My Husband's Secret Public Wife

For eight years, I was the perfect, understanding wife. My husband, Gavin, insisted his company retreats were strictly for employees. No spouses allowed. I never questioned it, believing I was supporting his demanding career.

Then I saw a photo from his last ski trip to Aspen. All his colleagues were there, smiling beside their wives. And in the center stood Gavin, his arm wrapped possessively around another woman. She was wearing my blue silk dress-the one he swore I must have lost at the dry cleaners.

My world didn't just crack; it shattered. I discovered that for our entire marriage, he had been living a double life. This woman, Chanelle, wasn't just his mistress. She was his public wife.

She was the one who went on lavish trips to Hawaii and Europe. She was the one introduced to his colleagues and clients. She was even listed as his emergency contact-his spouse-in the official company directory.

I wasn't just the wife he cheated on. I was the wife he completely erased.

But my heartbreak quickly hardened into cold resolve. He was expecting tears and a quiet breakdown. He wasn't expecting me to show up at his company's annual awards gala, marriage certificate in hand, ready to introduce myself to the world he' d hidden from me.

Chapter 1

Eliza POV:

My husband, Gavin, always told me his company retreats were strict. No spouses allowed. I believed him for eight years.

Eight years. Every spring ski trip, every fall conference. Two retreats a year, always alone. Always just him.

Then I saw the picture. A group photo from last year's Aspen ski trip. And my world shattered.

His colleagues were all there. Smiling. Their wives right beside them. Happy wives. Public wives.

There was Mark from accounting, arm around his wife, Sarah. Even David from sales had his wife, Emily, with him.

Everyone had someone. Everyone but me.

And then there was Gavin. My Gavin. Standing right in the middle of it all.

He wasn't alone. Another woman was next to him. Close next to him.

She was wearing a dress. A blue silk dress.

My blue silk dress. The one I loved. The one I thought I' d lost.

The one with the tiny, almost invisible tear near the hem, right where it caught on a loose nail that one time. The shade of sapphire blue that perfectly matched my eyes.

Gavin bought it for me on our second anniversary. We celebrated at that fancy Italian place downtown. I wore it. I felt beautiful in it.

He told me it must have been sent to the wrong dry cleaner, or maybe I' d donated it by mistake. I believed him. Of course, I did.

But there it was. On her. Not me.

I zoomed in. My fingers trembled on the screen. I needed to see her face. I needed to know.

She was tall, with sleek dark hair and a sharp jawline. Confident. Too confident.

Gavin's hand was on her lower