Lose Me Once, And I'm Gone Forever

I was my husband's childhood sweetheart. He never failed to pursue me for two long decades.

He loved me like I was his life and cherished me deeply.

But then, suddenly, just a month ago, he cheated on me.

Everybody knew—except me.

But I was just pretending like I hadn't caught them and still played along like a naive wife.

That was until I erased every last trace of my existence.

And then, I disappeared.

Only then did that bastard look for me like crazy.

——

"Miss Wiginton, are you absolutely sure you want to cancel your ID, passport, everything? It's gonna be a real pain in the ass if you ever need to get them back. It'll be like… you won't even exist anymore."

The clerk kept trying to talk me out of it, but I didn't even hesitate. I slid the forms over her across the counter.

"That's the point. I need to disappear so I can start over."

I knew how much Heather loved me—or at least how much he used to. He wouldn't stop until he found me, not unless I erased every single part of my existence.

Shannon Wiginton had to disappear completely. It was the only way.

After finishing all the paperwork, I went home and pulled out my phone to double-check my escape plan.

My eyes landed on the wedding photo on my lock screen, and for a second, I froze.

Back when we got married, he wanted to give me the grandest wedding imaginable, so he spent a fortune buying a private island.

He even named the island "Longing for Shannon" to declare his sincere love for me to the world.

When he made the announcement, it blew up online.

And then, of course, the story of him donating his bone marrow to save me five years ago came out too.

Our so-called "love that defied death" won over the internet.

Even our wedding livestream, which I only casually started, ended up pulling in millions.

Now, though? Looking at that photo? All I could feel was this heavy bitterness.

From the moment we met, he had chased after me relentlessly for 20 years.

Maybe because when Mom's genetic disease got worse, Dad dumped her in a hospital, and it left me with abandonment issues.

At her funeral, I promised myself I'd never hand my future over to anyone.

No expectations, no heartbreaks.

Heather was standing next to me that day. He was just a kid himself, but he tried to act all grown-up.

He patted my shoulder and said, "I'll never leave you, Shannon."

I didn't take his words like a promise. Didn't believe it for a second.

For the next 15 years, I ignored everything he did for me. Honestly, in my head, I was just waiting for him to give up on me.

But then I got really sick, the kind where you start counting your goodbyes. And that's when he signed the papers to donate his bone marrow—without even hesitating.

The surgery saved my life. The second he woke up, he dragged himself over to confess to me.

He was still half-drugged, barely able to stand. But his eyes were shining as he said, "I did it for you."

Even then, though, I didn't say yes to him.

For five years, he told me he loved me every chance he got. Thousands of times.

Then one day, I noticed the gray hairs creeping into his hairline, and my heart cracked a little. That's when I caved.

I'll never forget the look on his face when I finally said yes.

He didn't waste a second to pull out the ring he'd been carrying for who-knows-how-long onto my finger.

He even handed over all his assets, I mean, everything he had!

I refused to take a single thing and just looked at him, teary-eyed.

"I'm saying yes, but remember—I can take it back anytime. From now on, if you ever leave me—even once—I'll make sure you can't find me again."

"Heather, you only get one chance."

I said those harsh words like I meant them, but honestly, I never doubted him. Not once.

Until a month ago—when he cheated on me.

I'm not the kind of person who waits around to be abandoned—not again—so, I made the choice to leave first.

I booked my flight and printed out a divorce agreement that gave me nothing—no money, no property.

I signed it, scheduled it to be delivered in three days, and headed back home one last time.

When I walked in, Heather was already in the kitchen, making dinner.

It didn't matter that he was this billionaire CEO. He still insisted on cooking for me every single day like a loyal husband.