Grandma's Grave, His Final Betrayal

In the dead of night, I got a call from Reese. His breathing was heavy and he sounded frantic.

"Sweetheart, the department store is on fire, and I'm stuck inside! You have to come save me!"

I didn't even bother changing out of my pajamas before racing into the blaze. The flames were fierce, and a falling beam broke three of my ribs, but I refused to stop searching for him.

When the firefighters pulled me out, I was sobbing, pleading with them to find Reese. Then a message from his secretary, Lilith, popped up on my phone.

[Actually, Reese was never trapped in the fire. It was just our playful banter before!]

Attached was a photo of Reese lying naked beside her, covered in lipstick marks.

I didn't hesitate for a moment and decided to move abroad with my best friend, Mina.

---

The feeling of the flames scorching my back seemed to linger. The doctor said I was lucky the broken ribs didn't puncture a lung, and that I would recover fully with some rest. After getting a prescription for burn treatment, I left the hospital.

As soon as I got home, Mina called me.

"Are you really sure about moving with me? If you are, I'll start preparing the paperwork."

I replied confidently, "I'm sure."

"Great, then handle everything on your end, and I'll book our tickets."

It was six months ago when Mina noticed how troubled I was and, after learning about Reese's antics, urged me to divorce and join her overseas.

At the time, I thought Reese's affair with his secretary was just a fling. Little did I know, I had become a pawn in their twisted games of affection.

After hanging up, I took some melatonin and managed to drift into a restless sleep.

I was jolted awake by the ringing of my phone in the middle of the night. It was Reese’s first call since I’d been in the hospital for two weeks.

"Sweetheart, I've been pressured into drinking at a client's event, and I feel terrible. I think I might have alcohol poisoning. Can you come pick me up?"

In the background, I could clearly hear the bustling noise of a pub and the laughter of women.

I sneered and replied coldly, "Reese, even your lies have their limits."

He was silent for a couple of seconds before speaking again, his voice heavy and seemingly sincere, "This time I'm not lying. They brought me to the pub just now, and I'm feeling really sick. I called you immediately."

His breathing was labored, each word sounded like it took effort to say. I hesitated, remembering the time he had alcohol poisoning when he was just starting his business.

My hand clenched and then released in a moment of indecision, as concern washed over me. I jumped up, hurriedly got dressed, and said into the phone, "Where are you? I'll come get you right away."

Suddenly, there was a burst of sharp laughter, both male and female, and the phone was snatched away. A woman's voice came through, "Oh, Cielo, Reese was just teasing you to cheer me up. He's perfectly fine. No need to come running!"

I knew that voice all too well. For a whole year, whenever I called Reese, she'd be the one to answer. Her tone was the same as always—provocative, dismissive, arrogant.

I could hear jeering in the background, "Reese, Cielo sure loves you a lot, doesn’t she? Just a few words and she's all confused!"

"Yeah, what's the difference between her and an obedient puppy? It must be a breeze having someone like that."

Then Reese's mocking voice joined in, "She's even more obedient than a dog. If Lilith and I ran out of supplies, a phone call would have her delivering them."

His voice wasn't loud, but it rang out clearly in my ears. My fingers pressed so hard into my palms they bled, but I felt no pain.

Silence, rigidity, and numbness crashed over me, and for a moment, it felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was suffocating. The phone slipped from my grasp and shattered against the floor, forcibly ending the call.

Finally, the world was quiet again.

Staring at the couple's slippers, the pajamas, the massive wedding portrait, and the wedding band on my finger, I was at a loss. The couple in the photo looked so loving and in sync, Reese smiling so happily.

These once cherished memories now only served to taunt and hurt me. I couldn’t understand how Reese, who was once so good, could become this person.

In his attempts to placate Lilith by deceiving me, he must have forgotten the time he almost died from alcohol poisoning while entertaining clients to buy our home. Back then, I rushed him to the hospital for a stomach pump in the middle of the night. The doctor warned that another minute's delay could have been fatal.

With guilt and concern, I held Reese’s hand, urging him not to push himself so hard. He just smiled softly, cupped my face, and reassured me, "Cielo, don't cry. The deal went through, and we're going to have our own home."

Because of that incident, he had underlying health issues. I knew he had worked so hard for our future, and I dedicated myself to caring for him. But he had long since forgotten all that, turning it into a cruel joke at my expense.

Resolute, I sent a message to our former lawyer through the computer, asking him to draft an electronic divorce agreement.

That night, sleep was impossible.