Delilah threaded her arm through Allan's, pressing herself against him with sickening familiarity. "Do I need proof? My husband is standing right here. Go ahead, ask him yourself."

Allan glanced at me, then looked down at Delilah and tipped her chin up with his fingers, indulgent as ever.

"You. I've already introduced you to everyone at the office, threw you a birthday party myself. You're my woman. Does that really need proving?"

His answer was exactly what I'd expected. I knew he would side with Delilah.

So from the very beginning, I had never hoped he would side with me.

Still, I noticed he'd said my woman. He hadn't actually called her Mrs. Delgado.

"Miss Gilbert, what else is there to say?" Delilah's lips curled into a triumphant smile, every word a calculated barb. "Allan loves me. No matter what tricks you pull to hurt me, he'll never love you. Stop embarrassing yourself."

Allan shot me a look that said leave.

I let out a cold laugh. "Sure. I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin."

Before she could respond, I'd already opened my handbag.

Under Delilah's stunned gaze, I held up the business card for everyone in the room to see.

"You all graduated from top universities. I'm sure you can read what's printed here. But just in case, allow me."

I read each word, slow and deliberate:

"Sweet Bliss Dessert Boutique. Manager: Delilah James."

"I won't bother reading the phone number. But if anyone still has doubts, I'm happy to dial it right now."

The color drained from Delilah's face. She clutched Allan's sleeve, knuckles white.

The others turned to look at her, their expressions shifting from curiosity to suspicion.

Dawn stepped forward again to defend her. "So what? What does that prove? Mr. Delgado has plenty of money. He can't open a little dessert shop for his wife? You're so desperate for a man you've lost your mind, barging in here trying to steal someone's husband."

Delilah's eyes welled with tears, her voice trembling with rehearsed hurt. "Miss Gilbert, is this what your parents raised you to be? This shameless? Publicly clawing at another woman's husband, is that something to be proud of? Your parents must be so disappointed they ever brought you into this world."

Crack.

I grabbed a fistful of her hair. "Delilah, I wasn't planning on slapping you this soon. But you just couldn't help yourself. This man is garbage. You want him? He's yours. You're welcome to love trash. But you don't get to say a single word about my parents."

"Let go of me! Allan, help me—"

Delilah clawed at my wrist, thrashing wildly.

Dawn shrieked, frantic. "Mr. Delgado! You can't just stand there and watch her get beaten! This woman is insane! Save her!"

Everyone else hung back, watching the spectacle unfold. None of them could tell whose story was true.

Allan hesitated, visibly torn, then finally snapped. "Katherine, let her go! Delilah is my woman. Keep this up and don't blame me for what happens next."

Threat after threat. All for her.

I slapped Delilah hard across the face.

"Allan Delgado, what gives you the right to threaten me? I hit her today. What are you going to do about it?"

Before anyone could move, I landed two more slaps, each one harder than the last.

Delilah screamed. "Allan, save me—"

My hand was already raised for the next blow when Allan caught my wrist. In the same motion, he backhanded me across the face.

The force behind it was enormous.

I hit the floor. My elbow scraped against the ground, and I watched the blood seep from the broken skin. For a moment, all I could see was that night years ago when he'd thrown himself in front of me, taking the knife meant for my body.

He'd promised me once. As long as he was by my side, as long as he still had breath in his lungs, he would never let a single hair on my head be harmed. Never let a single tear fall.

But now...

Every last bit of this pain was delivered by his own hand.

All his tenderness, all his concern, belonged to another woman.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and dabbed at the blood on my elbow. That bone-deep sting was exactly the same as it had been years ago.

The man standing before me was no longer the man I once knew.

"Katherine, you brought this on yourself!"

Allan cradled Delilah's face, stroking it gently, the fury in his eyes unmistakable.

"You insist on making a scene. What good does that do you?"

I picked myself up off the floor. I was about to speak when my gaze drifted upward and caught on something at Delilah's neckline: a jade pendant, peeking out from beneath her collar.

My grandmother's jade pendant.

"Delilah James, where did you get that pendant? It's mine!"

I lunged forward and seized her collar, trying to wrench it free.

Delilah clutched at her neck, twisting away from me. "Yours? Allan gave this to me. He said the jade was the perfect complement to my fair skin."

Allan.

Always Allan.

"Allan Delgado, you knew this was the only thing my grandmother left me. You knew what she meant to me. I kept that pendant locked away like it was sacred. What gave you the right to hand it over to her?"

Allan pulled Delilah into his arms. "Katherine, it's a pendant. Delilah liked it. Is that really worth losing your mind over? You've gone completely insane."

My chest heaved with rage.

Dawn and Allan formed a wall around Delilah. I couldn't get anywhere near the pendant. Instead, Dawn grabbed a fistful of my hair and shoved me backward.

I whipped around and slapped her across the face. "This is between the three of us. Who the hell are you?"

Dawn staggered, stunned. She moved to come at me again, but the other employees stepped in, holding her back.

"Dawn, just stay out of it. Something about this doesn't add up."

"I was thinking the same thing. This Miss Gilbert, the way she carries herself, the way she talks, she doesn't seem like the other woman. If anything, it's the boss's wife... no, wait, this Miss James..."

"Forget it. Just watch."

The whispers rippled through the room. Delilah's composure cracked, color flooding her cheeks. Afraid the truth was about to spill, she ripped the pendant from her neck in one vicious motion.

"Miss Gilbert, I don't know if what you're saying is true or not, but you obviously care about this little trinket. So here, it's yours!"

She raised her arm and hurled it across the room.

"No!"

