Chapter 1: The Appointment I Was Never Supposed to Keep
My husband was always at work, so I secretly booked an appointment with him as a surprise — but when I saw what he actually did for a living, I nearly fainted.
Marco and I had been married for three years, and aside from one thing, our marriage was genuinely happy.
His work.
He left before breakfast, came home after I was asleep, and spent half our weekends "covering emergencies."
Whenever I asked what kept him so busy, he would kiss my forehead and say, "Please, dear.
I spend all day dealing with work.
Can I have ONE PLACE where I don't have to talk about it?"
I respected that.
Until our anniversary dinner went cold on the table while I waited for him until nearly midnight.
So the next morning, I did something ridiculous.
I searched his name online and booked an appointment using my maiden name.
My logic was simple: if Marco was barely ever home, I would just see him at work instead.
It was supposed to be a harmless little surprise.
That was when the first strange thing happened.
Every review was written by a WOMAN.
"Marco changed my life."
"I was terrified, but he made me feel beautiful again."
"My husband still doesn't know I went to him."
One woman had simply written:
"Ladies, trust me.
Marco is worth every penny."
My stomach tightened, but I forced myself to laugh.
Maybe he specialized in women's health.
Maybe I had somehow missed that for years.
So I drove to the address.
I checked it three times.
Because it wasn't a hospital at all, like Marco had told me.
It was just an ordinary building on the edge of town.
Inside, a perfectly dressed receptionist smiled at me.
"Marco will see you shortly."
There were four women in the waiting room.
One looked about twenty-five.
Another had to be close to seventy.
And every single one went strangely quiet when Marco's name was mentioned.
Five minutes later, the receptionist opened a door.
"You can go in now."
My hands were trembling as I stepped through Marco's office door.
He was standing with his back to me, arranging something and completely unaware it was me.
I looked around the room and felt the ground disappear beneath my feet.
This was NOTHING like what Marco had told me he did for a living.
It was much, much worse.
The moment he turned around and saw me, all the color drained from his face.
"What are you doing here?" he blurted out.
May you like
But I could only stare at him, suddenly realizing I might not know my husband at all.
"When," I whispered, "were you planning to tell your wife the truth?"
