The Geometry of Three

Maren Reeves, my best friend, suddenly told me she'd gotten back together with her ex. I tore into her for going back to a man who'd already hurt her, but she only gave me a bitter smile. "Maybe some people are just destined to keep getting tangled up with each other. Renee, I don't need your validation. I just don't want you to be mad at me." At the time, I didn't understand what Maren really meant. I thought she was only worried I'd get worked up over that jerk again. Seeing the conflict on her face, I couldn't bring myself to keep scolding her. I simply hugged her and told her not to settle for anything that made her unhappy. Then, a year later, I went to the hospital because of severe menstrual cramps and unexpectedly saw her leaving the maternity ward. Confused, I was about to approach her when a man hurried over, carefully helping her along and fussing over her every need. In an instant, I instinctively ducked behind the corner, my entire body trembling uncontrollably. Because that man was none other than Isaiah Cole, my husband of three years. Chapter 1 I pressed myself against the cold tile wall, clamping both hands over my mouth as I held my breath. Through the narrow opening beyond the corner, I watched Isaiah Cole, my husband—the man I'd loved for five years and been married to for three—carefully support Maren Reeves, my best friend of seven years. The tenderness on his face was one I knew all too well. Isaiah lowered his head and murmured something to her, then casually reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Maren stared down at the report in her hand, her expression unreadable, but her other hand drifted instinctively to her still-flat stomach. As they walked away, something compelled me to follow them, keeping my steps slow and quiet. I trailed them all the way to the parking garage, where I watched Isaiah open the passenger door and place one hand against the roof of the car, shielding Maren's head as she climbed inside. The black Maybach glided smoothly out of the hospital. Its taillights blurred into streaks of crimson before my eyes. I stood alone in the vast underground garage, my entire body shaking uncontrollably. It was early fall, but I felt as though I'd been plunged into freezing water. Cold sweat soaked through the back of my shirt. My phone suddenly vibrated twice inside my purse, the sound jarring in the deathly silence. With trembling fingers, I unlocked the screen. Two text messages appeared, one after the other. The first was from Maren. [Renee, are your cramps any better today? I sent you some heating patches. Remember to stay hydrated, okay? I'm not feeling great today, so I won't be coming to the office to keep you company. Love you!] The second was from Isaiah. [Babe, an important meeting came up, and I can't get away to pick you up from the hospital. Be good and take an Uber home. I'll bring you that Mont Blanc cake you love tonight to make it up to you.] A violent wave of nausea surged up my throat. I doubled over the nearest trash can and retched until there was almost nothing left in my stomach. Tears struck the concrete floor, leaving dark spots behind. It was disgusting. I had no idea how I was supposed to go home and face Isaiah. I had even less idea how I could return to the office and look Maren in the eye. I felt like a spectacle stripped bare and abandoned in the middle of a crowded street. So I fled the city center in a panic, took a cab straight to my parents' house, and requested an extended leave of absence from work. Chapter 2 The moment I opened the front door to my parents' house, my mother, Victoria Bentley, looked up from the sweater she was knitting. My father, Randy Bentley, sat beside her with his headphones on, listening to an old-time radio drama. At the sound of the door, Mom looked up. The instant she saw my face, the ball of yarn slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. "Renee? What are you doing? What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?" Dad yanked off his headphones and hurried over. The moment I saw the concern and love written all over their faces, the last of the strength that had kept me going finally gave out. "Dad... Mom..." My knees buckled, and I sank onto the rug by the front door. Then, like a child who had been hurt beyond repair, I burst into tears. Between broken sobs, I told them everything I had seen at the hospital and showed them the two sickening text messages. Dad shook with fury. He slammed his palm against the coffee table so hard the cups rattled. "That scoundrel! That ungrateful lowlife! I'm going to his office right now, and when I'm done with him, he'll wish he'd never been born! And your so-called best friend? We've always treated her like family. How could she do something this despicable?" Mom wrapped her arms tightly around me, crying as she rubbed my back. "You've never been treated this way... Divorce him. You have to divorce him. Our family doesn't need a damn thing from his." I grabbed the hem of Dad's shirt, wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, and shook my head. "I'm going to divorce him. But