01
It was that stack of photographs that shattered the last fragments of doubt in my heart. They were cruel in their clarity, each image a dagger piercing through the memories of the man who had once vowed to love me forever. That man was gone.
In the photos, his arms wrapped around Molly Grant, the reigning queen of the entertainment world.
And she was the one who had sent me the anonymous email.
Molly’s face was plastered across every entertainment headline, but I hadn’t paid her much mind until I noticed Nick standing beside her, again and again, at events.
Online whispers claimed she was backed by none other than Nick himself, but I brushed them off. Nick had always been fiercely possessive, keeping everyone at arm’s length.
We had grown up together, from childhood into adulthood. I knew his obsession with cleanliness and how he found so many things too dirty to touch.
I convinced myself he wouldn’t cheat. He had promised me, after all, on the day we wed.
But reality slapped me hard.
Promises only held weight when love was still alive.
At first, when he and Molly were spotted together, he would call me, anxious and eager to explain that it was just for work.
But as time went on, the calls stopped. He no longer bothered to reassure me. He didn’t care if I believed him or not.
That was when I understood: love could fade with time.
I was an orphan, taken from the cold walls of an orphanage when Nick and his father visited during one of their charity events,
They took me home with the expectation that I would one day marry Nick.
For over a decade, that expectation hung over me like a shadow. And I accepted it willingly.
After college, it felt right to build a life with him. I cherished every moment we had together.
But nothing would last forever.
Two years into our marriage, he changed.
I heard his footsteps before I saw him, echoing down the staircase.
He spotted me, fixing his gaze on the damning photographs in my hands.
His face shifted; panic, anger, and confusion flashed in an instant.
Where did you get those?” he demanded. “Did you have someone follow me?”
