3

He sighed quietly, then guided me forward again as though silence was simply another form of obedience, and I let myself be moved because resisting required energy I no longer had.

“Sit,” he said, pulling out a chair for me at a table that had been arranged with obsessive precision, petals forming words across the surface that read like a declaration meant to overwrite reality itself.

“Happy Wedding Anniversary” lay there in front of me, and I stared at it without blinking, because the words felt like they belonged to a different life, one that no longer matched the truth sitting heavily in my chest.

Luke took his seat across from me with a smile that did not match my silence, and he began speaking as though nothing had changed between us, as though this moment could still be saved by enough words spoken in the right order.

“I never regretted the day I met you,” he said warmly, “and I feel lucky every day to have you as my wife, thank you for saying yes to me, thank you for every moment of this year, I will love you till eternity,” and each word landed like something carefully rehearsed rather than deeply felt.

I nodded slowly because it was easier than speaking, because speaking would have required me to acknowledge everything I was no longer willing to ignore, and I could feel something inside me resisting collapse by sheer force alone.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small box, and my eyes followed the movement despite myself as he opened it to reveal a diamond ring that caught the chandelier light in a way that made it almost unbearable to look at directly.

I extended my hand without thinking, not because I trusted him, but because habit still lived in my muscles even when my mind had already stepped away from him completely.

Luke held my hand carefully as he prepared to slide the ring onto my finger, and for a moment everything around us seemed suspended in place, like the world was waiting to see whether I would still accept a future that no longer felt real.

His phone rang sharply, breaking the silence between us, and he ignored it at first as though nothing could be more important than completing the gesture he had started, as though symbolism mattered more than truth.

He slipped the ring onto my finger anyway, and I felt the weight of it settle there like something foreign, something that no longer matched the state of my heart, even as he continued looking at me expectantly.

“Why are you silent?” he asked gently, his eyes searching my face, “you know my heart aches when you don’t speak to me,” but I remained still because silence was the only thing I could offer without breaking completely.

His phone rang again, more insistently this time, and frustration flickered across his expression before he finally pulled it out, and the name on the screen made everything inside me go cold.

Serena.

He answered immediately, his voice softening in a way that felt automatic now, as though it belonged to someone else entirely, and I sat there watching him shift into a version of himself I no longer recognized.

“Hey Serena, what’s wrong?” he said, and I could no longer hear her response, but I didn’t need to, because his expression alone told me everything I refused to accept.

The call ended quickly, but whatever she had said had already decided his next move, because he stood up without hesitation and looked at me as though the decision had already been made long before this moment.

“I need to go,” he said simply, almost casually, as if leaving me in the middle of this carefully constructed scene was the most natural thing in the world, “Serena needs me,” and the words shattered whatever restraint I still had left.

I did not respond, because there was nothing left in me that could turn that moment into anything other than confirmation, and I simply watched him walk away as though I had never existed in his priority at all.

When he was gone, I stood slowly and walked upstairs in silence, each step feeling heavier than the last as though my body was finally catching up with everything my mind had already accepted but my heart still resisted.

I changed out of the dress carefully, removing each piece of fabric like I was shedding a version of myself that no longer made sense, and replaced it with something simple, something that felt closer to who I was becoming rather than who I had been.

He went to be with her, I thought numbly, and so I would do the same in my own way, even if mine meant walking into something I was not sure I could survive.

I grabbed my car keys and paused only when I saw the ring on my finger again, and I removed it slowly before placing it on the table without ceremony, because there was nothing sacred left to preserve in it anymore.

I walked out of the house without looking back, and as soon as I reached the car, my phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling me back into the same nightmare I thought I had just left behind.

Serena’s message appeared on the screen, apologizing for an attack and mentioning an inhaler, but before I could process it fully another message followed immediately, and my chest tightened as I read the words I already feared.

[I know you don't want to reply maybe because you don't believe me, let me tell you where we're.]

[The pass code is 0613, he won't be coming unless I'm satisfied]

That’s our anniversary date, another message delivered;

[If you want to see for yourself, I'm sure you wouldn't wanna believe me still, I'll send you the location]

She sent images of the mansion, I didn’t even know he has another mansion. Then she sent photos of his jacket, and her lingerie.

I stared at the images of the mansion, the passcode, the jacket, the lingerie, and the carefully decorated room that looked like proof arranged specifically to destroy me, my chest tighten with pain, tears rolling down my cheeks

I got into the car without hesitation, because at that point I no longer needed explanations or excuses, I just need to confirm it.

Driving to the location she sent to me, the tears didn’t stop but I kept wiping it anyway until I reached the estate.

A tear dropped on the steering wheel before I killed the engine. I wiped my face, then stepped out, put my phone in my pocket.

Then walked inside, the door requested for code and I inserted it, which confirmed Serena was with him.

Getting to the living room, I met Luke’s Jacket, Serena’s lingerie and his wrist watch on the table in between the couch.

Then I headed to the room, climbing the stairs, my thighs trembling and as I reached the first room…it was locked but I could hear their voices.

“Does it have to hurt…fuck!”

“It’s not your first time, swallow the pain and let me do it properly.” That was Luke’s voice.

“I love you, Luke!” She screamed.

“I love you more than anything,” Luke replied.

And that was his final straw! My love melted instantly and I turned to leave.

After leaving the mansion, I drove straight to bar, to drink. I requested for four bottles of liquor and started gulping it directly from the bottle.

I managed to call Fiona, she reached the bar the moment I finished drinking the last bottle.

“When…did you get here?” I ask sounding really drunk.

“Bella you’re drunk, what happened, where is Luke?” She asked worriedly.

“I heard with my two ears, he said he loves her more than anything while hooking up…fuck him!” I say with a bitter smile.

“Maybe this is a misunderstanding…maybe you should sit and…

“This is definitely not a misunderstanding!” I snapped at her. “I want a divorce, help me with the divorce agreement document and send it to me.”

“But he’s a good man, I can’t believe he’d do this to you. I feel you should take your time because the moment you sign the divorce papers you’ll no longer be with Luke, please give him a second chance if you have to.” Fiona said and I shook my head.

“I’m done with him, he should be with his best friend.” I said. “I can never stay with a cheater!”