Love in Flames, Promises in Ruin

When I had finally composed myself, Kaden stormed toward me in a fit of anger.

He questioned angrily, "Ella, what have you been saying to your friends? Why are they so out of line? How can they tag us so thoughtlessly and suggest that we should get married soon?"

I opened my social media and saw that a friend who had just gotten married a couple of days ago had tagged me and Kaden in her post.

She commented, "Looking forward to you two also walking down the aisle soon."

Kaden was furious. "Don't tell me you didn't know about this. If you hadn't mentioned something to her, why would she say that?"

Well, I'd indeed said something to my friend. Everyone kept asking me when Kaden and I would be getting married after ten years of being together.

I thought back to when we first got together. Kaden had held my hand and promised me, "I'll definitely marry you."

But at some point, he would instinctively avoid the topic of marriage whenever I brought it up.

"Ella, isn't what we have now good enough? You already have everything. What else can marriage prove?"

I thought he was simply afraid of marriage and didn't want to push him further.

Kaden continued treating me well, and everyone said he was madly in love with me. When he was on a business trip abroad, he would condense his work schedule and catch a red-eye flight just so that he could get back to see me sooner.

When his parents voiced their disapproval of my becoming his wife, he moved out with me decisively and insisted that no one disturb our life together.

However, I never imagined that he would ultimately choose to marry someone else.

Kaden gave himself an excuse to leave. "Forget it. I'll sleep at the office tonight."

He slammed the door shut and disappeared into the night.

Later that night, I received photos from the private investigator.

In the dim light of a private room, Kaden and Gwendolyn sat together with Kaden's friends surrounding them. They were the same friends who used to call me "Mrs. Zacarias" teasingly. Now, they were chatting and laughing with Gwendolyn just fine.

Gwendolyn held a wine glass to her lips to take a sip. Then, Kaden drank from the same glass by pressing his lips to the same spot she'd drunk from a moment ago. Their gestures radiated intimacy.

I silently gathered evidence of Kaden's infidelity and began packing my bags. After all, there were still six days left until I could finally leave.

…

The next morning, Gwendolyn barged into the villa uninvited. Bright red hickeys adorned her neck.

Upon catching sight of me, she smiled sweetly and said, "Ms. Selkirk, I'm just here to pick up some documents for Kaden. I hope you don't mind."

As she spoke, she nonchalantly took out a pair of slippers for herself.

I froze for a moment.

Back when we installed the shoe cabinet, I'd chosen a design that hid it in the wall so that it wasn't visible at a glance. Hence, no one coming to the house for the first time could possibly know where the shoe cabinet was or where the guest slippers were stored.

It was clear that this wasn't the first time Gwendolyn had come to the villa.

The thought of what might have happened between her and Kaden in this house made me so nauseated that I dry-heaved at the spot.

Gwendolyn let out a mocking laugh. "Ms. Selkirk, you're good at playing the victim. You've been with Kaden for ten years but haven't gotten married to him yet. Why haven't you given up?"

I looked at her coldly and retorted, "What does that have anything to do with you?"

Gwendolyn covered her mouth and laughed. "Of course it has everything to do with me. After all, I'm about to marry him. When the time comes, you must come to our wedding, Ms. Selkirk."

As she passed me, she spoke in a soft voice, "You already know, don't you? Soon, you'll be the mistress. I guess I can just call you a shameless woman."

Enraged by her blatant provocation, I clenched my fists and shoved her hard.

A gleeful laugh escaped her lips before she stumbled backward toward the stairs and tumbled straight down. As she fell, she grabbed onto my dress and pulled me down with her.

I twisted my ankle as I hit the steps painfully.