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Chapter 3
I stood there, my limbs frozen, watching my husband kiss another woman with such deep passion.[]
Silas finally lifted his head, his face a mask of utter disgust as he looked at me.[]
“Charlotte, I don’t know how you became so selfish and cruel. Rebecca has just been through a massive trauma, she’s emotionally unstable. Can’t you show her even a little bit of compassion?”
No.[]
I covered my face to hide the tears. What could I possibly say now? Would he even believe me? No.
Rebecca’s feigned weakness was a weapon, and it had completely conquered the golden boy.
Silas grabbed me by the arm and threw me out of the bedroom.]
“Get out. And don’t you dare go near Rebecca ever again.“[]
With that, the door slammed shut.
Clutching my hip where I had hit the railing, listening to the soft, gentle voices from inside, I slowly made my way back to the guest room.
Lying in bed, I pulled out the written promise Silas had given me just one month ago.
He had promised that if he ever had any involvement with another woman, he would leave with nothing and be punished by never seeing me again.]
My best friend was texting me, her usual words of comfort.
“Your Silas would never cheat on you. He’s just overflowing with sympathy, trying to save a damsel in distress.”
“In all your years of
marriage, has he ever even looked at another woman? You say jump, and your Silas asks how high. He’d practically tie himself to your hip if he could.“]
At the same time, a message from the private investigator came through.
My hand trembled as I took a deep breath and opened
I couldn’t believe he had found so much in just three days.]
And I never would have imagined that Silas, the man who gave me all his love, was playing the role of a savior in a completely different world.
Rebecca’s mother was hospitalized, and there was Silas, at her side, expertly helping the old woman drink water, while Rebecca looked on with eyes full of gratitude.]
Silas was with Rebecca back in her hometown, fixing her house, wearing a straw hat on a ladder, bending down to take a piece of fruit she offered him
Silas sat at a dinner table with a group of elderly people, Rebecca beside him, blushing shyly.]
And I finally knew that all those days Silas said he was on business trips, he was actually helping a “poor little girl“.]
On my birthday, he took Rebecca to France, just to “broaden her horizons“.]]
And there they were, two smiling figures standing side–by–side in front of the Eiffel Tower.]
He was gone for a week. He forgot my birthday.[]
None of the photos proved he was cheating, but the sweetness in every single one was palpable.||
Each one was a new stab to my heart, leaving it raw and bleeding.]
My best friend’s last message came through.
“Don’t just bottle it up. Silas would be heartbroken if he knew. Once Rebecca is safe, he’ll explain everything.”
“Honestly, Silas has spoiled you rotten, made you all paranoid. Next time I see that whipped husband of yours. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
I couldn’t hold back the grief and rage any longer. Like a madwoman, I picked up a chair and started smashing everything in the room.
The bookshelf, the computer, the tea set…]
I didn’t
stop until I was completely exhausted, collapsing to the floor in gut–wrenching sobs.
In that moment, I didn’t know if I was crying for my own blindness, or for Silas’s betrayal.
Rebecca’s scars were a mockery of me, a knife that was slowly flaying me alive, forcing me to wake up from the dream of a perfect love, one painful cut at a time.
Maybe I should have walked away a month ago.
Then I wouldn’t have to bear this kind of slander.
I sat on the floor all night. As the first star of dawn appeared in the sky, I finished drafting the divorce papers.
I placed the divorce agreement on the dining table, then went to the master bedroom for one last look.
Silas was holding Rebecca tightly, both fully clothed. They seemed to be asleep, yet not.
I wiped my tears one last time, turned, and made a phone call.[]
“Professor, is that spot for the secret R&D project in Indonesia still available? I’d like to sign up.“[]
An ecstatic voice immediately answered on the other end.[]
“Yes, yes! Charlotte, I’ve been waiting for you to call! Otherwise, your Silas would have had my hide!”
