.
I could ask her why.
I could ask how long.
I could ask if she ever laughed at me while helping me search for a woman who was standing right beside me.
The screen goes dark.
I wake it again.
Then lock it.
Again.
Finally, I put the phone back in my bag.
I crouch beside the display window and cover my face.
The tears come so hard I can barely breathe.
I told her I would walk away.
So why did they have to lie?
Why did they let me tear myself apart for three years?
Why did they let me believe I was crazy?
That hurts more than the affair.
Maybe more than losing either of them.
