His Doom Comes When He Falls for Her

When I accompany my best friend, Olivia Martin, to the hotel in hopes of catching her partner in the act red-handed, I end up catching my own husband, Wilson Gunner, instead.

I don't break down in tears, nor do I throw a tantrum. In fact, I even shoot a smile at the young lady who's with Wilson.

"Don't worry. I'll keep this a secret."

The lady shoots me a grateful look before stumbling out of the hotel room haphazardly.

Not only does Wilson not feel any sense of shame, but he also looks at me approvingly.

"I knew you were sensible enough to not cause a fuss. Since you're a plastic surgeon, you should know that it's rare to see young ladies who have never gone under the knife nowadays.

"The woman from earlier is au naturale. Besides, she's all clean and pure, so you have nothing to worry about."

I lower my gaze and nod gently in agreement. But I don't plan on telling Wilson that the so-called au naturale woman was still a young man last week.

My best friend, Olivia Martin, was fuming. While pointing at my husband, Wilson Gunner, she yelled, "Wilson, you're not even human! Shannon's been nothing but good to you! How could you—"

"Enough."

I cut Olivia off and turned to Wilson. "We'll go back now. Take your time."

He raised an eyebrow and stepped closer, reaching for my waist, but I sidestepped smoothly.

He didn't seem to mind. Instead, he smiled. "I like you much better this way. You're not like you used to be, making a scene and airing our dirty laundry for the whole world to see every time I had an affair."

His words hit me like a pinprick, breaking the calm I'd carefully built and dredging up memories I'd tried to bury.

I had loved him with everything I had.

Wilson built himself up from nothing, and I stuck by him through every struggle. I scrimped and saved to support his startup, gave up studying abroad, and poured all my energy into him.

Back then, he'd hold me and say, "Shannon, once I make it, I'll give you the best life possible."

But once he succeeded, there were plenty of other women around him.

The first time I caught him cheating, I cried and demanded a divorce. He hugged me and apologized, claiming it was a mistake. I forgave him.

But betrayal was addictive. Once led to countless times.

The last fight was the worst. I had a massive hemorrhage from an ectopic pregnancy.

I lay on the operating table, hearing the doctor declare me critical. I called him over and over, but he ignored me to celebrate his lover's birthday.

When I crawled back from death's door, the first thing I saw was the news of him partying on a yacht with his lover.

At that moment, every ounce of love and hope I had was gone. I accepted my fate and learned to be smart, no longer crying or asking him questions.

Whether he stayed out late or didn't come home at all, I stayed calm.

At first, Wilson found my change unsettling, even alarming. He thought I was plotting something and started coming home more often.

But over time, seeing me truly settled, he returned to his reckless ways and even expected me to clean up his mess.

When his mistress showed up at the door to provoke me, I handled it.

When the paparazzi caught him in a scandal, I buried the story.

Even when he forgot his parents' birthdays, I prepared the gifts and went to beg for their forgiveness.

"I've already taken care of it. No one will find out," I said to Olivia, who was still steaming. "Don't be too upset. He's not worth it."

Olivia looked at me, full of concern. "Shannon, how can you stay so calm after everything he's done?"

I smiled faintly and said nothing.

Some pain couldn't be shared. It had to be carried alone. And some things would always come back to bite you.

After sending Olivia off, I returned to the hotel room.

Wilson was dressed, adjusting his tie in the mirror.

I bent down to pick up a cheap plastic hair clip from the floor. A few light strands were still stuck to it.

Wilson glanced at it. "Throw it away. It's worthless."

I clenched the clip, feeling the cold plastic under my fingers.

Yeah. Worthless.

He had no idea that the innocent woman who wore this worthless hair clip had been lying on my operating table just last week.