Chapter 1

I thought this marriage would have been a short one. Just for business. Just to entertain the judging public. Instead, it lasted for seven long years. Seven years with a freak show like him. How had I come to love that bastard? Why did he waste his breath to lie and say that he loved me too? Yeah, we had two children, but that didn't explain anything. I yearned for freedom. Yearned for another life. Anything but what I was living now.

I found myself in our home gym. A little something Luca and I shared when we were in the mood. I went over to the treadmill and put the timer on twenty minutes. My mind tended to wander a lot, so any longer would have put me at risk of a heart attack. I put on my headphones and began my run.

I absolutely miss being single. I missed dating. I missed seeing other guys just for the fun of it. I missed...Asher. He was like my soulmate. I'm sure he's still not even married. He once told me that he would wait for me. Romantic? I freaking loved that. I fell for him hard, yet I still went on and married some guy everyone thought I was perfect for. I had dreamed of bragging about mine and Asher's son. Telling everyone that we were the perfect family.

My dreams had been crushed. I wanted to make dad proud of me. I wanted to show everyone that I could take a challenge. A year of marriage hadn't been too bad. I was sure Luca would have dropped me like a brick and moved on. Then our baby came. I thought it would soften Luca up, but it had the opposite effect. He seemed more distant than he had before. I thought it couldn't get any worse.

It did.

My hopes of bringing Luca home more often were lost. It just made him come home later than usual. He made excuses about work. Lied about being at the Agency. I believed for a while. I was blinded by what I thought was love. He had told me that he had loved me and would always be there for me. All the while, he was finding whores to satisfy and fuel his ever growing sexual needs. Coaxing lots of women out at night to be unfaithful to their spouses. Or to even be tricked into getting paid for sleeping with him.

Then the second baby came. Sometimes I wished we had both died. Or would have rather we'd gotten divorced then. That would have been my life much easier. I could have gotten everything I've ever wanted. Real love. A man who actually wanted to start a family. By now, I knew all of what he was doing was for show. He had never loved me. I was getting tired of all this.

Sometimes...I'd thought about getting an abortion. Would that have been better for the both of us? I wanted to imagine what it would have been like. Maybe Luca would have seen how bad I was trying to get his attention. Maybe it would have torn us apart. I could have gone back to being free and--

My alarm went off, jogging my thoughts. I slowed to a jog then stopped. I shouldn't have gotten so worked about that. I crossed the room to the weights. I chose the heaviest one I could lift and let my thoughts wander again. I needed to get that under control.

Where was Luca? Usually he'd come in when I was in a bad mood. Maybe he really was tired from the case last night. He did almost have to leave the city. I would have been tired also if I hadn't left earlier than him.

"Ahem. Lexi. Babe."

My head snapped up and I gazed at my husband.

"Oh...Hey, Luca."

"I see you're letting your thoughts wander again. That's dangerous," He said.

"...And you care, because..." I raised a brow. "You've never cared, Luca."

"Hmmm...Should I just turn around and pretend that I didn't see you? Hopefully I won't come back and find you dead."

"Hopefully you will."

"But I won't."

"Of course not."

"You know I love you."

I sighed, dropped the weight, and stood up. Luca was pushing my buttons this morning. He knew how much I hated sarcasm and disobedience. I hated how he "cared" for me. It was all so fake.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for work now?" He asked. "It's a little after 6."

"I have more than enough time to get ready," I mumbled.

"We both know that you take longer than expected to get ready."

"...Just get out. I'll be up in a little while."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Luca looked me over suspiciously, then left. I sighed and went to the pull-up bar. Just for a few minutes. I thought.

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I showed up to work, not taking crap from anyone. Even Melissa and Cynthia kept their distance.

"Any cases today?" Officer Nolan asked.

"...Undercover cop." I shrugged. "Same old cases. Undercover. Drug busts."

"Why do you always get the best jobs?" He complained.

"Because I actually do my job right the first time. Why don't you get me a cup of coffee?" I suggested.

Nolan saluted me and went to the breakroom. I shook my head in amusement and went to the sheriff's office. I found him on the phone. It didn't even surprise me.

"--that's pretty stupid. I'll ask around again...Thanks for the tip...See ya later." He slammed the phone down and looked up at me. "...Has it been going well? Did you get what I asked you to?"

"I've been tailing him for the past couple of days. I'm taking action tonight," I said.

"That's good," He muttered. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"No...I don't think so."

"Really now?"

"...I have to leave a couple hours early?"

"Not that."

"I'm confused, sir."

Mr. Davenport stood up and cleared his throat. He was hiding something from me. What was it that he wanted to know so bad? I did what he's asked from me so far, so what's the problem?

"Officer Roberts, how is it going with the gala planning? Have Cynthia and Melissa caused any trouble yet?"

"To be honest...I don't even remember seeing them when I walked in," I said. "And the gala planning is going great."

"How's Luca holding up?" He asked.

I scowled. "I'd rather not speak of him."

"Oh...How are the kids?"

"They're fine. They've been wanting to come see you for the longest. I have to take them to see their aunt really soon. Things are going super well with them."

Mr. Davenport smiled and looked around his office. I noticed something shiny sticking out from behind one of his books. Somehow it looked familiar. It was as if I'd seen it before. Like way in the past. Hmmm...

