The Bali trip we'd promised ourselves on our honeymoon.

Put off year after year.

In the third year, it was finally happening.

I was so excited I'd packed three days early and rushed to the airport.

Only to find my husband's "female buddy" was there too.

Meeting my puzzled stare, Brendan Harding explained himself without a shred of guilt.

"There were only two tickets left, and Victoria Delgado really wanted to see Bali, so I went ahead and bought hers first."

"How about you grab another ticket tomorrow and meet us there? Or, you know, wait for next time."

Next time again.

But I didn't want to wait anymore.

I waved at the two of them. "Safe travels."

Then I turned and called my father.

"Dad, I'd like to borrow your private helicopter. I want to go to Bali for a few days."

"Also, that three-hundred-million investment we made in Brendan a while back, pull it."

——

After I hung up.

I looked toward the entrance, at the two of them laughing and chatting.

Brendan was carrying Victoria's bags like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Every bag, big and small, slung over his own shoulders.

Victoria, in a flowing bohemian dress, draped herself across him and, in her excitement, planted a kiss right on his cheek.

"You really are my best buddy. Could you be any more loyal?"

"I just said I wanted to go to Bali, and you ditched your wife without blinking. I knew I had you pegged right! What a stand-up guy."

"But your wife, left behind out here, she won't be mad, will she?"

Victoria turned and shot me a smug glance.

"Women are all like that, getting upset over nothing, such a pain to coax."

Brendan chuckled.

"What's there to worry about? My wife's easygoing. She doesn't get mad that easily."

"Otherwise, how do you think I've brought you breakfast every single day for two years, never the same thing twice?"

"My wife just isn't the jealous type. Set your mind at ease and have a great time in Bali."

Right.

Every breakfast, Brendan would prepare two portions, one for me, one for his "female buddy."

But every single time, mine was just donuts and a plain roll.

Hers was balanced, lean protein and organic vegetables.

One day I happened to catch a glimpse, and Brendan explained it coolly.

"She's on a diet. This is all she can have."

I was different, of course.

He always insisted, without a hint of doubt, that I had a good appetite, that I wasn't picky, so any breakfast would do.

Even the gifts. Mine was a cheap mug you could buy online for ten bucks.

Hers were carefully chosen, Chanel, La Mer.

In the past, I let it go because I didn't care.

But that didn't mean I'd let them treat me like a fool.

I stood there, letting the thoughts churn through my head.

Brendan reached the corner, then suddenly turned back and waved at me.

"Head home now, Peggy Gilbert."

"I'll call you once we land."

Victoria curled her lips at me, pleased with herself, and gave Brendan's shoulder a pat.

"Don't worry, Peggy! I'll take good care of Brendan for you!"

I watched their backs disappear around the corner.

No reaction. I turned and walked out of the airport.

The moment I got home, a message popped up on my phone.

It was from Brendan.

"You behaved well today, no fuss."

"Good girl, Peggy. When I get back from Bali, I'll bring you a souvenir you'll love."

I stared at the message for a few seconds.

Then another post lit up on my social media feed.

Victoria had just posted it.

Airport terminal, Victoria flashing a peace sign, beaming as she leaned in close to Brendan.

The caption read: "Taking off on a spur-of-the-moment trip with the best brother in the whole world! Wives are like clothes, brothers are like limbs. Thanks to a certain someone for being so understanding~ heart you!"

Plenty of people had liked it, all mutual friends.

Someone had commented underneath: "Huh? So where's your brother's wife, Peggy? She didn't make a scene about this?"

Victoria had replied with an innocent little emoji: "No idea~ maybe she's working overtime."

I scrolled past the post, my face giving nothing away, and closed the app.

Another message came in from Brendan.

"Did you see Victoria's post? She wants to hit 999 likes as a little challenge. Peggy, go give her a like too."

I didn't respond.

Five minutes later, Brendan sent a few more.

"Why aren't you answering? Did you fall asleep?"

"Okay, well, get some rest tonight."

"I'm not there to pour your water and soak your feet for you, so remember to run yourself some hot water and take care of yourself."

"Love you, wifey."

He even tacked on a cute little cartoon sticker at the end.

I just found it laughable.

In the past, I never had the heart to let him down. Every message he sent, I answered without fail.

But this time, not only did I not bother to reply.

I went straight to his pinned chat and unpinned it, then tossed my phone aside and went to shower.

After all, tomorrow I'd be touching down in Bali by helicopter.

Off to a trip that was mine and mine alone.

As for whether anyone would pour my water and soak my feet, that had always been a trivial little thing that didn't matter.

Just as I burrowed under the covers, my phone buzzed again.

This time it was Katherine James, my father's assistant.

"Peggy, the helicopter route's been approved. We take off from the city at ten tomorrow morning, expected to land at Denpasar Airport in Bali around four in the afternoon."

"The pilot is Bryan. He's flown this route several times, so you can rest easy."

I replied, "Good."

