Chapter Two: Nothing Left
718 Words
The rain followed Ariana all the way home.
By the time she reached her apartment, her clothes were soaked, her eyes swollen from crying, and her heart felt hollow.
She stood outside her door for several seconds.
This was supposed to be their home.
Their future.
She and Ethan had spent countless nights planning their life together in this apartment.
The wedding.
The children they would have.
The business they would build.
Every corner of the place carried a memory of him.
With trembling hands, she unlocked the door.
The silence inside was unbearable.
No messages.
No apologies.
No explanation.
Only silence.
Ariana slowly slid down against the wall and hugged her knees.
Then she broke.
The sobs came violently.
She cried until her throat burned.
She cried for the years she had wasted.
She cried for the man she had loved.
She cried for the future that no longer existed.
Most of all, she cried because a part of her still couldn't understand how Ethan could do this to her.
Four years.
Four years of loving him.
Four years of believing every promise.
Had it all been a lie?
Her phone vibrated.
Hope surged through her chest.
Maybe Ethan had finally come to his senses.
Maybe he regretted it.
Maybe he would explain.
She grabbed the phone.
The hope died instantly.
Bank Notification.
Balance: ₦0.00
Ariana stared at the screen.
Zero.
Nothing.
Not even enough money for tomorrow's breakfast.
Her chest tightened.
She opened her refrigerator.
Empty.
A loaf of bread.
Half a bottle of water.
Nothing else.
Tears filled her eyes again.
Just last month she had been helping Ethan pay his bills.
Now she couldn't afford food.
Suddenly another notification appeared.
An email.
Subject: Immediate Eviction Notice.
Her blood ran cold.
She opened it.
The apartment had been listed as collateral for an investment loan.
The loan had defaulted.
The property would be seized.
Ariana's vision blurred.
"No..."
She read it again.
And again.
The signatures were hers.
Or at least they looked like hers.
Ethan had forged them.
The realization hit like a truck.
He hadn't simply stolen her money.
He had planned everything.
Every signature.
Every transfer.
Every lie.
For months.
The Ethan she loved would never have done this.
Which meant the man she loved had never existed.
A knock sounded on the door.
Ariana opened it.
Two security officers stood outside.
"Miss Woods?"
She nodded weakly.
"You have twenty-four hours to vacate the property."
The door closed.
And with it, the last piece of her old life disappeared.
Hours later, darkness filled the apartment.
The electricity had been disconnected.
Ariana sat on the floor alone.
Hungry.
Cold.
Broken.
She opened her photo gallery.
Thousands of pictures.
Birthdays.
Vacations.
Date nights.
Pictures of Ethan smiling at her.
Pictures of him kissing her forehead.
Pictures of him holding her hand.
Pictures of the man who had sworn he would never hurt her.
Ariana stared at them for a long time.
Then she noticed something.
In every recent picture, Ethan's smile never reached his eyes.
The distance.
The coldness.
The late-night meetings.
The secret phone calls.
The excuses.
The signs had always been there.
She simply hadn't wanted to see them.
Her phone rang suddenly.
Unknown Number.
Ariana almost ignored it.
Almost.
"Hello?"
"Miss Woods?"
The voice belonged to an elderly man.
"My name is Harrison. I was a close friend of your grandmother."
Ariana frowned.
"My grandmother passed away years ago."
"I know."
There was a brief silence.
"She left something for you."
Ariana closed her eyes.
"I don't need anything."
"You do."
His voice was firm.
"Because your grandmother told me to contact you only when you had lost everything."
Ariana's heart stopped.
Lost everything.
The words echoed through the darkness.
"How could she know?"
"Some things are better explained in person."
"What did she leave me?"
"A key."
Silence.
"And the truth about who you really are."
For the first time that day, something other than pain stirred inside Ariana.
Curiosity.
Hope.
And perhaps the beginning of something new.
Little did she know that while she sat alone in the dark, Ethan Blackwell was staring at her photograph from the penthouse he shared with Vanessa.
And for the first time since betraying her
He couldn't sleep.
End of Chapter Two
- Writer
