"Mr. Russell spent a lot of money on Bianca. Everyone in the industry praises him for choosing power over beauty. Hahaha!"
"Exactly," the man with a big belly said, lifting his wine glass.
"Bianca, why don’t you toast to Mr. Russell, too?"
I stopped walking and froze just as I was about to open the door.
Andrew was allergic to alcohol. In fact, he never drank. Even at business events, I was always the one who drank for him.
I stared at the wine glass in front of Andrew and watched Bianca act cute, saying, "I don’t drink so. Andrew wouldn’t let me."
"Isn’t that right?" she said again, clinging to his arm.
Then Andrew picked up the wine glass. His face was cold as he looked at the man.
"Bianca won’t drink, Sir," he said.
"If there’s a toast, Mr. Johnson and I will drink instead."
I watched Andrew drink the entire glass. The room burst into laughter. Bianca blushed and praised Andrew like he was her hero. He then smiled gently before he pinched her cheek.
It felt like my body was being cut open by a dull, rusty knife. The pain was slow and deep and the wounds were ugly and raw.
I saw the blood in my mind, bright red and flowing. I felt like I was falling apart, yet I still wondered if maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was a reason.
My best friend, Monica, held me up as I shook, ready to storm in.
"Andrew, you’re fucking monster!" she yelled.
But I stopped her. I took out my phone and called him. Even now, I still hoped he would give me a real explanation, something to make it all make sense.
I saw Andrew pick up his phone from the table. He looked at Bianca with a strange expression. But Bianca ended the call right away.
Then, she grabbed his arm again and reminded him, "You promised."
"You said you would support me," she said, biting her lip.
She looked at Andrew with determination.
I kept calling. Again and again. The screen on the table lit up and went dark. Finally Andrew made a choice.
"Yes."
"I promised you."
After that, my husband turned his phone upside down, blocking all my calls. Bianca smiled brightly. That smile was the final blow that broke me completely.
I was falling apart, but I still had enough strength to whisper to my best friend, "CCTV."
"CCTV," I said again, my voice shaking, as I pointed to the camera above us.
"Save the footage. I need proof."
I looked at the camera. I saw Andrew’s face turn pale.
I told Monica, "Since Andrew made his choice, I won’t let him off so easily."
Not long after, I entered her car. Monica helped me collect all the information. It turned out that Andrew took Bianca on trips to beautiful places. On her social media, Bianca shared everything about their love. Except their love never included me.
Then, I saw a video Bianca had posted last month, while I was away for work.
She was sitting in my Porsche.
She smiled brightly at the camera, "What can I do, friends? My husband’s car broke down, so he bought a new one. This one looks more girly. I’m getting a surprise ready for him!"
She showed the GPS voice and made a shushing gesture.
"Guess what?"
"Will I like the surprise? Will he buy me some cookies?"
I felt sick but kept watching. Then, I saw that she was also at the same hospital on the day I had my IVF treatment. She held up her test results, looking shy yet proud.
"Someone hasn’t had their period for a month and a half."
"Guess, friends! Am I just having irregular periods or …"
She laughed again.
"Am I going to be a mommy?"
