Instead, my fingers closed around something cold and small. It was something that absolutely did not belong against my husband’s heart on our wedding night.
I slowly pulled the items out into the morning light and looked down. My heart started racing instantly, and I glanced back toward Callum, who was still sleeping peacefully.
I grabbed my phone from the wooden dresser, tightened the belt of my robe, and quietly slipped out of the suite. The heavy door clicked shut behind me as I stepped into the carpeted hallway.
PART 2
The hallway carpet felt cool beneath my bare feet as I stood there alone. I leaned against the wall beside our door and finally opened my palm to see what I had taken.
It was a folded store receipt and a tiny brass key attached to a soft red ribbon. Tucked inside the fold of the paper was a small square of cream-colored stationery covered in loopy handwriting that was definitely not mine.
I unfolded the note with trembling fingers and read the words written on it. “Thank you for keeping this between us, and she can never know until the right moment, signed R.”
I read the short message once, then again, and then a third time. My mouth went completely dry as the reality of the words settled into my mind.