My pupils contracted. I threw myself forward on pure instinct, desperate to catch it, but she'd flung it too high. All I could do was watch as it struck the floor and shattered into pieces.

I dropped to my knees. With trembling hands, I gathered the broken fragments, pressing them together on my palm, trying to piece them back into shape. One corner was missing.

I forgot about dignity. I forgot about everything. My hands swept across the cold floor, searching.

My grandmother had died saving me. I couldn't lose the only piece of her I had left.

Grandma.

"Miss Gilbert, is this what you're looking for?"

A man in black-rimmed glasses crouched down and held out a small shard of jade.

I thanked him quickly, my voice raw.

I recognized him. When I'd been reviewing resumes, I was the one who had fast-tracked his hire.

"Oh, how clumsy of me! I threw it a little too hard." Delilah's voice dripped with mock sympathy. "But honestly, maybe it's for the best. You said it belonged to a dead woman. That's creepy, if you think about it. She's dead and gone. Who actually treasures something that morbid? It's pathetic."

Her laughter cut through the air like broken glass.

Then Allan's impatient voice again: "Katherine, look at yourself right now. It was a worthless jade pendant. Delilah liked it, so I gave it to her. What's the big deal? Now it's broken and you have no one to blame but yourself, crawling around crying on the floor. I told you today is Delilah's birthday. Whatever issues you have, they can wait. But no, you had to come here and ruin everything."

His voice hardened, brimming with self-righteous authority. "All you have to do is come over here and apologize to Delilah. Wish her a happy birthday. Then I'll forgive you."

I could have laughed. It was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard.

I turned to face the two of them, still wrapped around each other, and a smile broke across my face.

Allan stiffened. Something about my expression unnerved him.

But before he could speak, the woman caked in makeup leapt forward again.

"Mr. Delgado, a flimsy little apology isn't going to cut it. She ruined Delilah's birthday and slapped her across the face. She needs to get on her knees and beg for forgiveness."

Allan glanced at me, jaw tight, and said nothing.

Delilah tugged at the hem of his jacket, her voice a syrupy whimper. "Honey, do you think she ruined my face? It hurts so much."

Allan looked at her swollen, reddened cheek, and his eyes flooded with tenderness.

He turned on me. "Katherine, get over here and kneel. Apologize to Delilah. Now."

I placed the shattered pieces of the jade pendant carefully into my bag, and when I looked up, the hatred in my eyes was no longer something I cared to hide.

"Allan Delgado, have I been too good to you these past few years? Is that it? You've forgotten who you are? You cheat on me to my face and then demand I apologize to your mistress? You really think you can afford the kind of apology I'd give?"

"Now. Get your mistress. And get out of my house."

The color drained from Allan's face. But with Delilah watching, he forced himself to hold steady.

"Katherine, enough. This isn't the time for your theatrics. Apologize to Delilah."

Delilah nestled deeper into his arms, triumph smeared across every feature. "Allan is the CEO of Delgado Group. You really think he'd be living in your house? That's laughable. Oh, and in case no one told you, Allan already gave this house to me. It's mine now."

The woman in heavy makeup started yapping again, riding on Delilah's coattails. "You shameless little tramp. Mr. Delgado already exposed you, and you're still running your mouth? Claiming this is your house? Do you have any idea what a place like this is worth? You couldn't afford it in ten lifetimes. How many cakes would you have to sell?"

Delilah shot her a subtle glare.

The other employees exchanged uneasy glances.

"If this turns into a real fight, whose side are we on?"

"Obviously Mr. Delgado and his wife's."

"I'm staying out of it. Something about this doesn't add up."

George adjusted his glasses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "This Miss Gilbert has a presence about her. Even with everything Miss James just said, she didn't flinch. Let's keep watching. I have a feeling the best part hasn't happened yet."

I didn't get angry. I smiled wider.

"Allan, is this house even in your name? What exactly are you giving away? Or was that just pillow talk?"

Allan's expression turned murderous.

"Katherine, you've crossed the line. Either you leave on your own, or I call security and have you thrown out."

"The only ones leaving are you two."

I turned, pulled the property deed from the drawer, and slapped it down in front of them.

The panic in Allan's eyes was instantaneous. "Katherine, you..."

Before he could finish, the woman in heavy makeup had already snatched the deed open. She stammered, disbelief cracking her voice.

"This house... it's really yours? Who the hell are you? Are you actually Mrs. Delgado?"

Delilah dropped the act entirely.

"So what if she's Mrs. Delgado? Allan and I are the real thing. We're each other's one and only. He told me that before I came along, he'd forgotten what it felt like to have his heart race."

True love.

Each other's one and only.

Funny. He'd said those exact words to me five years ago.

I fixed my gaze on Allan, cold as winter steel.

"Since you love her so much, I'll set you free. Let's get divorced. Take your true love and get the hell out of my house."

Allan's eyes went wide with shock, as if it had never crossed his mind that I would be the one to bring up divorce.

Delilah, on the other hand, was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Allan, this is amazing! Every time you brought up divorce before, she wouldn't agree. Now this old hag is finally willing to let you go!"

Every time he brought up divorce.

Funny. I didn't recall a single time.

So much for true love.

I didn't bother exposing the lie. It was between the two of them, and it had nothing to do with me anymore.

What I really wanted to see was what he would do next.

Allan said nothing. The silence made Delilah anxious. She grabbed his hand, swinging it back and forth like a petulant child.

"Honey, don't tell me you're so happy you've gone stupid. Hurry up and divorce her already. I can't wait to marry you."

Allan glanced at her. Then he wrenched his hand free and, before anyone could react, cracked his palm across her face.