Samantha and Ian felt uneasy.
"You cheated on me. With your ex!" Samantha snapped. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Dave clicked his tongue. "You're my wife. We agreed to work this out. So you'll listen to me, and we'll fix this."
He kept smiling—a wide, unsettling smile.
"Are you crazy?" Samantha stepped back. "Can you hear yourself?"
"But I am," Dave tilted his head, eyes too bright. "I'm crazy, Samantha, darling."
"Huh?"
Dave smiled again, then gently brushed his thumb over her lips.
He felt too familiar.
"Why do you think we got married, Samantha, darling?" He glanced at Ian. "Do you like pictures?"
"What?" Ian stiffened. "Pictures?"
"Yes. I like them,"
"Everyone say cheese." Dave chuckled.
He lifted his phone.
Snap.
A selfie of the three of them.
Dave stared at the screen, his smile growing—pleased, almost proud.
"Perfect," he murmured.
Then turned back to Samantha.
"Now, about that conversation. We should have it now." He looked at Ian. "This is a family talk. I wouldn't want to hit you again accidentally. You should leave."
Ian shook his head. "No, I-"
"Leave, Ian," Samantha said quickly.
She couldn't take her eyes off Dave. Something was deeply wrong with him. She was certain he would hurt Ian again.
Ian hesitated. She forced a small smile.
"I'm fine. Please. Go."
Ian clenched his jaw. "Okay. But if you need anything... call me."
She nodded.
Ian shot Dave a hard glare, then turned to leave.
"Don't worry," Dave said softly. "She won't call you."
Ian froze.
"She won't need you," he added with a slow smile.
Ian's jaw tightened. Then he left.
Dave watched Ian disappear down the hallway and out of sight.
"We're alone now," Samantha said, her voice sharp. "What do you want?"
Suddenly, Dave clasped his hands together—
--and he dropped to his knees.
Thud.
"What are you doing?" she breathed.
Dave let out a thin, nervous laugh.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
Dave bit his lip.
"Claire drugged me."
Samantha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Come up with a better lie."
Dave nodded calmly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."
She choked on sobs. "I...I hate you."
Dave took a step closer and took her hands.
"Don't say that. You can't say that." His hands trembled. "You don't hate me. You can't hate me, Mia."
Samantha's expression hardened.
She yanked her hands away.
"Stop calling me Mia," she said slowly, drawing out each word. "My name is Samantha!"
Dave exhaled.
"Fine, I won't make excuses," he said, raising his hands slightly in surrender and stepping back. "I will just prove it to you."
"I know what I saw."
"Give me an hour."
He took another step back.
"One hour. After that, I'll accept whatever you decide."
Samantha let out a shaky breath.
"One hour?" She nodded. "Fine. Prove me wrong."
Her voice cracked.
"Because one hour from now… we're done."
She glanced at her wristwatch.
"It's 11:30. You have until 12:30."
Dave was already walking away.
[|]
Samantha paces around her hotel room.
Why had she agreed to this? Ian was right. She had lost her mind. She knew Dave had cheated. And yet… she gave him a chance.
Even though she hadn't cheated, the world believed she had. If she left him now, people would say it was because of her guilt—not his betrayal.
Was that why she stayed?
Fear.
No.
She shook her head.
That wasn't it.
When she saw the rumors, she hadn't been afraid of her father's reaction. She had only thought about one thing — how much harder it would be to be with him.
Her breath caught.
"I love him." The realization hit like a punch. "I love him…" Her chest tightened. "But he doesn't love me. He loves Claire."
The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
The thought of going back to Ian, as the TikTok post suggested, never really crossed her mind.
After he broke up with her in college, she thought they would find their way back to each other someday.
She had even imagined it. He would come back, and when he begged her, she would pretend not to care. Make him work for it, but then forgive him.
But then Chris came into her life and changed everything. She had forgotten Ian existed—until he came back.
Her phone vibrated. She flinched. Holding her breath.
Was it already 12:30?
She checked. It was 12:00.
A message from Nat.
Where are you, Sammy? Have you seen the news? Jones & Co is trending.
Please respond ASAP.
I tried calling. Your phone was off.
What's going on with you and Ian?
Four messages in a row.
Before Nat could panic further, Samantha called her. She sat on the sofa behind her.
"Sammy!" Nat's voice bursts through the line in the second ring.
"Nat… I don't know what to do." Samantha broke. "I think I'm losing my mind."
"Where are you?" Nat asked gently. "I'm coming to you."
"… I'm coming too," Catherine added in the background.
"I'm at the Sheraton," Samantha sniffled.
"We'll be there in fifteen minutes," Nat said. "Don't do anything stupid."
Samantha let out a weak laugh. "We should do the stupid things together."
"You're still joking, which is usually a good sign," Natalie replied. "I'm on my way."
The call ended.
Samantha leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Then, she sat up after a while and reluctantly opened TikTok.
The first post she saw was her wedding photo, with a big broken-apart heart edited between her and Dave.
The voice-over of a woman dragging her name through the mud. She accused Samantha of being a social climber. A first-generation wealthy girl trying to climb the social ladder, but was still unfaithful despite being accepted by the influential Rice family, into the social elite circle.
The Rice family has been wealthy for generations, unlike Jones, who only became wealthy relatively recently.
"You are lying," Samantha typed… then deleted her message.
There was no point; it would only make things worse.
Her father hadn't called her to scold her. Was he tired of her, or had he had another heart attack after the news? Hopefully not.
Her heart started pounding faster.
Knock. Knock.
The twins are here.
She checked her reflection. Her eyes were puffy from crying. There was no fixing that.
She inhaled deeply. "Coming,"
She opened the door and froze.
Claire was on her knees in front of the door. Dave stood behind her, one hand on her back.
He had pushed her down.
"What-what..." Samantha stammered, speechless.
"I'm on time," Dave said, checking his watch. "It's 12:20. I'm ten minutes early."
"What…?" Samantha whispered.
"I said I'd prove it." His eyes burned with hatred as he looked at Claire. "I brought her here to prove my innocence."
Samantha turned to Claire, who was trembling as realization dawned on her. Her eyes flashed with anger.
"You drugged him?"
Claire's head snapped up. Her eyes burned with fury.
"HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE, BITCH!"