Not even five minutes later, Katherine sent another.

"The boss asked me to check with you, are you serious about pulling the investment? Over eighty million is already in Mr. Harding's project. If you withdraw now, the upfront capital might…"

"Pull it."

I replied with just two words.

My father's call came through right after.

"Peggy, what's going on?"

"I was in meetings all day, didn't get the chance to ask you. The investment was doing perfectly fine, so why pull it out of nowhere?"

Two years ago, when Brendan's cross-border e-commerce venture hit a cash crunch.

I was the one who went to my father for the funding.

At the time, my father didn't want to do it. He said Brendan was unreliable, the kind of man who started strong and fizzled out, not someone cut out for anything big.

That flat refusal, to his face, made Brendan's eyes go red as he said:

"Peggy, your father looks down on me. That's fine. I'll earn this investment on my own merit and bring the company back from the dead."

He turned and walked out, throwing himself into the schmoozing, working contacts even to the point of bleeding ulcers, all to reel in investors.

It was me, aching for him, who went to my father again and again to put in a word for Brendan.

I said how hard it was for someone just starting out, and asked my father to give him a hand for his son-in-law's sake.

My father couldn't win against me, and he couldn't stand to see me cry.

With a sigh, he put in eighty million under the identity of a mysterious investor, on the condition that Brendan had to show real results within three years, or there'd be no follow-up funding.

After that, Brendan was unstoppable.

The returns rolled in like a snowball, growing bigger and bigger.

Just last month, Brendan urgently needed to scale up operations and came asking for another three hundred million.

My father agreed to that too.

But now…

I lifted my head and looked out at the lonely moon beyond the window. Right at this moment, Brendan was off in Bali with Victoria, watching the sea. Or maybe clinking glasses, laughing the night away.

Whether he lived free and easy or crawled through the wreckage of his own life, what did it have to do with me anymore?

"It's nothing serious," I said. "I just don't want to keep the money in."

The line went quiet for a few seconds.

"If you say pull out, then we pull out."

"But sweetheart, did someone hurt you?"

"No." I smiled a little. "I just want to clear my head in Bali. Lend me the helicopter and I'll handle the rest myself."

"A helicopter? If you wanted the stars out of the sky, your dad would climb up and grab them for you."

He sighed. "But Peggy, I have to be straight with you. That Brendan kid, I never thought much of him from the start. You insisted on marrying him, and I couldn't stop you."

"But if he's really done something to wrong you, you tell your dad..."

"I know."

After I hung up, I sat on the cold bed, lost in thought.

The truth was, I'd been to every city around Bali, more times than I could count.

Only Bali itself I'd never set foot in.

It was a dreamlike island, romantic enough that I'd kept it untouched, never daring to go.

Telling myself that one day I'd go there with the person I truly loved.

So the year we married, I booked our honeymoon for Bali.

But that year Brendan never made it, because Victoria had surgery and he was busy taking care of the Delgado parents.

Watching my face fall, he coaxed me with all his patience.

"Peggy, Mr. and Mrs. Delgado did so much for me before. They even paid my way through college."

"Now their daughter's sick. I can't just turn my back on her. I have to help out a little, at least. I hope you'll understand."

"Besides, it's only a trip to Bali, right? We can go anytime. I promise I'll take you next time, okay?"

At least his attitude was decent, and a few words were all it took to smooth me over.

So I agreed to the next year.

But the next year, the same thing, derailed because Victoria got kidnapped by criminals.

Brendan said, eyes rimmed red.

"Victoria's safety matters more."

"A lifetime is so long. Does it really matter when we go to Bali?"

So, it fell through again.

The third year, Brendan finally gave in and agreed.

I thought I could finally take a trip with him, just the two of us.

But then Victoria said she wanted to come.

And he dropped me.

Went off with his "girl buddy" instead.

Why bother?

Cheapening myself like that for some hollow, illusory love.

See? Even without a man, I made it to Bali on my own anyway.

The next morning, I was just heading to my father's private airfield.

When Brendan sent another video.

It was from the night before, at a hotel near Bali, Brendan holding his phone, filming the ocean at night.

Victoria's voice came through, crystal clear.

"Wow! It's gorgeous! Brendan, hurry, get it, get it! And get me in the shot too..."

Brendan laughed. "Got it, got it. Keep your voice down, everyone around us is staring."

"Let them stare. I came out to have fun with my best buddy. It's not against the law."

The camera jolted, catching Victoria in a soaked long dress, walking toward him with a smile.

Then it cut off.

Right after, Brendan sent a text.

"Morning, Peggy. Sharing the Bali night view with you."

"Victoria picked this hotel. It's really beautiful. We should stay here next time."

Looking at that line, I suddenly let out a small laugh.

There wouldn't be a next time.

At ten past four in the afternoon, the helicopter touched down on the VIP pad at Bali's Denpasar Airport.

The ground crew was already waiting, ready to help Bryan Chavez and me through immigration.