Eliza POV:
I spent the next few days in a relentless pursuit of truth. I needed to know the full extent of their deception. I needed every single piece of evidence.
I started with Gavin's financial records. It was easy enough to access them, as I handled our household budget. What I found made my blood run cold.
There were hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on lavish trips. Flight tickets, luxury hotels, expensive dinners. It wasn't just once or twice. It was every year. For eight years.
Every single expense was for two people. Double occupancy. Double meals. Double everything. He had been living a parallel life, openly spending our marital assets on his affair.
I pulled up the hotel booking confirmations. Guest names: Gavin Petty and Chanelle Bryant. Relationship: Married Couple.
Married Couple. It was printed right there, in black and white, on official hotel documents from around the world. Hawaii. Europe. Asia. All the places he told me he was too busy to take me.
I remembered him saying, "Oh, Eliza, a trip to Italy would be wonderful, but work is just too hectic right now. We'll go when things calm down." Lies. All lies.
He wasn't too busy. He just wasn't too busy for her. He was too busy for me.
The realization hit me harder than any physical blow. I was just the convenient wife at home. She was the one he wanted to show off to the world.
I kept digging. I found Chanelle Bryant's social media accounts. Public profiles. Filled with stunning photos.
Photos from Hawaii. Photos from Europe. Photos from all the places I'd seen on Gavin's financial statements. There were no pictures of them together, but the comments told a different story.
"Who's the lucky guy, Chanelle?" a friend commented on a photo of her sipping champagne on a balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower.
"Just my husband," Chanelle replied, a casual, confident answer that twisted a knife in my gut.
My husband. The words felt like a brand, searing my skin.
I saved every single photo. Every single comment. Every single piece of public evidence of their affair.
Then, I found it. His company's internal directory. The one Jamie had mentioned.
I searched his name. Gavin Petty. I scrolled down to "Emergency Contact."
It wasn't me. It wasn't Eliza Mathews.
It was Chanelle Bryant. Relationship: Spouse.
Spouse. The word screamed at me from the screen. It wasn' t just a facade for clients. It wasn' t just a convenient lie for hotels. It was official. Within his company, in his professional life, she was his spouse.
My body trembled, a deep, bone-rattling shake that started in my core and spread through my limbs. Eight years. Eight years of this.
I was nothing. An invisible wife. A placeholder.
Chanelle was the one who got to wear my dress. Chanelle was the one who got to travel the world. Chanelle was the one who was introduced as his wife.
I finally understood. I wasn't his wife. Not really. I was just the mother of his child. The woman who kept his house clean. His dirty little secret.
And Chanelle? She was his celebrated partner. His public wife. The woman he chose to share his life with, openly and proudly.
