After Midnight With Him

Sophia Bennett

“Ah, fuck, Mark, yes, I love this, you're so big—”

The words shattered something inside me. A strangled gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Tears streamed silently down my cheeks. For several seconds, neither of them noticed me standing there.

I wished I could move. I wished I could run, but my feet felt rooted to the floor. My eyes remained fixed on Ethan. Five years, Five years together, Five years of believing he loved me. And now I was watching him look happier than I had ever seen him.

My chest tightened painfully.

The man lying beside him laughed softly. "You've got to be kidding me, Ethan."

My voice came out as nothing more than a broken whisper, The room fell silent. Both men turned toward me.

I waited for shock, or panic, or guilt. Instead, neither of them looked surprised.

Ethan simply stared at me.

The other man sighed.

"See?" he said, looking at Ethan. "I told you she would react exactly like this."

The words hit me harder than a punch. "You knew?" I asked.

Neither answered immediately. My hands trembled.

"You knew I would find out?"

Ethan rubbed his forehead.

"Sophia—"

"Don't say my name!"

My voice cracked.

The other man stood from the bed and reached for his shirt.

"Ethan, maybe I should go."

"No."

Ethan immediately grabbed his arm. The simple gesture shattered another piece of my heart. He was comforting him. Protecting him. While I was standing there falling apart.

I laughed bitterly. "You can't be serious."

"Sophia, calm down."

"Calm down?" I stared at him in disbelief. "I caught my fiancé cheating five days before our wedding and you want me to calm down?"

The other man shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Something inside me snapped. I marched toward him. Before I could reach him, Ethan stepped directly between us.

"Move."

"No."

"Move, Ethan."

"No."

My hands clenched into fists.

"He knew!"

"He isn't the problem."

I stared at him. For a moment, I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

Then the other man spoke again.

"Ethan, just tell her."

The room became eerily quiet. Tell me what? I looked from one man to the other. A horrible feeling settled in my stomach.

Ethan avoided my eyes. That was when I knew. There was something I didn't know yet.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

Nobody answered.

"What are you talking about?"

Finally, Ethan exhaled. "The wedding was never about love."

My heart stopped. "What?"

His jaw tightened. "The marriage was necessary."

Necessary?

The word echoed through my mind. Not wanted. Not dreamed of, Necessary. "What does that mean?"

Ethan looked away.

"Our families needed it."

I felt sick. "You proposed because of your family?"

Silence.

The answer was written all over his face. Every memory flashed through my head. The proposal, The promises, The future we had planned, All lies.

"You never loved me?"

The question came out barely audible.

Ethan remained silent, that silence was answer enough. A sob escaped my throat.

The other man looked genuinely uncomfortable now.

For the first time, I hated both of them. I lunged toward him again.

Ethan blocked me a second time. "Stop it!"

"Get out of my way!"

"No."

"Why are you protecting him?"

"Because I love him!"

The words exploded from Ethan's mouth. The room froze, Nobody moved, Nobody breathed, I stared at him, And just like that, every last illusion died.

He loved him, Not me, Never me, Rage surged through my body, I raised my hand.

But before I could do anything—

SLAP!

The force of the blow snapped my head to the side, The room went completely silent. A sharp pain burned across my cheek.

Slowly, I turned back toward Ethan. His hand was still raised. His eyes widened slightly, as if even he couldn't believe what he had just done.

A drop of blood touched the corner of my lip.

Then Ethan whispered five words that made my blood run cold.

"You should never have come.”