Chapter 1 - He Sent Me a Text to Leave His House?!
1225 Words
VALERIE'S POV
I made sure everything was perfect.
A small cake sat untouched in the middle of the dining table. His favorite meal – grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes, and roasted chicken, still warm, were waiting on the table. The red candles on the table flickered. I had spent all day preparing for tonight.
I had spent all morning preparing for tonight — a birthday. And not just any birthday, but the first birthday my husband, Alexander, had promised me in years.
My birthday.
I glanced at the clock. The time was 11 pm.
I checked my phone for the umpteenth time that night. There were no calls or even messages.
I shook my head and tried not to bother with it anymore. Maybe Alexander was stuck at work. Maybe he was on his way.
I told myself he'd come, whispering it to myself like it was some kind of mantra.
I waited for hours and the dinner went cold.
I sat there at the dining table, fisting the dress he had gotten me, fighting the tears in my eyes so they wouldn't roll down my cheeks and ruin my makeup. But as I sat there, my heart broke with every passing second.
Why was he running late?
I tried to hold them back but the first year slipped down my cheeks, followed by another.
I reached for my phone again, not to call because I refused to beg for his presence but to distract myself.
I had spent years loving Alexander, pouring everything I had into this marriage, hoping that one day he'd love me back or see me for me but tonight, it was painfully clear. He never would.
I decided to scroll through social media hoping the loneliness would hurt less but as I opened my i********:, a message popped on the screen.
At first, I thought it was a birthday message from the bank. They always sent me birthday wishes every year so I thought that'd be it and opened the text.
But it wasn't from the bank.
It was from an unknown number.
“Happy birthday, Mrs. Gallagher. Here's a birthday gift for you. You will never forget it.”
Attached below is a file.
It took me a moment to piece together what I had just read. “You will never forget it?” What was that?
I tapped the attached file and it opened.
I felt the sun and every other universal body was against me tonight.
Alexander—my husband, the man I had been waiting for all day—was kissing another woman!
Not just kissing, he was holding her like she was his entire world, in a way that he had never once held me.
Alexander had his lips against her neck, his hand was cupping her waist and he was grinning. His face was filled with happiness, a happiness I had never seen before on his face.
My stomach lurched and I ran to the sink, throwing up everything I had eaten that afternoon.
I rinsed the sink and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. My body was still shaking.
This… This couldn't be real.
It had to be a mistake. A misunderstanding.
I picked up my phone again, forcing myself to look at the picture and now, the woman's face looked familiar. It was…
Sonia!
Sonia, Alexander's secretary.
So she was the one he spent all those late nights with? So she was the one I had stupidly believed was nothing more than an employee?
The world spun and my knees buckled.
I had spent my entire life believing that if I loved Alexander hard enough then he would love me back but love was never enough. Not for Alexander.
I had been too blind to see that.
I managed to put out the candles and dragged my tired body to bed.
I lay in the soft silk and stared at the ceiling. I tried to sleep but it was like nailing jelly to a wall — useless and a complete waste of time. I couldn't sleep.
It was foolish but I decided to wait for Alexander to come home. At least for him to explain himself but night bled into morning and Alexander never walked out through the front door.
As hours rolled by, I felt numb.
Empty and dead inside were the right words.
Sunlight peeked through the expensive white curtains and I winced.
I lay on my side and stared at the cold, empty side next to me, ready to give up and fall asleep when suddenly, I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.
I rolled out of bed and rushed to the window, my heart hammering in the chest. I watched Alexander step out of his Black SUV.
A ripple of relief washed through me and I exhaled.
He had come home. At least he was safe.
But then the passenger door opened. He wasn't alone.
Sonia stepped out after him and my breath got caught in my throat.
She was smiling softly as she held onto Alexander's arm.
My brows furrowed and I narrowed my eyes.
Her stomach…
There was a curve…
My body went cold.
Oh no. This couldn't be happening.
I stumbled away from the window, breathing heavily.
My hand flew to my chest and I almost sobbed. No. Maybe I didn't see it properly.
I slipped my feet into my slippers and rushed down the stairs. Maybe, I didn't see it properly. I could be wrong. I want to be wrong.
As soon as I got to the last floor of the stairs, the door opened and they both entered.
Alexander's eyes met mine and he smiled. “Hey.”
Sonia, standing close to him, beamed me a smile with no guilt or shame in her eyes. Not even an atom of remorse was etched on her face.
I tried to speak but my voice broke.
“You're still here?” Sonia asked out of the blue.
I turned to her, finally regaining my voice. “What?”
Alexander opened his mouth to retort but Sonia spoke in his place. “Alexander is leaving you, Valerie.”
I looked between both of them, confused at what I had heard.
Alexander ran his hand through his hair. “I'm in love with Sonia, Valerie. I told you this through a text. We're having a baby so it's only right that you and I have a divorce.”
I stared at him. It's only right that we get a divorce? He sent me a text to leave his house? Walk out of his life like I didn't even exist?
A cold, sharp pain seared through me, and I yelled. “I have given you my entire life, Alexander! I waited for you every night! I loved you and all…” I turned to Alexander. “And after all that, you offer me a divorce?”
I wanted to scream, to beg, and to ask why, but what was the point?
A cold, sharp pain spread through my chest, deeper than anything I had ever felt before. Sonia had won while I…I had lost.
Alexander reached into his pocket and revealed a neatly folded paper. He tossed the paper at me and said in a cold voice.
“Sign it. Now.”
- Writer