"Why don't you clock out now?" He suggested.

My head snapped back to him. "Oh...Uh...I wanted to get some work done first."

Mr. Davenport nodded and waved me away. I left the office in a hurry. That man was getting weirder every time I talked to him. It was making me wonder who he really was.

"Here's your Caramel Mocha." Nolan handed me my coffee. "Monteil is going to join us in a few minutes. Is that alright with you?"

"Oh great," I muttered. "I have some work to finish. Just meet me back there."

"You got it."

"Thanks."

I was exhausted after an hour of flipping through page after page of old cases. It was giving me a headache. I had to admit that they were interesting. Before I was about to retire from this work, I saw that three of our past cases were unsolved. I'd never known that. When I looked back on them, they involved the same person. I had never worked on any case with him.

Not an hour had passed before the arguing began. I looked up from my work in annoyance and scowled. Of course I knew who it was. They never knew when to shut up.

"Look, she's over there. Just go ask her."

"If I have to ask her, you have to ask...her."

There was a moment of silence, then a groan and a chuckle. I waited for the two officers to leave. They were annoying the other officers in the room. We were trying to get our cases solved and they weren't helping. If they continued, they could be suspended from work. Better yet...fired. That thought put a smile on my face.

I pushed up my reading glasses and went back to work. My pencil moved across the paper effortlessly. This was going smoothly now that the loud talking had stopped. Minutes later, a shadow fell over my desk. I squinted at the paper.

"What, Monteil?" I growled.

"Have dinner with me tonight," He said.

My pencil broke. I blinked for about a minute in thought. Dinner? With Asher?! I thought this day would never come. My mouth went dry. I wanted to say yes, but then I thought of Luca. Technically, I wouldn't be cheating, because we were getting a divorce. Then again, he's never liked Asher. He'd probably challenge my right in keeping the kids. And Asher would find out that I wasn't Crystal Roberts.

"...Is that a no, Crystal?" Asher asked.

"I-Uh-I'd h-have to check my schedule," I stammered.

"Hmm. Ring me, yeah?"

"Yes. Of course."

Asher smiled and I melted inside. This guy did so many things to me. He just didn't know it yet. Even after maybe 10 years, I still get caught up in how great he is. Yet, I am Crystal Roberts. I hate Asher and make sure he knows it. I never get surprised when he asks me crazy questions like that. I am brave. I am independent. I am not someone to be played with.

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"Bella, he freaking asked me out to dinner!" I screeched. "Do you not know how bad that is?"

"Hon, calm down. It's really not that bad." Isabella pulled her feet up on the couch.

Natalia smirked at her phone and giggled. I leaned forward in interest. What was she happy about?

"Johnathan wants to take me out tomorrow," She squealed and clutched her phone. "I haven't seen him in so long."

"Didn't he go on a trip with his family?" Isabella asked. "Alexander called me a couple weeks ago and said that's what they were doing."

"I thought it was with friends," I said.

"Friends or family. Who cares?" Natalia asked. "But, he did say that it was with his co-workers. I have pictures and his boss even sent out a text to the company's families to confirm it."

"Remind us where he works again," I said.

"He's a diplomat, Lexi. Pretty young to be one, but it's true," Nat said.

I nodded in understanding. I've never told Natalia what her boyfriend ever did to me. What happened to him years ago when she wasn't with him. She'd kill me if I even accused him of anything.

"...But, guys, should I go?" I asked. "What about the kids? What about Luca?"

"Luca can kick rocks," Isabella muttered. "He's probably out with one of his many whores."

"I'll babysit for you," Natalia offered. "Plus, I'm sure Jade would love to help you out."

"Wait...Where is Jade?"

"Working. She has this huge case coming up and it has her in her office 24/7."

"Does anyone even know where she works? She's like a ghost."

"Like her sister," Isabella muttered.

"Hey, not funny," I scolded.

I got up off the floor and picked up Dominic. He squealed and kicked his legs. I grabbed them, making him laugh. I swear my children are super weird.

"I have work in five hours," I said. "Anyone wanna join me? Adrien wouldn't mind if I brought some help."

"No. Nuh-uh. I am not dying for anyone, Lex." Bella chuckled.

"I would help, but I'm on babysitting duty, sis," Nat reminded me. "Jade would love to help. She's into this type of stuff."

"Uh...Jade sort of doesn't know."

We all went quiet. Even Dominic. The only reason Jade didn't know was because of her half-sister, Samantha. That girl had gone off radar a long time ago. I realized how uncomfortable she was when I married Luca. Probably because he was her ex and was going to marry her before my dad ruined it all.

Nat looked at her watch. I'm definitely sure that it was time for daycare to be over. Isabella grabbed Dominic and tickled him. The once silent room was filled with his laughter. I grinned. Nat smiled some more and stood up.

"Want me to pick Jas up for you?" She asked.

"If you want," I said.

She grabbed her purse and headed for the front door. I reached over to grab my purse. Isabella smacked my hand away and shook her head.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting up your date with Asher, Ms. Roberts."

"No. You can't do that. I'll be late for my mission."

"No, you won't. I'd rather you be late to dinner."