Chapter 1The Last Letter to My Best Friend

When the plane hit severe turbulence, I was on board with my husband, Matt. In the tense, rattling cabin, everyone was frantically writing their last words.

I gripped Matt’s hand tightly, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him send his final message not to me, but to my best friend, Maya.

Matt’s lips were a thin, tight line. After a moment, he finally explained, “Don’t misunderstand. She’s the person we both trust the most, isn’t she?”

Thankfully, it was a false alarm. As I stumbled off the plane on shaky legs, the first thing I did was call Maya. “Let’s get it notarized,” I said, my voice dead calm. “I’ll be your witness.”

* * *

“Chloe, what are you talking about?” Maya’s voice was a frantic squawk on the other end. “I just saw the news about the plane! Are you okay?”

“I’m on my way to the airport right now, wait for me!”

She hung up abruptly. Matt walked beside me, a look of weary frustration on his face. “Your parents and mine are getting older. I didn’t want to scare them. That’s why I sent it to Maya.”

“Come on, you… okay, okay, I was wrong. Can you forgive me?” Matt pulled me close, kissing my cheek. “Don’t be mad. When Maya gets here, she’s going to chew me out. You don’t want to see your darling husband get yelled at, do you?”

A knot of ice was forming in my stomach. I pulled away and walked ahead. Matt chased after me, murmuring apologies.

When we reached the arrivals hall, I saw Maya jump out of her car. The panic in her eyes looked genuine.

But I saw it clearly. The first person she looked for was Matt.

Only then did she rush over to me, pulling me into a fierce hug before turning to punch Matt playfully on the shoulder. “You idiot! What was that last will and testament crap? You scared me to death!”

Matt just smiled. “Hey, we’re fine. Besides, if something did happen, I knew we could count on you to handle everything for us.”

“And for that,” he added with a teasing glance at me, “Chloe is giving me the silent treatment.”

He said it like a joke. Maya rolled her eyes at him and pulled me toward her car. I watched them, how they bantered, how they moved around each other with an effortless familiarity that screamed of something more. There was no boundary, no sense of propriety.

Back at our apartment, I told them I was exhausted and went straight to the bedroom.

Lying in bed, sleep was the furthest thing from my mind.

I’d known Matt for eight years. We were returning from our honeymoon. I thought I knew him inside and out. But on that plane, staring death in the face, my only thought was of being with him forever. Matt, meanwhile, was tapping out a message to Maya with trembling hands.

He called it a will. But in that moment of pure terror, my senses had been dialed to eleven. I had seen the words he sent to her.

Everything I have goes to you.

And one last line: The vows we made remain, but the letter can never be sent.

My nails dug into my palms. Just then, I heard his voice from the living room. “Chloe, I’m walking Maya downstairs. I’ll be right back.”

I got up silently and went to the living room. His phone was on the coffee table. In a flash of pure impulse, I picked it up, my fingers flying as I entered his passcode. I checked all the usual apps, but found nothing.

Was I just being paranoid?

Then, my hands shaking, I went into his settings and tapped ‘Switch Account.’ And there it was. A second profile, one he used so often it didn’t even require a password.

In that account, I found their chats.

They went back eight years. To when Matt and I had just met.

It turned out Maya had known him even before I did.

“You’re a lucky guy, getting to know the ice queen of our department. Chloe doesn’t let just anyone in.”

“Ask Chloe to the badminton court today. She loves playing. Don’t say I never help you. Make sure you play well!”

“So, how’d it go? I’m a good wing-woman, right? Chloe’s my best friend. If you ever dare betray her, I’ll be the first one to come after you.”

And then, the conversation shifted. From helping him woo me, to their shared interests, to their dates, and then… to sex.

It started with hesitation, then guilt, and then blossomed into a thrilling, passionate affair.

In twenty minutes, I scrolled through eight years of deceit. I took pictures of everything I needed, logged out, and locked the phone.

Then I walked to the window. Down below, in the parking lot, I saw them. They were wrapped in an embrace, their hands lingering, stroking, like two lovers unable to say goodbye.

I took a deep breath. A part of me, a core belief in my life, had just crumbled into dust.