I'm not letting him walk away from this without consequences, and I'm not ending my marriage without knowing the whole truth." When they saw the resolve in my swollen, bloodshot eyes, my parents fell silent. They knew me too well. I had never been someone who could look the other way after being betrayed. Dad's eyes reddened as he crouched in front of me and stroked my hair. "All right, Renee. We won't do anything reckless. But remember this: no matter what you decide or how far you want to take it, if the whole world comes crashing down, your mother and I will hold it up for you." I spent the next three days at my parents' house in a daze. Then the private investigator I had paid a small fortune delivered a thick manila envelope. I drew a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for whatever was inside. I wasn't the only person caught up in this anymore. There was also the ex with whom Maren had supposedly gotten back together. But when I opened the envelope, the truth hit me like a sledgehammer. Isaiah was her ex. I had always known there was a man who had broken Maren's heart, but I had never met him. She had told me the memories were too painful, so she had deleted everything connected to him and refused to even say his name. However, on an old private social media account, she had kept more than five years' worth of photos and posts from over a decade ago, preserving every trace of their sweet, innocent young love. They were childhood sweethearts. From eighteen to twenty-two, they had loved each other with a passion neither of them had ever forgotten. They had shared an entire history, yet when I first introduced them, they had pretended to be complete strangers. According to the investigator's report, Isaiah's parents had looked down on Maren's family for being poor and considered her beneath their social standing. They had refused to accept the relationship under any circumstances. In the photographs, Isaiah's eyes burned with an intensity I had never seen before. He had once stood outside in a torrential downpour for Maren. He had even begged his parents to let them be together. As independent and resilient as ever, Maren had fought beside him every step of the way. Unfortunately, his family had done everything they could to humiliate and crush her. They had driven her mother to the brink of taking her own life. In the end, the two of them were forced apart. She had left town, and he had fallen gravely ill. Chapter 3 I let out a sudden laugh. I laughed until tears splashed onto the pages. So what if I was the "perfect match" for him? Compared to the tragic, all-consuming love story between the two of them, every sweet memory Isaiah and I had shared felt as bland as plain water. I met Isaiah when I was twenty-seven at a charity gala. We hit it off immediately, talking for hours as if we'd known each other forever. I thought he was the soulmate fate had chosen for me, but maybe the reason we connected so effortlessly was that I was so much like Maren. I'd always cherished the natural chemistry and unspoken understanding Maren and I shared as best friends. Now, looking back, every one of those similarities had become a thorn lodged deep in my heart. The woman he could never forget had carved herself into his soul. I had only ever been her replacement. A thought suddenly struck me. My fingers hurriedly flipped through the journal until I found the answer I'd been desperate to know. When had their affair started again? A year ago, the night before Isaiah and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary, he got drunk at a business dinner and, out of sheer habit, called the number he knew by heart—Maren. She picked him up that night, and they ended up at a hotel. Neither of them came out until morning. After that, the same "mistake" kept happening over and over again. As I replayed every suspicious detail from the past year, I wanted nothing more than to slap myself across the face. "Maybe some people are just destined to stay tangled together." "Renee, I don't need your validation. I just don't want you to be angry with me." Maren's words echoed through my mind once again. I wasn't angry. I was disgusted. If they were destined to belong together, then what was I? Just the obstacle standing in the way of their destiny? I locked myself in my room for an entire day. The following day, I returned to the place where I'd lived for the past three years, where I'd believed was home. The moment I opened the front door, I saw a warm floor lamp glowing softly in the living room. Isaiah was sitting on the couch in gray loungewear, flipping through a stack of documents. The instant he heard the door, he set everything aside and walked over. As naturally as breathing, he took my bag from my hand and pulled me into his arms. "You're finally home, sweetheart. Everything okay with your mom?" His voice was low and gentle, carrying just the right hint of concern. He smelled faintly of body wash. It used to be the scent that made me feel safest. Now it made my stomach churn. "Yeah. Everything's taken care of." I dug my fingernails into my thigh, forcing myself not to shove