Betrayed By Two
1360 Words
My brows furrowed as I stared at her, “Molly? You?”
Standing before me was my best friend and closest colleague with crossed arms and a sly smile resting on her face.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned in a voice laced with curiosity.
"I can see you received the divorce papers,” She pronounced, totally ignoring my question.
I parted my lips to speak but no words came out. ‘What connection did Molly have with my divorce papers?’ I wondered and Molly's next action shocked me to my spine.
She rounded my body, stopping in front of the table. By the time I rotated my head in her direction, the scene before me shattered the already broken pieces of my heart.
Molly smiled lovingly at Adam and he...smiled back. He smiled back!!
As if on cue, a memory flickered in my mind, something I had initially ignored and whatever was going on right now started making sense to me.
They had always been together.
My temple throbbed with pain as I recalled how I had caught both of them together at a restaurant and they claimed it was coincidental.
I should have known!
I blinked hard, unable to believe what was playing out despite staring so hard.
"Adam... Molly.' I started, my voice quivering.
"Is this what-what I think it is?”
A scoff was released from Molly's lips–an action I’d never seen her express before.
Her eyes sparkled with disdain as her face broke out into a look of disgust as our eyes met. Her nose wrinkled so hard–like I was a piece of trash that smelled really bad.
For the first time, I felt insecure–a feeling Molly never let me experience.
"Please, Pamela. Are you going to act like you didn't notice?" She taunted, her words dripping with mockery.
She circled her hand around Adam's chest with a smug smile.
"He's been with me for a long time. You were just... a placeholder."
This was one of those times where I wished my ears were not functioning, but they were working fine. Molly's statement hit me like a dagger's stab, with every word slicing away layers of my dignity.
My eyes darted towards Adam, hoping and pleading with my eyes that he denied it.
But he simply shrugged, his expression screaming satisfaction. My brows pulled together as my lips curled downward–the pain was too overwhelming to hide.
"Don't give me that look, Pamela." He scowled, his tone laced with indifference–one that made my heart crumble even more.
"Did you really think I would stay with you? That I had chosen... this?" He stroked an index finger up and down my frame, as though I was nothing more than a mistake that he regretted.
I thought Molly's words hurt me but Adam’s words…they destroyed me. My pulse quickened as the tension inside me flowed through my veins.
My breath became shorter and hotter as tears welled up in my eyes but I fought them back with the little energy I had.
“No…this..this can't be happening,” I muttered while shaking my head from ear to ear.
I wanted to scream but my vocal cords weren't strong enough to do that. My parched throat tightened the knotty feeling in my stomach, making me feel like throwing up.
I leaned on to the small cupboard by the door for support as my knees wobbled, threatening to throw my body on the floor.
My sweaty palms lost grip of the cupboard but I grabbed it again as the realization hit me.
My supposed best friend and the man whom I dedicated years of my life to betrayed me like I meant nothing to them!
I curled my hair behind my ears as I recalled my life with Adam. The memory that once made me blush now made my insides sting with pain.
‘Perhaps I could talk him out of it?’ the persistent wife in me suggested.
"Adam...please reconsider." My voice broke as I took a step closer, desperately trying to destroy the nightmare eating me up.
"I... thought..I thought you loved me?"
The next thing I heard was a cruel, cold laugh from Molly. She exchanged glances with Adam and his lips released a low chuckle.
"Love?" he repeated as if mocking the word.
"Pamela, what you and I had was a mistake. Something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. It took me this long to realize it because you deceived me by acting like the ideal wife.”
The weight of his words felt too heavy to take in. I felt my world collapsing with each heartbeat.
All those nights I had stayed awake, waiting for him to come home, believing he had chosen work over me—had it always been her?
The woman I had confided in, shared my fears with, supported... She was the one who had stolen him.
"Why?" the question slipped out, a simple word that carried every ounce of hurt and betrayal in me.
Molly rolled her eyes as if betrayal was no big deal, "Because Pamela, you were so...so ordinary. And Adam deserves classy, interesting and something far from ordinary.”
Molly swayed her hair with confidence, “He deserves someone who can make him happy, someone exciting." She gestured towards herself, with a smug smile that appeared sickening to me.
“And all these qualities point down to one person—Me."
The wave of sadness inside me soon became mixed with rage. I had the sudden urge to pounce on her and Adam but what would it change? It wouldn't change the fact that Adam chose her over me nor the fact that he considered our love story as pretense.
Adam had made his choice and there was no need to push it further. However, I still seethed with regret at the thought that despite giving him all my love, he never appreciated it.
I turned back to him searching his face for a hint of emotion, preferably a flicker of regret but his gaze remained icy.
I wanted to believe this was a mistake, that somehow I would wake up in my room and realize all this was a dream but this was nothing of the sort.
My lips parted with a resolve to plead, " Adam... Please . Don't do this, we can fix this. We can make this work."
The words died on my lips when he raised a palm in front of me.
"Enough, Pamela,” he demanded with contorted brows.
"Go home, pack your things and ensure I don't find you there when I get back.” His statement was final.
I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to hold back the tears to reduce my humiliation. I couldn't cry here. Not in front of them.
I managed to nod, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“I will go," I muttered, each word a struggle.
"I will leave," but the reality was that if I did leave, I had nowhere to go.
I wanted to tell him about the pregnancy. The great news I had received from the doctor, it was supposed to be the special anniversary gift but I guess all that didn't matter now.
I felt like a failure already.
I walked out of the restaurant, out of their lives, with a broken heart, and hot tears streaming down my face. Each step felt like a weight pulling me down. What did I do wrong?
All these years, I had been so loyal to my best friend and husband now they repayed me with a stab in the back.
As I walked down the empty street, I felt small and worthless. A small gust of air washed over my body, making me fold my arms and it was then I realized I was still holding the envelope.
I gave it one last look before letting it go with the wind.
And now, for the first time in years, I knew I was truly alone.
But the one question that remained unanswered was where do I go?
- Writer
