AN: This will have 7-8 chapters. I haven't finished the entire thing yet, so I'm not sure.

Chapter 1

Daisy

Sitting on a barstool, shoulders slouched, she squeezed the wedge of lime into her vodka tonic. Tonight, Daisy hadn't planned on drinking, but after security finally lifted the lockdown order, Nadine had suggested cocktails at one of the team's favorite bars in Dupont Circle. With the day she'd had, she hadn't been able to resist the offer.

"Am I a terrible person?"

Clutching her drink in one hand, she stared down at the bar top, avoiding eye contact in case her fear was proven true.

But it was true!

She was a terrible person.

For months, she'd been sleeping with another man while in a relationship with Win. Even after he'd proposed, she'd continued to carry on with Matt— dancing at state dinners, kissing in the stairwells of the State Department, and having sex in hotel rooms while halfway around the world. She'd cheated on him, repeatedly.

"You're not a terrible person, Daisy."

Lifting her head, she realized that Nadine was eyeing her as she sipped from her own glass.

"I'm not?" she asked.

"No, you're not," Nadine said, shaking her head. "You're a human being. We're all bound to make mistakes at some point."

"But—"

"Daisy." Stopping her before she began to ramble, Nadine held up a hand. Leaning toward her, she whispered, "I've been in a similar situation."

Nodding, she ignored the urge to ask for details. Affairs weren't uncommon, especially in the District. D.C. wasn't only the capital of the United States, but also the capital of cheating. It was a given. Some of the nation's most powerful people frequenting one area? It was no wonder the percentage of people two-timing their significant others was higher here— adultery was a way of life for the rich.

Well, not just the rich.

"How did you move forward?" Feeling nervous, Daisy mindlessly swirled the cocktail straw around the edge of her glass. "I feel so guilty knowing that I hurt him," she admitted.

"Are you sorry?"

"Of course, I am," she told her.

Okay, yes, maybe at the time she'd been more regretful about getting caught, but she did regret hurting him. Her stomach turned when the look on Win's face in the hallway flashed behind her eyes. No one deserved to feel that way.

"Then you have to forgive yourself."

With watery eyes, she ran the pad of her thumb over her bare ring finger.

Did she miss the weight of the ring?

The weight of their relationship?

"Even if he never forgives me?" Daisy asked before she swiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand.

"Yes," she said. Reaching out, Nadine gently touched her arm. "Acknowledge and accept what you did. Then take responsibility and apologize," she instructed. "But learn to let go of the guilt."

Nodding, Daisy held on to every word.

"Any more advice for tonight?"

Wearing a smile, Nadine said, "No, I think that's all for now."