It then sounded like Ray took Christine's phone. His voice softened, his tone coated with an apologetic veneer. "Susan, don't misunderstand. That was a bridal advertisement shoot. The team was short-staffed and the director asked me to fill in."
I gripped the phone tightly, the plastic digging into my palm. His excuses no longer fazed me. After a pause, I forced a brittle smile into my voice. "Then what about Christine's little speech earlier? Were those part of her lines too?"
There was a sharp intake of breath on his end, but I didn't stop. My words flowed like venom. "So, was this an advertisement, or some twisted drama about a mistress replacing the wife? You seem to know the difference better than I do. Oh, and great acting from Christine, by the way. Tell me—was her performance inspired by real life, or was it just method acting?"
My voice cut through the line like a blade. For once, Ray had no clever retort. Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. When he finally spoke, his voice wavered. "Susan... you're overthinking this."
"Am I?" I shot back, my tone colder than the night outside.
Because I had loved deeply, betrayal felt like drowning. Memories surged unbidden, each one a reminder of what I had sacrificed for him.
Years ago, when my parents moved abroad for business, they begged me to come with them. My mother had even sent pictures of the bedroom she had designed just for me—lavish furniture in pastel shades, a canopy bed draped in soft, flowing curtains. It was a dream waiting for me to step into.
But then tragedy struck the Palmer family. Ray's parents died in a horrific car accident, leaving him—barely fifteen—with the weight of their business and estate on his shoulders. He clung to me like a lifeline.
I could still hear his trembling voice from that night. "Susan, please don't leave me. You're all I have left. I swear, I'll treat you well for the rest of my life and never let you down."
And I stayed. I gave up my family, my dreams and my comfort, all for him. For fifteen years, I stood by his side, believing in the promise of a love that now felt like a cruel joke.
***
That night, I went to bed early, the dull ache in my abdomen reminding me of my recent loss. Sleep came fitfully, my mind churning with the weight of my decisions and the looming shadow of a marriage that had already crumbled.
At 3 a.m., Ray returned, the sharp tang of alcohol preceding him as he staggered into the room. His disheveled appearance disgusted me, but what unsettled me more was the smug grin plastered across his face.
"Susan," he slurred, leaning against the doorframe. "I know I've been neglecting you lately. That wedding today... it was just for show. Christine wanted to wear a wedding dress, so I thought of it as an employee benefit."
His words sent a fresh wave of anger surging through me, but he didn't notice. Instead, he continued with a tone that suggested he was doing me a favor. "I know it upset you, but don't worry. I won't hold it against you."
He stumbled to the bathroom, leaving me seething in silence. When he emerged, his hair damp and his body bare, my stomach twisted. He walked toward me, completely oblivious to the revulsion in my eyes.
"Susan," he murmured, climbing into bed and reaching for the buttons on my nightgown. His touch felt like sandpaper against my skin. "Let's have a baby. Once you're pregnant, you won't feel so bored and you'll stop overthinking all this nonsense."
His words were a dagger to my heart. He would never know that we had already had a child—one I had carried, loved and lost because of his betrayal.
When he leaned in to kiss me, I shoved him away with all my strength. "Get away!" I screamed, my voice raw with fury and pain. "Don't touch me!"
Caught off guard, Ray stumbled to the floor, his expression shifting from shock to anger. "Susan, have you had enough of this nonsense?" he barked, his voice rising.
I sat up, my chest heaving with emotion. The man before me was a stranger, unrecognizable from the boy I had once loved. "Isn't tonight your big day with Christine?" I spat. "You've slept with her—don't come here and touch me."
For a moment, Ray froze, his face a kaleidoscope of emotions—shock, guilt and anger. His skin turned ashen, his usual confidence crumbling. After a long silence, he finally muttered, "So you know everything?"
My heart shattered further at his admission. I stared at him, my voice trembling with a mix of sorrow and disgust. "Why, Ray? Why did you cheat on me?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he smirked, a bitter, twisted expression. "Which man doesn't fool around?" he said, his tone dripping with condescension. "Susan, I was trying to save you some dignity, but you insisted on throwing it away."
Ray leaned against the doorframe, his face a blend of arrogance and exasperation. "Christine is younger and more beautiful than you," he said bluntly, his tone devoid of remorse. "She's always around, tempting me. You know I can't control myself. Why can't you just turn a blind eye? Why make such a fuss? You're only embarrassing yourself."
I stared at him, my body trembling with anger and disbelief. The room seemed to close in around me, every corner suffused with the bitterness of his betrayal. My laugh escaped unbidden, sharp and humorless, echoing with the pain I couldn't hold back.
"You're unbelievable," I said, my voice low but shaking with fury. Rising from the bed, I walked to the door and flung it open, pointing toward the hallway. "Ray, get out. I never want to see you again."
Before the words fully left my lips, his phone buzzed from his bag. The sound was jarring in the tense silence and when he answered, a woman's excited voice came through, loud and clear.
"Darling, I have the most amazing news—we're having a baby! It's true!"
