Three years into my marriage to Carter Hayes, he had everyone hide the fact that he was keeping a younger, fresher girl on the side. Everyone around us said I was his one true love, his guiding light, his sole weakness. Yet, after a few drinks, he laughed and told his friends, "Audrey Davis? Once I finally married her, I realized she's nothing to write home about." The man who swore at seventeen to love me forever... Was currently holding a young girl, coaxing her, "She's so boring. Of course I love you the most, baby." The day I left, it was like any other day. No one noticed a thing. The housekeeper smiled and asked if I was going out shopping and for afternoon tea. I smiled back and nodded. "You don't need to prepare dinner for me tonight." When a man's heart strays, you don't weep. You strike the match, burn the memories, and scatter his ashes to the wind. Carter Hayes didn't know that the "nothing special" Audrey Davis had a backbone of steel. In her dictionary, the word "forgiveness" never existed. 1 I clutched my wool coat, my other hand holding a pharmacy bag filled with hangover-recovery supplements. The corridor of the private club was endlessly long. The dim lighting caught the edges of oil paintings, casting fractured shadows across the floor. Laughter echoed from the room at the very end of the hall. Carter kept this entire floor booked year-round. No outsiders were allowed within fifty feet, so they hadn't even bothered to close the door. My heel caught on the thick carpet. As I bent down to steady myself, the pearl necklace around my throat suddenly snapped. Pearls of all sizes scattered across the floor. A sharp, inexplicable pain pierced my chest. Just as I crouched down to gather the beads, I heard Carter's voice. "Come on, I'm not a player like the rest of you." "My first love, the love of my life, my everything—it's only ever been my wife." He sounded drunk. His voice was thick with liquor, swelling with pride and arrogance. I couldn't help but press my lips together. Clutching a cool pearl in my palm, my heart smoothed out, feeling oddly comforted. "It's just a shame." Carter suddenly sighed. "Once I finally got her, I realized she's nothing to write home about. Utterly ordinary." My hand clamped shut. The pearl dug into the soft flesh of my palm. The smile froze on my lips. "Then what about me, Carter?!" A soft, delicate female voice suddenly chimed in. It dripped with a resentful, unwilling whine. "You say your wife is the only love of your life. So what am I to you?" "Just last night, you swore you loved me the most!" The men in the room erupted into laughter. "Silly girl, you actually believe what a man says in bed?" "Besides, it's a given that a man loves his wife." "You're just the side piece—what are you fighting for?" "Carter! Look at them!" The girl's voice cracked with tears. She sounded so pitiful, it was enough to make anyone's heart ache. 2 "Alright, that's enough. Stop messing with her." "What's this 'side piece' garbage? This is my actual girlfriend. Watch your mouths." Carter's voice deepened, carrying a hint of genuine displeasure. "No way, Carter. You're serious about this one?" Carter gave a soft "Yeah." Then added, "She's been with me since she was eighteen. I have to take responsibility." "You animal. You went after her the second she was legal." "Aren't you afraid your wife will find out and raise hell?" Carter laughed. "She relies on me to survive. What's she going to raise hell with?" "But seriously, keep your mouths shut. I love my wife. I don't want to make her sad." "You love your wife, but what about me?" The young girl started whining again. Carter reached out, pulling her into his arms to coax her. "Are you really crying over a joke?" The girl sniffled, acting spoiled. "Carter, tell me I'm the one you love the most... even if you're lying, I just want to hear it." "Alright, baby. She's so boring. Of course I love you the most." Standing in the shadows outside the door, I suddenly smiled. The man who once swore to love me for a lifetime. Was currently sweet-talking a younger girl. Yet, I didn't even feel the urge to walk in and confront him. Once unfaithful, forever discarded. I turned around and walked back down that long, suffocating corridor. When he was seventeen, Carter had secretly carved my name into his high school desk. He said Carter Hayes loved Audrey Davis, and he would love her for the rest of his life. But his "lifetime" was nothing more than a fleeting ten years. 