MARRYING HIM WAS A MISTAKE

The coffee shop was tucked away in the arts and science district, the kind of place Juanita and I used to visit every other day before my life became a hollow space and a topic for society's pages.

The coffee here actually tasted like real coffee, rather than a status symbol.

I arrived first, ordered a cappuccino and sat by the window. My phone buzzed. Marcus had texted me three times since this morning, asking if I was okay. I'd reply with variations of "fine" because I didn't know what else to say.

"Sandra!"

Juanita crossed the café in a whirlwind of colours, black and purple dress, layered ornaments that effortlessly conveyed her grace. Her blonde curls were longer now, with subtle highlights. She looked beautiful and happy.

Everything I wasn't.

She pulled me into a tight hug that smelled like lavender.

"God, I've missed you," she said, pulling back to study my face. "it's been is too long."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't." She sat across from me, waving away the apology. "You had the residency. That was important."

"So was my best friend." Juanita ordered a black coffee then turned her full attention back to me. "But I'm here now. So tell me everything. How's Jaden? How's..." She paused, something flickering across her face. "How's everything?"

The hesitation was slight yet discernable and I caught it.

"Everything's fine," I said automatically.

"Sandra!" Her voice was gentle, " come on now girl, we both know that's a big fat lie."

I looked down at my untouched coffee. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth."

"The truth is complicated."

"it sure is." She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "But I've just been away, not dead. I still have the internet, I've seen the headlines."

My chest tightened. "Then you know."

"I know there were rumors, Photos. Speculation about Jimmy and some women." Juanita's eyes searched mine. "What I don't know is how you're really doing."

I wanted to hide behind my smile and say I was handling it, that everything was fine. But this was Juanita, my oldest friend. The only person who'd known me before I became Mrs. James Banks III.

"I don't know," I admitted quietly, I don't even know who I've become."

"Oh,darling." Her grip on my hand tightened.

The waiter brought her coffee. We sat in silence while she stirred and took a sip.

"Tell me about your tour," I said, desperate to talk about anything else.

Juanita's expression softened. "magnificent. I had a studio overlooking the Tuscan hills, Sandra you should've seen the light at sunrise." She scrolled through her camera roll, finding image after image of vibrant, powerful paintings. "I met this group of female artists. We'd have these long dinners with too much wine and talk about art and life and everything."

I looked at the paintings. Women in bold colors, taking up space looking confident.

"They're beautiful," I said.

"They're free." Juanita set down her phone. "That's what I kept thinking the whole time I was there. These women were just... free."

The unspoken comparison hung between us.

"Now tell me about you," she said. "And don't change the subject."

I took a breath and let it out slowly.

"Do you remember that summer? Before Jimmy and I got engaged?"

"Of course. You were insufferable sandra." Juanita smiled. "Completely head-over-heels."

"I was so sure, So certain he was the one."

"You were in love."

"I was an idiot."

"Those aren't mutually exclusive." She tilted her head. "What happened, Sandra?"

"I gave him everything." The words came slowly,"The company, my identity. I thought we were partners, that we were building a life together. But somewhere along the way, I stopped being Sandra Morrison and became just... Mrs. Banks. The wife. The expensive house decor."

"And Jimmy?"

"Jimmy became exactly what he always wanted to be. Powerful, successful, untouchable." I finally took a sip of my coffee. It was cold. "I was just the ladder he climbed."

Juanita was quiet for a moment.

"I tried to warn you," she said gently. "Remember? Before the wedding, I said he was too ambitious, too focused and that he looked at you like you were a means to an end."

"I remember." I smiled bitterly. "You were right."

"I didn't want to be right."

"But I loved him, Juanita. God, I loved him so much. I thought if I just loved him enough, supported him enough, he'd see me. Really see me."

"But he didn't." My voice cracked. "He never did. I was always just... useful. A convenient package, the money, the company, the connections."

Juanita reached across and squeezed both my hands.

"Sandra, you can't blame yourself for loving someone."

"Can't I?" I pulled my hands back. "Everyone saw it except me. You saw it. My parents saw it, that's why they refused to come to the wedding. Even Marcus had his doubts. But I was so convinced."

"Love should be enough," Juanita said softly.

