Chapter 1Betrayal in Plain Sight, Revenge in Mind
Olivia: POV
The sleek Nexus Tech building gleamed in the late afternoon sun as my Uber pulled up across the street. I'd decided to surprise Jason at his office - maybe grab an early dinner at that Italian place he liked, catch up on how his week had been going.
That's when I saw them.
Jason, my boyfriend of three years, was exiting the building with his arm wrapped around a statuesque blonde in a fitted red dress. They paused at the corner where he drew her into his arms, kissing her as if she were his last breath.
My body went cold, then hot, then numb. I instinctively ducked behind a parked car, phone clutched in my hand like a lifeline. Three years. Three fucking years we'd been together, and there he was, practically devouring another woman in broad daylight.
I should've screamed or marched over there or made a scene. Instead, I did what I always do—assessed the situation. I steadied my breathing and followed them at a distance as they walked to a nearby wine bar.
The memories came in flashes. Jason pursuing me relentlessly in our senior year at Berkeley. Me thinking his grand gestures were cheesy, until I finally gave him a chance. All those times he'd said he loved me. The weekend trips. Meeting each other's families.
Now I watched him use those same moves on someone else—the head tilt, the intimate touch of her hair, the whispered comments that made her laugh and lean into him.
I moved close enough to hear snippets of their conversation.
"Charlotte, you're incredible," he murmured, his fingers tracing her wrist. The same words he'd said to me last weekend.
Charlotte. I committed the name to memory as they disappeared into the bar.
My hands were shaking as I called an Uber home. The ride passed in a blur of rage, hurt, and disbelief. How long had this been going on? How many lies had he told me? How could I have been so fucking blind?
I spent the entire weekend digging into Charlotte Caldwell's life. The Parker name still opened doors, and a few strategic calls to family contacts gave me what I needed.
Her family situation was complicated. After her mother died, her father immediately remarried a woman with two kids practically Charlotte's age. She's a Stanford Business School graduate who just got back from London and is now working at the family's financial firm. Lives alone in a Nob Hill apartment.
By Monday morning, I was standing outside her building at 9 AM, dressed professionally but feeling anything but composed. My stomach churned as I waited for her to emerge.
When she finally appeared in the lobby, I intercepted her path to the street.
"Excuse me, are you Charlotte Caldwell?"
She looked me up and down, clearly trying to place me. "Yes? Do I know you?"
"Hi, I'm Olivia Parker. I think we need to talk about Jason Jenkins."
Her face went through a series of expressions—confusion, recognition, then something like dread. She glanced around the busy street, then back at me.
"I'm sorry, who are you exactly?"
"His girlfriend of three years," I said, watching her face carefully. "And from what I saw Friday night, you've been seeing him too."
Charlotte's perfectly composed expression cracked. She stared at me for a long moment, and I could practically see her mind racing.
"This is..." she started, then stopped. "Look, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but Jason is single. He's been single the entire time I've known him."
"Four months?" I guessed, and her slight flinch told me I was right. "Let me guess—he told you he had a crazy ex who wouldn't leave him alone?"
The color drained from her face. "How did you..."
"Because that's probably what he told you about me." I pulled out my phone, swiping to a recent photo of Jason and me at dinner. "Does this look like harassment to you?"
Charlotte stared at the photo, her hand slowly rising to cover her mouth. "Oh my god."
"Yeah." I put my phone away. "So maybe we should talk. Somewhere private."
She looked around again, clearly rattled. After a moment, she nodded toward the coffee shop across the street. "Ten minutes. That's all."
Ten minutes turned into two hours.
Charlotte had been skeptical at first, defensive even. But as we compared timelines, text messages, and stories, the truth became undeniable. Jason had been masterfully managing two relationships, using "business trips" and "client dinners" to switch between us.
"That lying piece of shit," Charlotte whispered, staring at her phone screen where she'd pulled up photos of her and Jason in Napa. "He took me there for my birthday last month."
"He took me there for our anniversary six months ago," I replied flatly.
She looked up at me, and I saw my own anger reflected in her eyes. "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "Part of me wants to key his car. Part of me wants to post everything on social media. Part of me just wants to disappear and pretend this never happened."
Charlotte was quiet for a moment, then: "What if we confronted him together?"
"You mean like an intervention?"
"More like an ambush." She leaned forward, her business school strategic mind clearly kicking in. "We both ask him out for the same night. Whoever he chooses, the other one shows up. Let him try to explain his way out of that."
I found myself actually considering it. "That's... not terrible."
"I know a photographer who could document the whole thing," she continued, warming to the idea. "Not for revenge porn or anything crazy, just... evidence. In case we need it later."
As we finalized the details, my phone buzzed with Jason's name. Charlotte saw the screen and her lip curled in disgust.
"Answer it," she said. "Act normal."
I took a breath and swiped to accept. "Hey."
"Hey babe! How was your weekend? Sorry I was so swamped with work stuff."
"It was fine," I said, my voice carefully neutral.
"Listen, I want to make it up to you. Dinner tomorrow night? That new place on Market you mentioned?"
I caught Charlotte's encouraging nod. "Sure. Eight o'clock?"
"Perfect. Love you."
I ended the call without returning the sentiment.
"Your turn," I said to Charlotte, who was already dialing.
She put the call on speaker. Jason answered on the second ring.
"Charlotte, hey. What's up?"
"Just wondering if you're free tomorrow night? I've got reservations at that French place you mentioned."
There was a pause—just long enough to be telling. "Tomorrow? Let me check... yeah, I can make that work. What time?"
"Eight thirty?"
"Looking forward to it. Miss you."
After she hung up, we sat in silence for a moment.
"Well," Charlotte said finally, "now we wait and see which one of us he chooses."
"And then we destroy him," I added.
She smiled—the first genuine smile I'd seen from her all morning. "I think we're going to get along just fine."
I was gathering my things to leave when my phone rang again. Jason's face appeared on the screen.
"Showtime," Charlotte murmured.
I answered. "Hey."
"Olivia, I'm so sorry," Jason began, his voice full of practiced regret. "Something just came up at work—emergency client meeting tomorrow night. Can we reschedule dinner?"
I met Charlotte's eyes across the table. She was grinning now, and I felt an answering smile tug at my lips.
"Of course," I said sweetly. "Work comes first. I understand completely."
After I hung up, Charlotte raised her coffee cup in a mock toast.
"To Charlotte Caldwell," I said, raising mine to meet it.
"And to finding out exactly what kind of man we've both been dating."
