Chapter 2

I held onto Chris’s hand so tightly that I was shaking.

Then, I saw the disappointment in his eyes as he turned to face me.

"Sarah," he said, his voice calm but firm. "She’s different from you. She has nothing without me."

"You have everything," Chris said, gently prying my fingers off. "But she only has me."

He let go of my hand.

I fell to the floor, my newly done nails scraping against the carpet, splitting open as blood welled up from the cuts. The pain left me speechless.

Chris hesitated for a moment when he saw me on the ground, but then, he turned and walked away.

I couldn’t stop him, and I became the joke of the evening.

Everyone tried to comfort me. "Chris is just used to running wild. He’s always had his flings."

"If he was going to settle down, he would have done it already."

"Sarah, don’t be upset. You and Chris grew up together. You’ve got years of history. No one can replace that."

"That girl’s just trying to use the baby to climb her way up. You’ve seen girls like her before. Don’t let it bother you."

Everyone kept telling me not to take it seriously.

That Chris was just playing around.

They told me not to invest my emotions.

Some even suggested that I should play the same game, act weak, and beat the other woman at her own game.

Everyone had an excuse for Chris.

No one wanted to admit that Chris had actually fallen for her.

But I knew.

Chris was more invested than he’d ever been.

The party ended early, and when I got home, Chris still wasn’t back. The maid had already made ginger tea and left it on the dining table. Beside it was a bouquet of roses Chris had bought earlier.

The vibrant red of the roses only made me feel more pathetic in the quiet night.

I went to the bedroom and saw our wedding photo. For a moment, I felt dazed. I walked over to the nightstand, took down the photo, and began cutting it into pieces with a pair of scissors. Then I smashed everything in the carefully decorated room in a fit of rage.

Finally, I collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

I cried until midnight, when the room was pitch dark. The only light came from my phone, the screen piercing my eyes. I opened the message. It was from Lily.

A picture of her and Chris holding hands.

Then, a voice message.

And some text.

The voice message was their conversation.

She asked him, "When you left your wife behind, do you think she’ll blame you? Am I being too selfish, forgetting my place?"

Without hesitation, Chris responded, "No one is more important than you."

"As long as you’re okay."

"That’s all that matters."

Chris’s voice felt like a thousand needles piercing my body.

My chest tightened in pain as I read Lily’s text.

You lost.

Chris doesn’t love you.

Give up your place as Mrs. Harper.

Don’t make this messier than it has to be.

Chris didn’t come home that night.

I didn’t care anymore. I’d cried myself dry. The years we spent growing up together were over, and I was the only one left clinging to the past.

It was laughable.

As I packed my bags to leave, my phone rang.

Chris’s voice came through, hoarse.

"Sarah, Lily’s young and immature. You’ve always been the understanding one, but last night, you really crossed the line."

"How could you embarrass me like that?"

"I don’t want this to happen again."