"But it's not. Not when the other person is... Jimmy." I shook my head. "I keep going back through the years, trying to figure out when it changed. When he stopped loving me, if he ever loved me at all."

"What does he say?"

I laughed, sharp and bitter. "He doesn't even try to acknowledge anything, always changing the subject and evading the questions. He acts like nothing is wrong, like he has nothing to answer for."

"That's gaslighting."

"Is it? Because part of me wonders if he's right." I met her eyes. "I did give up everything. I did step back from the company. Maybe I am just bitter that he succeeded where I was too weak..."

"Stop." Juanita's voice was sharp. "Don't you dare. You didn't give up, you were pushed out. There's a difference."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you." She leaned forward. "The Sandra Morrison I knew didn't give up on anything. She fought for every deal, every contract, every inch of respect in rooms full of men who underestimated her. That woman wouldn't have just walked away unless someone convinced her that's what love required."

The words hit something deep inside me.

"You told me so," I whispered. "You told me he was using me, and I didn't listen."

"Sandra..."

"No, you did. You said he looked at me like an opportunity, a business deal. And I told you that you just didn't understand what we had." I stopped, shame flooding through me. "I pushed you away because you were telling me the truth I didn't want to hear."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just saw the way he calculated everything. Even at your engagement party, he spent more time networking with your father's business partners than celebrating with you."

"I thought he was being professional."

"He was. Just not the future you thought you were building together." She took a sip of her coffee. " So what are you going to do now?"

My phone buzzed on the table. A text from Marcus.

Emergency. I Need to see you now. Where are you?

I stared at the message, heart pounding .

"What is it?" Juanita asked.

"Marcus. Something's wrong." I texted back: Moon Café. Arts and science district.

His response came immediately. I'm 10 minutes away. Don't leave.

I looked up at Juanita. "I'm so sorry. I have to leave."

"Go. It's fine." She stood when I did, pulling me into another hug. "be strong ok"

I hugged her tight. "Thank you, I really needed that."

"Call me later. And if you need me for anything-I'm here. I mean it!"

I grabbed my purse and left money on the table.

As I headed for the door, Juanita called after me.

"Sandra?"

I turned.

"He never deserved you," she said quietly. "I hope you know that."

I nodded, throat tight, and pushed out into the afternoon sun.

Marcus was pacing on the sidewalk when I arrived. His hair was disheveled. Shirt untucked. Eyes wild in a way I'd never seen before.

"Marcus, what's wrong?"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me down the street, away from the café windows.

"Oliver's gone," he said.

"What do you mean gone?"

"I mean gone. Disappeared. I went to his apartment this morning but he wasn't there. His phone goes straight to voicemail."

My stomach dropped. "When did this happen?"

"Sometime last night. We had dinner, everything seemed fine. Then this morning, nothing." Marcus ran a hand through his hair. "Sandra, I think Jimmy did something."

"Jimmy, really?"

"Wouldn't he?" Marcus's eyes locked on mine. "Think about it. Oliver's blackmailing him, has evidence that could destroy him. And now, right before whatever deadline he set, Oliver vanishes? That's not a coincidence."

"You don't know that marcus."

"Who else would it be?" Marcus's voice rose, then dropped to an urgent whisper. "Jimmy has The connections, the motivation. And you know how scheming he can be, always steps ahead."

I had seen and felt it. The way Jimmy approached everything like a chess game.

But this, this was different,

"We need to call the police," I said.

"And tell them what? That my boyfriend who's been blackmailing my brother-in-law is missing?" Marcus shook his head. "They'll ask questions we can't answer without implicating ourselves. We need to figure out what happened first."

"Or what?" I asked, though I already knew.

Marcus's expression was haunted. "Or whether Jimmy made sure he couldn't talk."

The words hung in the air between us.

Around us, the city didn't flinch, Life continued.

But standing there on that sidewalk, looking at my brother's face, I felt everything tilt sideways.

If Jimmy had done something to Oliver, if he was capable of that, then what else was he capable of?

"We need to be smart about this," I said quietly. "If Jimmy did do something, we can't let him know we're looking."

"So what do we do?"

I thought about the invitation to the Founders' Ball. About playing the perfect wife one more time while my marriage crumbled and people disappeared.

"We act normal," I said. "We're going to that ball tomorrow night. We smile and play our parts and we figure out what happened to