Chapter 19
The image burned itself into my mind–the damning footage looped on the television like a cruel, inescapable nightmare. Wesley, my husband, his lips pressed against another woman’s.
It wasn’t just a fleeting moment or a hazy glimpse. It was real. His face, his hands, his betrayal, palpable and undeniable. My chest tightened with each passing second as I stared at the screen.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, my voice shaking, the weight of the moment pressing against my ribcage.
Wesley stood frozen, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, struggling, searching for the right words.
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Chapter 19
The image burned itself into my mind–the damning footage looped on the television like a cruel, inescapable nightmare. Wesley, my husband, his lips pressed against another woman’s.
It wasn’t just a fleeting moment or a hazy glimpse. It was real. His face, his hands, his betrayal, palpable and undeniable. My chest tightened with each passing second as I stared at the screen.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, my voice shaking, the weight of the moment pressing against my ribcage.
Wesley stood frozen, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, struggling, searching for the right words.
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“Iris,” he began, his tone an odd mix of calm and urgency, “it’s not what it looks like. That’s not me.”
I scoffed, the sound sharp, bitter. “Not you? Wesley, I’m staring right at it! It’s you–as clear as the day we met.”
“It’s not,” he insisted, taking a hesitant step forward. His voice softened, pleading. “Iris, listen to me. You know me. I would never do this. I would never hurt you like that.”
“Don’t,” I snapped, cutting through his feigned sincerity. My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. “Don’t you dare stand there and lie to me.”
His hands raised as though in surrender, his eyes brimming with desperation. “I swear to you–it’s not real. I don’t know how this
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happened, but I would never betray you.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips, my head shaking as the betrayal crashed into me like a tidal wave. “Too many lies, Wesley. Too many promises broken. How am I supposed to believe anything you say?”
His expression twisted with anguish, his hands reaching out as if the truth could somehow bridge the chasm between us. But I stepped back, instinctively shielding myself, my hand protectively resting against my stomach.
“Iris,” he breathed, his voice cracking under the weight of his own emotions. “Please. You have to believe me. I love you. It’s always been you.”
“Get out,” I whispered, my words cutting through the suffocating tension in the room
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like shards of glass.
“What?” he gasped.
“I don’t want to see you,” I said louder this time, steel creeping into my tone. “We’re done, Wesley. I want a divorce.”
His face contorted, his carefully built walls crumbling. “No,” he choked out, his voice raw. “Iris, please don’t do this. I’ll prove it wasn’t me. I’ll do whatever it takes–just don’t give up on us.”
Before I could answer, a sharp pain shot through my stomach like a thunderbolt. I gasped, doubling over as the agony deepened, robbing me of air.
“Iris!” Wesley shouted, fear flooding his voice as he rushed to my side.
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A nurse burst into the room, drawn by the commotion, her voice steady but urgent. “Stay calm,” she instructed, her eyes flicking to me. “Stress isn’t good for the baby”
Wesley’s face crumpled further as the nurse spoke. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t place–some volatile mixture of love and despair. Slowly, he nodded, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ll leave. If that’s what you want, I’ll go…” He hesitated, pain radiating from every word. “But please, take care of yourself. And the baby”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out. The click of the door closing left an unbearable silence in its wake, one that pressed on my chest like a weight I couldn’t shake.
I sat there, watching the walls, my mind playing and replaying the haunting image of
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his lips on hers. Her. That woman. The kiss. Wesley’s hands on her waist, pulling her close.
How could he?
Tears welled up, spilling over before I could stop them. I had trusted him–given him everything, and he…
The shrill ping of my phone jolted me from my thoughts. Hesitating, I picked it up, dread curling like smoke in the pit of my stomach.
The message was from an unknown number.
Check this out, it read, followed by a video link.
My heart thundered as I clicked on it, my hands trembling.
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The screen filled with a new video. Not just a photograph–this time, it was undeniably damning footage. Wesley, with the same woman. His lips moved with hers, his hands gripping her waist as if she was his and not
- me.
The phone slipped from my hand, clattering onto the floor as my body went numb.
This wasn’t some misunderstanding. This wasn’t a trick of the light.
This was betrayal–again.
That night, I stared at the ceiling from my bed, my thoughts spinning wildly. Sleep refused to come, chased away by the relentless question of why. Why did I keep finding myself trapped in this same suffocating cycle?
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First Gareth. Then Quentin. And now Wesley. Three men I had trusted. Three men who had looked me in the eye and lied.
Was it me? Was there something broken in me that invited this pain? Or was I being punished–sentenced by some cosmic cruelty never to find happiness?
But as my hand drifted to my stomach, my resolve hardened. The fragile life inside me was more important than my pain, more precious than my heartbreak. I wouldn’t let my child grow up surrounded by betrayal and bitterness.
By dawn, my decision was set. I had to leave Wesley.
The early morning light seeped through the curtains as I moved quietly, gathering my belongings. My heart thudded in my chest,
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every sound amplified in the still house.
This was the only way. I couldn’t stay after… this.
But as I stepped into the hallway, bag in hand, my breath hitched.
Wesley was there, leaning against the wall as if he’d been waiting.
“Iris,” he said softly, his voice heavy with emotion. “What are you doing?”
My grip tightened around the strap of my bag. “What does it look like? I’m leaving.”
He moved closer, his eyes pleading, but the sight only strengthened the walls I was building around myself.
“You can’t just walk away,” he said,
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desperation dripping from every word. “Please. Tell me what you need. I’ll do anything.”
My resolve sharpened. “What I need is for you to leave me alone. Draft the divorce papers, Wesley. Now.”
His face twisted in pain–a pain that might’ve moved me once. But not now.
“No,” he said, his voice firm despite the tremors beneath it. “I’m not giving up on us. I’ll prove it, Iris. I’ll prove it wasn’t me.”
“Don’t,” I interrupted sharply, my voice colder than I recognized. “Don’t say things you can’t back up. It’s over.”
“Please,” he begged, his voice cracking as he dropped to his knees before me. “I’ll do whatever it takes, Iris. Just let me fix this.
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Don’t leave. I love you. I love our baby. I can’t lose you both.”
I stared at him, trembling under the weight of his desperation. And for a fleeting moment, my resolve wavered, the tiniest sliver of doubt creeping in.
But then, her face flashed in my mind. His hands, his lips–on her.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
Ducking my head, I gripped my bag tighter and stepped past him, leaving him on his knees in the hallway–alone.
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