Five years. Five years of loving him. Five years of believing we were building something real together. Five years of trusting that he looked at me the same way I looked at him. And in a single email, everything collapsed.
I shut the video and set my phone down slowly, as if even the smallest movement might break me further. The champagne on the table remained untouched, bubbles fading into silence. Candlelight flickered gently, illuminating the empty chair across from me.
That was when it finally clicked.
Sebastian hadn’t canceled our anniversary dinner because of work. He hadn’t been stuck in meetings like he claimed. He had been busy betraying me—with the woman I once trusted like a sister.
I didn’t sleep that night.
Instead, I scrolled through old photos—our wedding day, our first apartment, birthdays, holidays, vacations. Livia appeared in almost every picture, smiling just behind me. I had never noticed it before, but now I couldn’t ignore it—the subtle way Sebastian’s gaze drifted toward her, even when I stood beside him.
By the time morning arrived, the pain had turned cold and sharp, hardening into something stronger. Determination.