3 When Carter came home the next morning, I was already downstairs eating breakfast. He rushed in, clutching a massive bouquet of flowers and a gift box. His face was a portrait of apology and guilt. "I'm so sorry, honey. The business dinner went incredibly late last night. I just couldn't make it back." When we got married, he promised that no matter how busy he was, he would never spend the night away from home. But over the past six months, he had been coming home later and later. This time, he hadn't come back at all. I put down my fork and looked up at him. His suit, shirt, and tie were all freshly changed. He smelled clean, crisp, and minty. It must have been so exhausting for him, being this careful. He set the flowers down and walked over, leaning in to kiss me. "Honey, I swear, this is the first and last time." I raised a hand to block him. Staring right at him, I asked, word by word: "Did you sleep at the office last night?" Carter didn't hesitate for a second. "Yes. Look, I even changed into the spare clothes you packed for my office wardrobe." He gripped my shoulders, looking at me with cautious eyes. "Honey, are you mad at me?" "I'll stay with you all day today. I won't go into the office, okay?" I looked at him. I looked at my own reflection in his dark eyes. He didn't flinch. There wasn't a trace of guilt on his face. And amazingly, I managed to hide my absolute heartbreak flawlessly. "No." I pushed his hands away. "Eat your breakfast." But the moment he sat down, his phone rang. I watched him frown and decline the call. Seconds later, it rang again. He hesitated for a moment, then declined it again. Immediately, a text message popped up. Carter read it, and his brow furrowed deeply. "Audrey, there's an emergency at the office..." "Go." "Never mind, I'll have Marcus handle it. I promised to stay with you all day." He said the words, but his mind was clearly already out the door. "No, work is more important. You should go." I looked at him calmly. Even the pain in my chest had gone numb. Carter only struggled for a brief second before standing up. "Then I'll try to come back early to be with you." I murmured a soft "Okay," and watched him rush out to his car. Only after he drove away did I finally reach up and wipe the cold tears from my cheeks. I picked up my phone and called my best friend. "Brie, can you book me in for a full exam at your clinic today?" 4 When the test results came back, I let out a massive sigh of relief. My STD panel was entirely clean. And I wasn't pregnant. When I married Carter, my health was incredibly fragile. Because of that, we had put off having children. But just to be absolutely safe, I asked for a comprehensive workup. "Doctor, I wanted to ask, how is my body recovering overall?" Once I got the green light that my health had fully stabilized, the heavy fog in my chest finally began to clear. Clutching my medical report, I walked out of the office. Just as I turned the corner into the hallway, I heard Carter's name. "Carter, if I'm really pregnant, can I please keep it?" I stopped in my tracks and looked at the two figures standing a few yards away. Carter had a cigarette clamped between his fingers. He looked annoyed, his brows locked together. The young girl was bare-faced, her cheeks stained with fresh tears. She was tugging on his sleeve, practically begging. Carter sneered. "My wife hasn't even had a child yet. You think it's your turn?" "But this is my first baby. I can't bear to lose it." "I promise I'll be good. I'll never cause you any trouble." "And I'll make sure your wife never finds out about me or the baby." Carter took the hand holding the cigarette and lightly patted her cheek. "Don't be naive, baby. There's no way I'm letting you have this kid." "Be a good girl. Have the abortion, and I'll buy you a condo." "But if you refuse... Chloe, I'm warning you right now." "There are plenty of pretty, obedient girls at your college. I could sleep with a different one every night if I wanted to. You're not irreplaceable." The girl was utterly terrified by his words. Her face went deathly pale beneath her tears. "I'll be good. Carter, please don't leave me." "Good girl. Go get the ultrasound." "I'll go get the checkup. It's just... you said your wife is too sick to have kids." "If I really am pregnant, think of it as me having the baby for her. She can even raise it! I won't fight for custody, I swear. Please?" Carter fell silent for a moment. "Just go get the checkup. We'll talk after." The girl sobbed as she pushed the clinic door open and went inside. Carter finished his cigarette and stamped it out. As he turned around, I pretended I had just walked down the hall. When he saw me, he froze. But a second later, his face contorted into a mask of frantic worry. "Honey! What are you doing at the hospital?" "Are you sick? Did you get hurt?"
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