Chapter 2
Chapter 2
As I bent to pick it up, I caught sight of Ethan’s hand, resting shamelessly between Madison’s legs.
Pain erupted in my chest, my fingernails digging into my palms to keep me from breaking.
The movie wasn’t even halfway through when Ethan’s breathing grew heavier.
He muttered some excuse and rushed out of the room.
Madison followed a few seconds later.
Not long after, my phone buzzed with a new message.
From her.
qw, you and Ethan have such a beautiful love story–it almost brought me to tears! But poor Ethan, he just couldn’t wait. He pulled me out before I could even finish watching.”
3
“Oh, by the way, he promised to send me a copy of the full video later. I should thank you, Grace!”
As the movie neared its end, Ethan’s voice played over the speakers–a recording from the day he proposed to me.
“I’ll never betray you, Grace. You are my one and only. Not even life or death can tear us apart.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
What a joke.
Ethan Wood, let’s see if death really can’t separate us.
The credits rolled, and in the silence, the unmistakable sounds of bodies colliding came from the hallway outside,
Every thud, every moan, felt like a knife twisting deeper into my heart.
1
Chapter 3
“So sorry, Grace! Ethan told me he always wanted to see me in a wedding dress. And I love him, so of course, I had to make los vids come the understand, right?”
“Last night, he went absolutely wild–1 can barely stand today. Forgive me for not apologizing to you in person!”
She finished the message with a cheeky emoji, her amlacity dripping through the screen,
The nausea hit instantly. I barely made it to the bathroom before collapsing over the toilet.
After rinsing my face with cold water, I sat in the living room, too drained to move, as the hours ticked by
Ertan finally came home around sunrise, carrying a bag of bagels the kind I used to love,
The moment he saw me, his face fell. He hurried over, pulling me into his arms.
“Baby, why are you up? Were you waiting for me? I’m so sorry last night’s work dinner randate, and I ended up crashing, at the head, I wwwer, *7 time, I’ll let you know in advance.”
“As an apology, let me take you out today. A movie date–just us two. I’ve got a surprise for you!”
I didn’t respond.
Ethan took it upon himself to feed me breakfast, his voice rambling nervously as he gave me a detailed account of his fake “work deser
Once, I would have believed him.
Now, it was painfully obvious how clumsy his lies were.
Still, he had managed to fool me for eight years.
At the theater, Ethan had rented out the entire space, leaving just the two of us inside,
The screen lit up, and my heart twisted.
It was a montage of our eight years together–a carefully curated highlight reel of every milestone in our relationship.
Sfene after scene, it pulled me back into moments I once thought were pure and beautiful,
Tears began to spill down my cheeks.
Ethan, clearly flustered, reached over with a tissue, gently dabbing at my face.
“Baby, don’t cry! I was planning to show this at the wedding, but I just couldn’t wait. I wanted to surprise you. Please don’t cry–you’re breaking my
heart.”
Before I could respond, the door behind us opened, and someone slipped into the seat next to Ethan.
In the dim light, I recognized her immediately–Madison Carter.
Her smug, taunting smile sent my blood boiling.
Ethan, thinking I wouldn’t remember the fleeting glimpse I’d gotten at the boutique yesterday, quickly offered an excuse.
“She’s just here to adjust the sound system for us–she works at the theater.”
His hand, trembling slightly, continued wiping my tears.
So, he could be afraid after all.
I said nothing, keeping my gaze fixed on the screen, silently bidding farewell to every memory playing before me.
Lost in thought, I dropped my phone.
