Among All The Stars I Found You Chapter 01
The day Juliette came back to New York, I went to the office of my husband of seven years, Preston.
“Juliette’s back,” I said, my voice steady. “The woman you were with before the accident. And Leo… he’s her son.”
Preston paused, his gaze lifting from his work to meet mine.
“What did you say?”
I forced myself to look calm.
“When I came to you with the baby, telling you I was your girlfriend… that was a lie. I just wanted the money.”
I took a breath. “Now that she’s back, she won’t accept that you’re married.”
“Give me two million dollars, and I’ll disappear. You two can start over.”
Preston stared at me for a long moment, then took off his gold-rimmed glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Are you short on money? I’ll have my assistant transfer it to you.” His voice was clipped, business-like. “I’m heading to the airport. We’ll talk when I get back.”
Then he was gone.
I stood there watching him walk away, my eyes burning.
These seven years had never really been mine.
And if I could walk away with two million dollars, then I supposed I hadn’t exactly lost.
…
My phone chimed. A notification from my banking app: a large transfer was processing.
I tightened my grip on the phone, feeling no happiness at all.
I thought he would at least hesitate.
I thought he might ask more questions. Ask me to stay. Try to comfort me. Or at least call me greedy.
But there was nothing.
Then again, it made sense.
He had never once introduced me in public as his wife.
Everyone knew the head of the Rhodes family was married, but no one knew who Mrs. Rhodes actually was.
Just then, a new story from Juliette popped up on my Instagram feed.
The caption read: “I knew if I came back, you’d come get me.”
In the photo, Juliette was standing alone in the arrivals hall at JFK.
Underneath, likes and comments from our mutual friends were already pouring in.
Almost everyone commented the same thing.
[Who?]
A second later, the long-dormant college alumni Facebook group blew up.
[Oh my god, no way. Is that Preston? Did you two meet up?]
[This takes me right back to college. You two were inseparable.]
[My favorite campus couple is back.]
[He’s kept his wife so hidden all these years… it wasn’t you, was it? I always wondered when I saw the wedding announcement.]
…
Juliette posted another photo in the group.
A man’s hand was wrapped tightly around the handle of a suitcase, the veins standing out on the back. Near his thumb was a distinct red mole.
Juliette’s hand hovered near his, poised as if about to touch it.
Everyone recognized it immediately.
Plenty of people from college remembered the mole on Preston’s hand.
Juliette added a caption.
[ I didn’t say a thing. If Preston gets upset with me, it’s on you, okay?]
She didn’t have to spell it out. The implication was clear.
The comments section exploded.
The rest of the thread was a trip down memory lane, everyone reminiscing about their college romance.
No one mentioned the wedding band on Preston’s finger, or the fact that the ring on Juliette’s hand didn’t match.
I stared at the screen, a familiar sting in my nose.
My hand went to my stomach, and I forced a small, brittle smile.
No wonder he’d transferred the money so quickly. Juliette was the “urgent matter” he had to rush off to.
Then, someone in the alumni group mentioned me.
[I remember there was a girl who was always with you two, kind of helping out. What was her name?]
Someone who remembered tagged me immediately.
[@Selena Pierce! Your favorite couple is back together! C’mon, spill—did you at least get a front-row seat at his wedding?]
Back then, Juliette and I were rarely in our dorm room.
She was busy being in love.
I was busy working part-time jobs.
Once, Juliette was laid up with bad cramps. The student I tutored happened to be out of town, so I got back to the dorm early.
That day, Preston had food delivered, and he’d ordered an extra meal for me.
He thanked me for always taking care of Juliette and asked if I could grab her food when I went downstairs to get mine.
I didn’t mind.
It was probably the easiest thing I’d ever done.
All I had to do was walk downstairs.
In return, I got a twenty-dollar slice of cake and some pastries.
What they didn’t know was that I’d been surviving on one bagel a day for the past two weeks.
That slice of cake was the best dessert I had ever eaten.
But all I could think at the time was that I wished it had been cash instead.
I could have bought two bagels and used the rest for my mother’s medicine.
After that, I started helping Juliette more—carrying her things, occasionally doing her laundry. In return, she’d give me some of her food.
She called me her best friend.
Everyone else said I was just a prop in their love story.
I pressed my lips together and replied in the group.
“No. I was the bride’s…”
…
The group went silent.
Juliette quickly jumped in to finish the sentence.
“Bridesmaid.”
As if worried people wouldn’t believe her, she sent a voice message. Her tone was light.
“Selena, you’re still such a kidder.”
But in the background, a man’s voice was clearly audible, urging her on.
“Hurry up. Leo’s waiting for you.”
My throat tightened instantly.
The mention of Leo made my heart ache.
I wasn’t his biological mother. I didn’t even have the right to take him from her.
Maybe it was for the best.
Now that his real mother was back, maybe he’d finally have a better life.
The group chat flooded with laughing emojis, mixed with a few teasing comments.
[Selena, you actually had the guts to be Juliette’s bridesmaid? Didn’t that sting, standing next to her?]
[She’s probably used to it by now. Haha.]
I stared at the screen for a few seconds and didn’t reply.
Then my phone rang.
It was Preston.
I took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in my throat, and answered.
“It’s the family dinner tonight. Don’t be late.”
Preston’s voice was as gentle as always.
The tears I’d just managed to hold back spilled over.
I desperately wanted to ask him if he’d remembered everything.
Otherwise, how could he have not touched me for seven whole years?
After we got married, we lived in the same house like a pair of polite roommates.
But I’d never doubted one thing: he was a considerate man.
In the early days of our marriage, I couldn’t bring myself to ask him for money for my mother’s treatment.
My mother had always taught me to be honest. She would never have forgiven me if she knew our marriage was built on a lie.
But he noticed how distracted I was. When he found out my mother was seriously ill, he took the initiative, covering all her medical expenses and arranging for her surgery.
I wanted to repay him, so I threw myself into becoming a wife worthy of him.
And he had given me so much.
A home. Credit cards. Security. A respectable life.
There was only one thing he had never given me.
He had never slept with me.
At least, that’s what he thought.
My hand unconsciously touched my stomach.
He didn’t know I was pregnant with his child.
I listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing on the other end of the line, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask my question.
I gripped my phone tighter, forcing my voice to sound normal.
“I got the money. As for the divorce papers, should I have my lawyer draft them, or will you—”
Preston cut me off, sounding surprised.
“What papers?”
Just then, Juliette’s voice drifted through the receiver, high and petulant.
“Preston, are you done? My feet are killing me.”
“I’m busy. We’ll talk later.”
He hung up.
I froze.
Preston had always been so composed.
For seven years, even if he didn’t love me, he had always treated me with respect.
This was the first time he’d ever hung up on me.
But of course.
The only person who ever made him break his own rules was Juliette.
After college, Juliette had insisted I rent an apartment with her in Brooklyn. Preston paid for the whole thing.
My job was simple.
Whenever he came over, I took the money he gave me and checked into a cheap hotel.
When he wasn’t there, I was his proxy, taking care of Juliette.
For me, it was easy work.
Saving on rent was a godsend.
What I never expected was that three years after graduation, Juliette would finally fail to get something she wanted.Â