He Married Her, I Smiled

At ten o'clock that night, Lucas Crane and I sat across from each other in silence. It was our wedding anniversary. Helpless frustration filled his face as he looked at me. "It's just sleeping with her once," he said. "She doesn't have much time left. She's stayed faithful to me for three years. Can't you be a little more understanding?" The candlelight flickered softly between us. The roses I had spent the entire afternoon arranging were already beginning to wilt, their petals curling at the edges, much like our six-year marriage, which, after all this time, had finally come to its inevitable end. Lucas had disappeared for an entire week. When he finally came home, he offered no explanation, no concern, not even a single word asking how I had been. Instead, the first thing he told me was that he intended to sleep with another woman. I didn't know how long we had been sitting there in silence when the phone on the table suddenly rang, Leah Langford's custom ringtone cutting sharply through the dead stillness between us. "Lucas... are you still coming?" My fingers tightened so hard my knuckles turned white. "Lucas, we're still married." "Oh, Sophie's there too?" Leah's voice sounded soft and innocent through the speaker. "The power suddenly went out at my place, and Lucas said he was coming over to..." Before she could finish, I grabbed the phone and hurled it against the wall. The screen shattered on impact. So did our wedding photo beside it. "Sophie Sinclair, have you lost your mind?" Lucas shot to his feet and rushed over to pick up the broken phone. His expression darkened instantly. "You need to calm down." I stared at him through gritted teeth. "Lucas, if you walk out that door tonight, you'll regret it." Originally, I had planned to tell him some good news. I was pregnant. There was finally a child growing inside me, the baby he had always wanted so badly. But now, the father of that child felt filthy to me. Lucas said nothing. Silence stretched endlessly between us as the candles slowly burned down to nothing, until the room was swallowed by darkness. Finally, his cold voice broke through the blackness. "Sophie, it's only this once. I already explained everything to you. Once I give her what she wants, I'll cut all ties with her after that. What exactly are you trying to do here?" It was the first time he had ever raised his voice at me. I let out a shaky laugh, my entire body trembling. "What am I trying to do? Lucas Crane, you're my husband. You're about to sleep with another woman. That's cheating." For a brief second, he froze. Then his face turned grim. "It only counts as cheating if it's hidden," he said coldly. "I already informed you beforehand, Sophie. Stop making a scene." Every word cut straight through me. And in that moment, I finally shattered completely.