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At our college reunion, someone suggested Truth or Dare. My husband Cade Brennan went first. Drew Truth. [Biggest regret in your love life?] He didn't even blink—just stared straight at his ex, Sloane Hartley, three seats down. "Not ending up with the woman I loved. Married my backup instead. Been settling ever since." Room went dead quiet. Everyone thought I'd flip my sh!t and bail. But I just smiled, waved my hand like whatever, keep going. Soon, my turn came. Different question. [Ever hide anything from your partner?] "Yeah." I took a sip of my drink. "Been raising a seven-year-old. On the side." Nobody said a word. Cade—who was wasted two seconds ago—suddenly looked stone-cold sober, staring at me like I just told him I was from Mars. Brad, our class pres!dent, jumped in real quick. "Whoa Reese, you're drunk. You can't just—" "Come on, Cade was just joking around! Don't be like that!" Some chick smacked my shoulder—way too hard—fake-laughing like this was all some big joke. I threw back my drink. Kicked back in my chair. Didn't even blink. "I'm not joking." "Seven years married to this guy. Every time he's wasted? Moans her name. Sloane. In bed? Same sh!t. Even his WiFi password? 'SloaneBaby123.'" "We've been playing house for years. So yeah—me raising some kid on the side? That's the crazy part?" I'd just unloaded way too much. Everyone sat there frozen. Sloane and Cade looked at each other. Faces going dark. But Cade's always cared more about looking good than anything else. No way he's letting me tra//sh him in front of everyone. He slammed his hand down on the table. "Reese, you're drunk. Get out. Stop making a scene." "I call you out on ONE thing and now you're gonna play victim?" Play victim? I've been eating this sh!t for seven years. He's still obsessed with Sloane after all this? Cool. She's all yours. I stared at that stupidly perfect face. The longer I looked, the more I wanted to throw up. "Play victim? Name one thing I said that wasn't true." "Your Sloane obsession? What I said doesn't even scratch the surface. Wanna air out all your dirty laundry? Right here, right now?" Room got tense again. Sloane, seeing things about to blow up, grabbed a drink and came over to me. "Reese, c'mon. We're all old friends. This is just for fun. Why you so mad?" "Plus, Cade and I are ancient history. I've been overseas forever—he was just trying to be nice. Let me say sorry, yeah? Don't let me screw things up between you guys." She held out her glass. I smacked it out of her hand. Cade jumped up. Wiped the booze off his face. Eyes on fire. "You say I'm obsessed with Sloane? Alright. Yeah. I am." "But what about you? You think you're some kinda saint? You cheated too. And you've got a kid." "You say I don't have the balls to confess everything? Fine. Let's do a full confession session. Right here." "Whoever breaks first and leaves—that person gets nothing in the divorce. You in?" I smirked. "Let's go." Even though I'd known forever Cade and Sloane were still tangled up. Even though I'd already decided I was divorcing him next year. I still wanted to hear him say it. All of it. Out loud. Not for revenge or anything. Just so I could finally be done with seven years of wasting my time on this guy. This confession game with a bet? I'm seeing it through. Game kept rolling. Cade went straight for the throat. "Night I proposed? I was at the Hilton with Sloane." "All night. No condom." Dead silence. Everyone just... froze. Staring at me like I was some kicked puppy. "Dude, that's harsh." "You're really starting with that? She gonna make it through this?" Sloane grabbed his arm, pretending to scold him, but you could hear her trying not to smile. Cade brushed her off. "Make it through what? That's barely anything." "Better to rip the band-aid off now. Don't want her freaking out halfway." I pulled out a cigar. Took my time lighting it. "Yeah, I know." "Seven years ago, when you two were screwing in that room? I was right next door." "With some other guy." Night he proposed, I got a call from Sloane's boyfriend, Jordan Pierce. We stood pressed against the wall, listening to them