Chapter 5 No.5

Maya left the lodge, pulling her coat on.

Liam's friends, Marc especially, were trying to persuade him to stay for "just one more drink."

"Come on, Liam, loosen up. Maya won't mind," Marc cajoled.

Maya paused at the door. "No, really, Liam. Stay. Have fun."

She gave him a small, tight smile and walked out.

She needed air. She needed to be away from the suffocating hypocrisy.

She was halfway back to the city in the car when she reached into her evening clutch for her lipstick. It was gone.

Her favorite, "Rouge Horizon," a custom shade Liam had commissioned to match a dress. She remembered setting it on the table by the fire pit.

A small, stupid mistake. But she wanted it back. A last piece of her she refused to leave in their world.

"Turn around," she told the driver. "I forgot something."

She had to return for it, of course. But as she walked back onto the stone terrace of the lodge, she stopped dead.

Ava Sinclair was there.

Bold as brass, laughing, holding a drink.

She was seated right next to Liam, in the very chair Maya had just vacated. His arm was casually draped over the back of her chair.

Liam was smiling, relaxed, a different man than the one who'd been performing for Maya all evening.

Marc and the others didn't look surprised at all. They were chatting with Ava as if she were a regular part of their group.

Then, Maya saw it.

Liam leaned over and kissed Ava.

A quick, possessive kiss. Openly. In front of everyone.

His friends just smirked.

They were playing some stupid drinking game.

"Truth or dare, Liam?" one of the women slurred.

"Truth," Liam said, grinning.

"Ever cheated on Maya?"

Ava giggled. Marc snorted.

Liam took a long sip of his scotch. "Define cheated."

Laughter all around.

"Come on, Goldstein, don't be coy," Marc said. "A little side action doesn't count if the main course is happy, right?"

"Something like that," Liam said, winking at Ava.

He glanced towards the path to the main lodge, a brief, almost imperceptible flicker of concern. "Just make sure the main course never finds out. Keep her happy, keep her in the dark. That's the key."

Ava stroked his arm. "She'll never find out, baby. You're too smart."

Maya backed away slowly, unseen.

Her forgotten lipstick felt like the most insignificant thing in the universe.

She stumbled back to the car, her carefully constructed composure shattered.

The truth, in its ugliest, most brutal form, had hit her full force.

He wasn't just a cheater. He was a con man. Their whole life was a lie he actively maintained.

And his friends were his accomplices.

She got into the car, her body trembling. "Go," she choked out to the driver. "Just go."

A sudden downpour started, a typical New York City cloudburst. Cold rain lashed the windshield, blurring the city lights into streaks of mocking color.

The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed with concern. "Miss?"

But Maya didn't hear him. The cruel words echoed in her head. The main course. Keep her in the dark.

Tears she couldn't stop streamed down her face. Her vision blurred completely.

She didn't see the truck that ran the red light. She only heard the deafening blare of a horn and the horrifying screech of tires on wet pavement.

Then, a violent, bone-jarring impact, and the world went black.