Chapter 2: The Moment I Questioned Reality

ANNA POV

"Anna, what are you doing here?" Steven asked, forcing a smile as he scratched the back of his head.

I knew that gesture all too well. It was something he only did when he was nervous.

"You told me you were busy at work," I finally said.

"Yeah, I did," Steven replied, his tone suddenly shifting. He didn't look guilty. He looked annoyed. "But clearly, you didn't trust me enough to believe that. You had to come all the way here to prove what, exactly? That you are  stalking me?"

"What??" That was all I could say. There was no way he just said that to me. Awfully confident for someone who had just been caught cheating red handed.

He glanced at the woman behind me and said, "Please go upstairs. I will be there in a bit."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I glanced behind me briefly and saw the woman walking up the stairs before looking back at Steven. "Are you kidding me, Steven? You are  cheating on me."

"You are being dramatic, Anna," he said as he stepped closer. "I told you I was working. Why couldn't you just stay home and believe that? Why do you always have to go looking for problems?"

"Work?" I scoffed, my eyes already filling with tears I was trying so hard to hold back. "Well, you look very busy..with her."

My voice quivered as I struggled not to choke on my tears.

"I said I was busy with work, and I meant it, Anna!" he said, raising his voice slightly. "This is the problem I have with you,. You claim you love me, but you don't have an ounce of trust in your body. Why do you always do this? Why do you doubt me like this?"

"Doubting?" I scoffed. "You said you were busy with work, and I came to your house just to see you cuddled up with some random woman? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, before you start suspecting me and throwing cheating accusations around, you should have calmed the fuck down."

"What explanation do you have for having some random woman half-naked, wearing the shirt I bought for you last year, prancing around your house like she owns it?"

"Katherine is a business partner. She’s the daughter of Jacob Stones. You should know her, Katherine Stones."

The name finally rang a bell. "The one in charge of the Melton Bridge project?"

"Yes, her!" he said. "We were out at the site today, examining the progress. It was an accident, she fell into the pool and was completely soaked. My house was five minutes away, so I brought her here to dry off and gave her a shirt so she wouldn't catch a cold. That’s it”

He picked up the bag he had been holding from the floor and handed it to me. "I went out to get some new clothes for her so she could get out of my shirt."

I began to soften slightly. His explanation seemed believable, and maybe I had overreacted just now.

"Oh, I see…" I whispered. I couldn't meet his eyes. I stared at my shoes, my face burning with embarrassment. "I... I am sorry. I just"

Then I suddenly remembered something, that video.

I grabbed my phone from my bag and played it immediately, showing him. "How do you explain this then? What is this supposed to mean?"

He didn't flinch.He snatched the phone out of my hand, watching the clip for only a few seconds before he scoffed and tossed it onto the sofa behind him

“This is bullshit. Obviously AI-generated. Who the hell is this guy? I have  never met him before."

"AI-generated? Why would someone go to the trouble of faking a video like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Same reason I got an anonymous message last week with Photoshop photos of you with some random man," he said. "But guess what I did? I deleted it immediately. I didn't come to your house screaming. I didn't doubt you for a second because I actually trust you

" He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, his voice softer now.

 "Look, I get it. It’s normal to be jealous, but I want you to trust me. I would never hurt you. That video is AI-generated. We have so many enemies in this business. They know we are powerful together and want to do everything they can to come between us."

His eyes landed on the ring box in my hands, and he snatched it. He opened it and smiled. "You made the right choice. It’s as pretty as I knew it would be. But you have  always preferred gold. Why silver?"

The moment he said that, a small smile lit up my face. He still remembers such tiny details about me.

He’s still the man I fell in love with.

Have I just been overthinking things lately?

"I just got disoriented when you couldn’t make it, so I couldn’t focus properly on picking the right options," I said, pouting.

He gave me a small smile, lifted my chin, and kissed me on the lips. "Don’t worry. I will try to make some time this weekend so we can pick it together. Sorry about today."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure."

He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze, but his eyes were already going  toward the stairs. "Right. Well, you should probably head out now. I still have some business to wrap up, and Katherine and I need to head back to the site soon. I promise, no funny business, just boring contracts.”

"But I don’t know, Steven,  it just doesn’t feel right," I said.

"Stop it, Anna. Just stop," he snapped. "I thought you were finally being reasonable, but you have  decided to be jealous of every woman I work with. If this is how it’s going to be, if you can’t even trust me to do my job then I am afraid this marriage isn't going to work out.” 

“Wait, no! Don’t say that, Steven," I said, holding his hand. "I am sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just wasn’t thinking straight."

"Perhaps you should just leave then. Call me when you are  calmer."

I looked confused but nodded. "Yeah” I whispered “sure I will go” 

He escorted me to the door and nudged me slightly out. "I will  text you later," he said, closing the door behind me without waiting for a response.

I stood there, dumbfounded, not sure what to say.

What the hell was that?

I took a deep breath, my mind racing. Steven’s argument seemed believable, but I knew something was off, I could feel it.

I decided to walk back to my car

The image of that woman wearing his shirt kept flashing in my mind, and I hated how it made me feel.

I had been so lost in thought that I barely noticed where I was going.

"Get out of the way!" someone yelled.

I turned toward the voice and saw a bicycle coming from my right. I hadn’t been paying attention, and the bicycle was too close to swerve.

It hit me hard, and I fell on the ground, my head hitting the concrete.

At first, my vision was blurry. I couldn’t see or feel anything, and I was too weak and lightheaded to get up.

After struggling to sit up, my vision grew darker. I felt my consciousness slipping away, and before I knew it, I was in total darkness.

I fainted.