go at it all night. Jordan tried to kick the door down like five times. I stopped him every single time. Because I was so stupidly in love with Cade back then. Told myself it was their last goodbye. After this, they'd be done. Turns out I was just lying to myself for seven years straight. "You think that's gonna piss me off?" Cade laughed, looking at me like I was pathetic. "Wanna know what happened after that night?" "Sloane got knocked up." "And I told her to keep it." Room exploded. People sat there, jaws on the floor, whispering like crazy. "Holy sh!t, this isn't truth or dare anymore—it's a bloodbath." "Poor Reese. Seven years and she just found out her husband knocked up his ex." "Poor? She knew seven years ago and still stayed. Girl's a doormat." "Right? And she cheated too. They're both garbage." I ignored them. Just took another drag. Smoke curled up as I said, "Yeah. Knew that too." "Her pregnancy papers were tucked in that coat she gave you. St. Luke's in Phoenix. Three appointments." Cade and Sloane's faces went real dark real quick. He thought dropping that bomb would break me. That I'd scream, flip the table, storm out. Didn't expect me to rob him of that satisfaction. Seeing him just sit there silent, I twisted the knife. "But I've got one question." "Where's the kid?" Cade froze for a second. Then his voice shot up. "None of your business. She's not your kid—you don't get to ask." Course I knew he wouldn't answer. Or more like—he didn't dare answer. Back then, to stay with Sloane while she had the baby, he made up some bullsh!t about his company sending him to Denver for six months of training. Because of that lie, I pushed back our wedding a whole year. After we got married? Didn't catch a single thing. If I hadn't found those pregnancy papers while cleaning out his coat pocket, I'd probably still be clueless. I crushed out my cigar. Let out a laugh. "Fair enough. Not my business." "Just hope you didn't toss her in a dumpster to cover your tracks." "She's a human being. If you—" "Reese, are you DONE?!" Cade's face went red. Pure rage in his eyes. "You're doing this to humiliate me in front of everyone, aren't you?" "You wanna tear me down? Fine. Let's make this interesting." "Truth's boring as he11. Let's do Dare. You got the guts or not?" I crossed my legs. Propped my chin on my hand. Looked at him like he was a joke. "Sure. Whatever you wanna throw at me tonight, bring it." He didn't waste time. Pointed at Brad to draw a challenge. Brad hesitated but reached into the box. Second later, a slip of paper hit the table. [Make out with the person you love most. Three minutes.] Cade smirked. Pulled Sloane onto his lap. Grabbed the back of her head. "Reese, I gotta say—can't believe you actually stayed this long after finding out." "You like being the pathetic wife that much? Fine. I'll give everyone a show. How's that sound?" Before anyone could react, Brad shot up out of his seat. "Cade, c'mon man. This is a reunion, not some trashy reality show." Other people started jumping in, trying to talk him down. "Yeah, okay, Reese called you out, but you can't do this sh!t in front of her. That's low." "Cade, just cool it. You two are still married—don't nuke everything over a stupid game." But Cade wasn't having it. "Cool it? You're kidding me right now." "Let's get one thing straight—Reese cheated too. She's got some seven-year-old kid stashed somewhere. We're both dirty here." "Still married? Yeah, not for much longer." And just like that, he kissed Sloane. They went at it right next to me. Messy and gross. Eyes locked on me the whole time—waiting for me to lose it. But I just sat there. Didn't even blink. I know Cade. He always gets revenge. I called him out, embarrassed him in front of everyone, made him look like an idi0t. No way he's letting that slide. And in his head, I'm just a cheating s1ut anyway. We're both dirty? Why would he hold back? Three minutes later, they finally came up for air. Cade wiped the lipstick off Sloane's mouth. Looked at me all smug. "So? You breaking yet?" "You can leave if you can't handle it. But just so you know—you walk, you lose everything." I smiled. Waved my hand for the