“You’re right about that. I think I’d be happier if you would also stop cheating on me.”

Astrid laughed. “You really are drunk.”

“I’m not drunk at all. I’ve only had four whiskeys. Either way, I’m not drunk enough to ignore the truth when I see it.”

Astrid looked him in the eye, unsure if he was being serious or not. “You know, Michael, I am trying so hard to be patient with you, for the sake of our marriage, but you really aren’t making it easy.”

“So you’ve been fucking Charlie Wu for the sake of our marriage?”

“Charlie Wu? What in the world would make you think I’m cheating on you with Charlie?” Astrid asked, wondering if he had somehow discovered the real truth about his company.

“I’ve known about you and Charlie from the very start.”

“If you’re talking about that weekend road trip we took in California with Alistair, you’re being ridiculous, Michael. You know we’re just old friends.”

“Just old friends? ‘Oh Charlie, you are the one person who truly understands me,’ ” Michael said in a mocking, girlish voice.

Astrid felt a chill go up her spine. “How long have you been eavesdropping on my phone calls?”

“Since the beginning, Astrid. And your e-mails too. I’ve read every e-mail you’ve ever exchanged with him.”

“How? Why?”

“My wife spent two weeks in Hong Kong with one of my top competitors back in 2010. You don’t think I’m going to look into that? I was a surveillance specialist for the government—I have all the resources right at my fingertips,” Michael bragged coldly.

For a long moment, Astrid was too shocked and outraged to move. She stared at Michael, wondering who this man was in front of her. She used to think he was the most handsome man on the planet, but now he looked almost demonic. At that moment, Astrid realized she could no longer live under the same roof with him. She bolted out of her seat and walked down the breezeway past the reflecting pool to the staircase that led to Cassian’s bedroom. She ran up the stairs and knocked on Ludivine’s door.

“Yes? Come in.” Astrid opened the door and saw Ludivine lying on her bed FaceTiming with some surfer dude on her laptop.

“Ludivine, please pack an overnight bag for yourself and for Cassian. We are leaving for my mother’s house.”

“When?”

“Right now.”

From there, Astrid ran to her bedroom and grabbed her wallet and car keys. As she came downstairs with Ludivine and Cassian, Michael was standing in the middle of the great hall leering at them. She handed the car keys to Ludivine and whispered, “Get in the car with Cassian. If I’m not out in five minutes, drive straight to Nassim Road.”

“Ludivine, don’t you dare fucking move or I’ll motherfucking break your neck!” Michael shouted. The au pair froze, and Cassian stared at his father wide-eyed.

Astrid glared at him. “Nice language in front of your son, Michael. You know, for the longest time I tried, I really tried. I thought we could save this marriage, for the sake of our son. But the fact that you would invade my privacy in such a fundamental way has shown me how broken our marriage is. You don’t respect me, and more importantly, you don’t trust me. You’ve never trusted me! So why do you want to stop us now? Deep down, you know I’m no longer the wife you want. You just won’t admit it to yourself.”