Chapter 1:
1104 Words
Elisse POV:
*****
The entire house was silent, yet Elisse could feel the heavy ache pressing against her chest as she stood in front of the mirror.
She was waiting for her husband.
Tomorrow was their wedding anniversary, but until now, he still hadn’t come home. Her reflection stared back at her—calm on the surface, fractured inside. She remembered three years ago, when William asked her to marry him. They were deeply in love back then, inseparable, full of dreams.
What happened to them?
If only…
If only their child were still alive, maybe their marriage would still be happy. Maybe their life would still be whole. Maybe she wouldn’t feel this unbearable emptiness.
Her chest tightened again, as if something was tearing her apart piece by piece. God knew she never wanted any of this to happen. What happened was an accident. A cruel twist of fate.
It had been a year since their child died.
A year since her marriage grew cold and distant.
Everyone—both families, friends, even the people around them—believed nothing had changed. They thought Elisse and William were still the same loving couple. Still perfect. Still in love.
From the outside, her life looked flawless.
But only Elisse knew something was terribly wrong.
“He’s late again…” she whispered to herself as she checked the time on her phone.
9:47 PM.
William said he had an emergency meeting. An important client.
The usual excuse. Repeated so many times it had grown dull and worn.
Before, she believed him instantly.
Now… she didn’t.
She heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Her heart jumped. She straightened quickly, fixed her hair, and forced a smile onto her face. No matter how much it hurt, she had learned to look fine. She always had to be fine.
William walked in, still wearing his business suit, his tie slightly loosened. He looked tired—but there was something else in his eyes. A strange glimmer. A light that no longer belonged to Elisse.
“Sorry, love. It took longer than expected,” he said, placing a quick kiss on her cheek.
Quick. Empty. Cold.
She smiled anyway. “Did you eat already?”
“At the office. I’m really tired.”
Office.
She swallowed the word over and over in her mind.
Office.
Like a knife stabbing into her chest again and again.
“William,” she called softly before he could walk away.
He turned around. “Yes?”
She wanted to cry.
For nights now, she had been eating alone. For nights now, he had been absent—physically and emotionally. Every night felt like her heart was being stolen piece by piece. But instead of questioning him, instead of begging for his attention, she simply smiled again.
“Nothing. Good night,” she said.
“Good night, honey.”
William nodded and disappeared down the hallway.
The moment the bedroom door closed, Elisse finally broke.
She sat down on the sofa, clutching her phone. One name flashed relentlessly in her mind—a woman she had sensed for a long time, even without proof.
Stacey.
She didn’t know exactly when her intuition began. One day, she simply realized that her trust in her husband had quietly vanished.
And that was when William’s mistake truly began.
Not because he loved someone else—
but because he believed Elisse would remain blind forever.
That night, sleep refused to come.
Elisse lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling while the soft sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. William was showering. Just like always—coming home tired, distant, and unreachable.
Before, they showered together.
Before, they fell asleep holding each other.
Before, there was still an us.
Now, she felt like a ghost in her own bedroom.
When William stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, he didn’t even look at her. He went straight to the closet, changed, and lay down on the far side of the bed.
No goodnight kiss.
No embrace.
No question asking if she was okay.
“William,” she called carefully, almost afraid.
“Hm?” he replied, his back turned to her.
“Is there something wrong with us?”
Silence.
For a moment, Elisse thought he wouldn’t answer. She was used to swallowing questions, to holding back words she was afraid to speak.
“I’m just tired,” William finally said. “Please, let’s not start this.”
Let’s not start this.
As if asking was her fault.
Elisse turned away, forcing back her tears. This was not the man she married. This was not the William who promised never to leave her, never to hurt her.
The next morning, they had breakfast at the long dining table of the mansion. The silence between them was unbearable. William was focused on his phone—typing, smiling faintly, then quickly hiding it.
Elisse noticed.
“Do you have another meeting?” she asked casually, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Yes. All day,” he answered quickly.
“With which company?”
William paused—just for a second, but it was enough.
“Uh… foreign partners. I told you already.”
He hadn’t. She was certain.
Elisse nodded. She didn’t argue. Instead, she chose to observe.
After William left, she took her coffee mug and sat in the living room. That’s when she noticed his jacket left on the sofa. William never left it behind. Never.
Slowly, she reached into the pocket.
A small box.
Her chest tightened as she opened it.
Inside was a silver necklace—simple, elegant, and undeniably not meant for her. It wasn’t her style. She didn’t ask for it. And she certainly never received it.
Her world collapsed in an instant.
She didn’t cry right away. She sank onto the floor, clutching the necklace, her hands trembling.
This isn’t proof, her mind tried to reason.
Maybe it’s a gift for a client.
She tried to convince herself.
But deep in her heart, she already knew the truth.
And for the first time, she finally spoke the reality she had been avoiding for so long.
Her husband had another woman.
Meanwhile, inside his private office, William smiled as he stared at his phone.
“Miss you already,”
Sophia
He took a deep breath, torn between excitement and fear. He knew it was wrong. He knew someone would get hurt.
But he chose not to think about it.
What he didn’t know was that every lie he built
was slowly destroying everything he still had.
- Writer
