In love with my brother's wife

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine betrayal would come from my own family.

Everyone knew how much I loved Lily.

Even Sam.

It's been years since we were together, but I never stopped talking about her to Mum, at least. At random times. Quiet moments. Late night calls. She knew I never truly moved on.

And Sam?

We never saw eye to eye, but the one thing I thought we had was boundaries. Respect. Surely, of all the women in the world, he didn't have to choose her.

My Lily.

What was she thinking?

How could she look me in the eye on her wedding day to my brother and say nothing?

Why didn't anyone warn me? Was it the distance? Was I that far gone from the family that they all kept this from me?

Why was I even invited at all?

To witness this?

Dad didn't say a word. Just sat there like stone.

The questions keep piling in my head, one crashing into another, loud and cruel. But the answer, they're nowhere.

And right now, I can't breathe.

I can't think.

I just want to run until the pain loses its grip on me.

I just want to escape this mess.

I slip into the first Uber I see outside the wedding venue, giving the driver the address of the nearest hotel. I don't care which one, anywhere but here.

It looks like Mum noticed me leaving. She's been calling nonstop.

But I can't talk to anyone right now.

What words could possibly ease this kind of betrayal?

The Uber drops me at a modest hotel on the other side of town. Everything around me feels like a blur. I walk straight to the receptionist and ask for a room. She hands me the key to Room 409, the last one by the left on the fourth floor.

I take the elevator in silence, open the door, and collapse onto the bed without taking off my shoes. My hands move instinctively to my phone. I start booking the next available flight to Paris. I just need to get out. Fast.

Then it happens.

My phone vibrates.

A call.

Lily.

Her name flashes on my screen, still saved as My Lily.

After three years of silence.

Nothing has changed.

Well, not in my heart. But clearly, a lot has changed in hers.

Am I a fool for holding on this long?

I let the phone ring out. I can't answer. I wouldn't even know what to say. Do I even have the right to be upset?

After all, I was the one who left her.

I left because I knew I wasn't enough. I couldn't keep loving her in fragments, couldn't keep disappointing her with my inconsistency. So I walked away to become a better man. For her.

And I did.

I became him.

But I never came back.

And when I finally reached out, all I got was silence.

A message lights up my phone. It's from Lily.

"Hi, I saw someone today that looked like you, but he disappeared before I could be sure. Maybe it's just in my head.

It's been a while. How are you?

Do you know today's my wedding?"

I stare at the screen for a long time, my mind spinning.

Did she really not know I was there? Or is this her way of opening the door, of testing the waters?

I pick up my phone, type a few words, then delete them.

"Congrats."

Delete.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Delete.

"Do you love him?"

Delete.

I sigh and drop the phone on the bed, staring up at the ceiling like it has answers. My chest feels tight, the kind of ache that doesn't scream but settles in deep, like a bruise on the soul.

Should I tell her it was me?

If I lie, Mum might tell her the truth but even more than that, I'd be lying to her.

I pick the phone back up and finally let my thumb speak.

"Yes, it was me. Congratulations on your wedding."

I hit send, the message left my phone, but the ache in my heart remained.

I wonder if she'll reply.

I wonder if she'll say anything at all.