The Billionaire's beautiful mistake

"Silly me,I forgot my—" The words die in my throat because of the blue lace panties pooled on the hardwood by the couch, delicate straps twisted like they'd been torn off in a hurry. I don't own anything blue. My keys slip from my fingers and clatter against the entry table. The apartment was supposed to be empty because Theo said he had meetings all afternoon. But there's a black skirt crumpled near the hallway, which is not also mine. Then I hear it. Soft rhythmic creaking coming from our bedroom Breathless sounds filter through the open door, feminine gasps mixed with deep masculine groans that make my stomach twist. My feet move without permission, carrying me down the hallway I've walked a thousand times. "Oh God... yes..." As I kept walking down the hallway, her voice sounded higher, sweeter, more confident than mine ever did. My hand finds the wall for support because my legs suddenly feel like they might give out. The bedroom door was already open. Theo is on our bed with the white sheets I washed yesterday still damp from the dryer. A woman with blonde hair is underneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist, her nails digging into his back. They're so lost in each other that they don't notice me standing in the doorway watching my entire future crumble. "I've wanted this for so long," she gasps, and he responds by kissing her harder. My engagement ring catches the afternoon light, the small diamond he saved six months to buy. We're supposed to get married in two weeks, the invitations have already been sent, my dress hanging in the closet behind me. Two hundred people are planning to watch me marry this man. She opens her eyes first and sees me standing there. Her face goes pale, mouth forming a perfect circle of shock, but she doesn't push him away. For three endless seconds we just stare at each other while he keeps moving, completely unaware that his fiancée is watching. "Theo," she whispers, her voice cracking. He doesn't stop, just murmurs something against her skin that I can't hear. She says his name again, louder this time, and finally he lifts his head. When he turns and sees me, all the color drains from his face. "Cora….baby..when did you come back." He scrambles away from her so fast he falls off the bed, reaching for his pants on the floor. The woman grabs the sheet to cover herself, and I notice she's prettier than me, maybe younger. "Let me explain," he starts, but I hold up my hand. "How long?" My voice sounds calm and detached, like it belongs to someone else entirely. He won't look at me, his eyes fixed on the floor, and that tells me everything. "How long, Theo?" "Six months," he whispers. Six what? Oh my God! All the promises, the affection.. Damn, it was all a lie. "I'm sorry," Theo says, taking a step toward me. "Don't." The word comes out sharp, final, and he freezes. "Don't come close to me, you have been sleeping with your assistant for six months and all you have to say is sorry?" Jessica grabs her clothes from the floor and rushes past me without making eye contact. The front door opens and slams shut, and then it's just us in the wreckage of everything we were supposed to be. "It didn't mean anything," he tries, and I laugh. The sound that comes out is broken, bitter, nothing like my normal laugh. "I just watched you f**k her in our bed, and you're telling me it didn't mean anything?" "Cora, please—" "I work two jobs for you." My voice is rising now, getting louder with each word. "Two f*****g jobs so we could afford this apartment, have the dream wedding we have always wanted and be able to take care of our unborn children. And this…this is how you repay me? What will i tell my family, my friends? " What did i do to deserve this?" He reached for me and I stepped back so fast I hit the door-frame. My hands are shaking, my whole body is shaking, and I can't make it stop. Everything I've worked for, everything I've sacrificed, all of it was for this…cheat. "Get out," I whisper. "Baby, please calm down, we can work this out. Besides, this is my apa—" "I SAID GET OUT!" They screamed tears from my throat before I could stop it. "Get out before I do something we will both regret." He grabs his jacket and his keys, and at the door he turns back. "I never meant to hurt you." "But you did." My voice is dead now, hollow. "You meant it, you just didn't mean to get caught." When the door closes behind him, I sink to the floor right there in the hallway. My phone is buzzing in my purse, but I can barely register the sound. The apartment is too quiet now, so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. I try to think of how to handle this situation, but my mind won't cooperate. The buzzing continues, growing more insistent until finally I reach for it just to make it stop. The screen blurs through my tears as I press answer. "Hello?" "Ms. Martinez?" A woman's voice, professional and careful. "This is Dr. Chen for om Mercy General Hospital." My heart stops. "It's about your mother.”