game to keep going. Brad thought for a second, then reached into the box again. [First person of the opposite se//x next to you picks your dare.] First guy next to me? Cade. He grinned at me. "Bring that kid you've been hiding." "I wanna meet her." I froze. Shook my head. "Not happening. Pick something else." But Cade wasn't backing down. "Nope. That's the dare. What's wrong—scared?" "Just so we're clear—you walk, you get nothing in the divorce." I didn't budge. "This is between us. She's got nothing to do with it. I swore I wouldn't put her through this till she's grown." Total standoff. Then Sloane jumped up. Grabbed my hand. "Reese, don't be so dramatic. Just bring her out. Let us meet her." "Cade's not gonna go after some random kid. He11, he might actually like her—then you can stop sneaking around. You could raise her for real. I mean, it's not like he can even—" She stopped mid-sentence. I turned, stared at her cold. "Go on. Why'd you stop?" "Worried everyone's gonna find out Cade's shooting blanks? That it'll embarrass him?" Cade lost his ability to have kids in a car wreck. He was off playing house with Sloane during her delivery when it happened. Got T-boned trying to save her from an oncoming truck. That's why after seven years of marriage, we never had a kid of our own. All thanks to Sloane and their reckless goodbye screw. Seeing me expose another buried secret, Cade finally snapped. "Reese, I'm DONE with this!" "If you can't handle it, GET OUT. Stop dragging up old sh!t just to piss me off!" I looked at that face—used to be so familiar, now just made me sick—and nodded slow. "If you're breaking, you can leave." Cade froze. Then laughed his butt off. "Me? Break? Over this?" "Yeah, I can't have kids because of Sloane. There. I said it. Happy now?!" Honestly, I couldn't take it anymore. The way Cade acted like none of it mattered—like I was the unreasonable one—made me wanna puke. He's the cheater. But somehow I'm the bad guy here. Sloane grabbed my arm. Trying to smooth things over. "Reese, c'mon. It's not that serious. Don't blow it up." "Cade's a great guy. You're not gonna find another one like him." "Do me a favor—let his past mistakes go. Guys screw up sometimes. You gotta be more understanding, yeah?" I turned to her and smiled. "Understanding? Forgive him for cheating? For knocking you up? For still being obsessed with you?" She nodded. Still smiling. "Exactly. It's not even a big deal. You know what they say—happy wife, happy life, right? Just tell Cade you're sorry and we can all—" I slapped her. Hard. Then shoved my left hand in her face. Wedding ring gleaming for everyone to see. "You're a homewrecking b!tch. Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?" "Get this through your thick skull—Cade and I are still married. Our marriage? Stay out of it." Dead silence. Everyone just stared. Mouths hanging open. Then—CRACK. Stinging pain across my face. "Apologize to Sloane." "You wanna break? Fine, leave. But you don't get to put your hands on people." "You don't say sorry right now, I'm calling the best divorce lawyer in Phoenix. I'll bury you for adultery. You won't see a dime." I laughed. Loved this guy for seven years. Put up with seven years of his bullsh!t. And in the end, he never once thought to say sorry to me. All he cared about was making me pay. I wanted to leave quietly. But he and Sloane kept pushing. Fine. He won't let me go in peace? I'll bu//rn it all down. "You say I cheated. Got proof?" He sneered. Pointed at everyone in the room. "You said it yourself. You've got a seven-year-old kid. Everyone here heard you." "What, gonna deny it now? Too late." Classmates started nodding. "Reese, I get you're hurt, but Cade only emotionally cheated. You actually physically cheated and had a kid. You're clearly the one in the wrong here." "Yeah, just say sorry. Don't ruin a good marriage over some stupid game." I ignored all of them. Pulled out my phone. Called my driver. "Bring Lily to my private room." Then I looked up. Met everyone's eyes. "You're all forgetting something." "I said I have a daughter. Never said she was mine." "You think I'm the cheater? Fine." "Let me spell it out for you."