him away as I let him hold me. "I stayed a few extra days with my parents. Sorry for making you worry." His eyes flickered for just a second, almost as if he'd finally relaxed. He reached up and brushed my cheek with his thumb. "You still look a little pale. I'll have Maria make you some chicken broth tomorrow." He paused before smiling. "Oh, and Maren's been asking about you too. She said you've been out of the office, and she hasn't had anyone to chat with." Hearing her name roll off his tongue so naturally made my heart seize as though someone had driven a needle straight through it. The two of them really were perfect actors. One played the devoted lover in bed. The other played the devoted best friend outside of it. I swallowed the icy hatred rising inside me and smiled as if nothing was wrong. "I've missed Maren too." I looked into his eyes. "Isaiah, next month is our third wedding anniversary. I want to throw a big party. Everyone's been so busy these past few years. I'd love to invite all our friends and celebrate properly. What do you think?" "Of course." Smiling, he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "As long as it makes you happy, do whatever you want. I'll have my assistant book the venue." Chapter 4 The next day, I called Maren. She picked up after the very first ring. Her voice was filled with concern, flawless enough to fool anyone. "Renee! You finally called! Are you feeling better? I've been so worried about you!" I smiled, though there wasn't a trace of warmth in my eyes. "I'm fine now, Maren. Next month is Isaiah and my third wedding anniversary. We're throwing a party, and as my best friend, you have to be there." There was the briefest pause before she answered, her voice carrying a hint of strained restraint, "Of course. Just send me the date. I'll definitely be there." "Great." My tone stayed light, while my gaze turned ice-cold. "Maren, make sure you dress up. After all, there's going to be a very big surprise that day." After hanging up, I tossed my phone onto the table and closed my eyes in exhaustion. A month later, in the grand ballroom of The Langford Hotel, the city's most luxurious hotel. Isaiah had rented out the entire top floor. The ballroom looked like something out of a fairy tale, decorated everywhere with white roses I'd once casually mentioned I liked. And yet, the guest of honor, the woman everyone was waiting for, was sitting twenty miles away in the airport VIP lounge. On my phone, my parents were livestreaming everything for me. On the screen, Isaiah, dressed in a perfectly tailored custom suit, moved gracefully through the crowd with a champagne flute in hand. However, the way he kept checking his watch betrayed the anxiety he was desperately trying to hide. Not far from him, beside the dessert table, stood Maren. She wore a champagne-colored gown with a loose, flowing silhouette. Though she'd deliberately chosen it to hide her pregnancy, after another month, the slight curve of her belly was beginning to show. The two of them kept their distance from one another, staying careful and doing everything they could to avoid attracting suspicion. I glanced at the time in the corner of my screen. It was almost time. The show was about to begin. A second later, the massive carved doors of the ballroom swung open. The once lively room fell instantly silent. Every head turned toward the entrance. The woman of the evening wasn't there. Instead, Dad walked in first, wearing a tailored black suit, his face dark with fury. Beside him was Mom in an elegant pantsuit, her expression razor sharp. Following behind them were four bodyguards dressed entirely in black. Isaiah froze for a split second before immediately putting on his practiced smile and hurrying over. "Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?" He looked past them, his brow tightening. "Where's Renee? Why isn't she with you?" Standing near the back of the crowd, Maren also walked over. "Victoria, where's Renee?" Mom ignored her completely and didn't answer Isaiah either. She couldn't even be bothered to fake a polite smile. Dad said evenly, barely containing the rage beneath his voice, "Isaiah, Renee had something come up today." For the first time, Isaiah seemed to realize something was terribly wrong. The smile on his face slowly stiffened. "Dad, did something happen?" "No rush." Mom let out a cold laugh before striding straight to the ballroom's control booth in her high heels and picking up the microphone. "I'm sorry to everyone here today. I know you're all friends of Renee and Isaiah's." Her voice rang clearly through every corner of the ballroom. "Unfortunately, Renee won't be joining us tonight." A murmur spread through the crowd. "But she did ask me to bring everyone a surprise." She reached over and pressed the play button. The giant LED screen, which had been looping our wedding photos moments before, flickered. The music cut off. Then a high-definition photograph filled the massive screen without warning. In it, nineteen-year-old Maren and Isaiah stood in each other's arms, smiling sweetly at the camera. They looked completely, hopelessly in love.