Chapter 1- Cheating Husband

Sophie

"Hey honey, I am home."

I said as I opened the door with my spare key.

"Honey…"

I called again. My eyebrows knitted together — he was supposed to be home today.

I wanted to surprise him, so I came back early since my meeting had already finished.

I reached our bedroom door and was about to open it. But I stopped suddenly.

"Oh ye.. yeah, James, just like that.. God, I'm gonna come don't stop, please."

I went pale.

No. No, this could not be happening. My ears must be deceiving me.I think I am in a dream

My hand was shaking as I pushed the door open, and the sight before me took every last bit of oxygen from my lungs.

James, my husband, was inside a woman. Both my hands flew to my mouth. My eyes went wide and filled with tears.

This had to be a dream. Yes, my beloved husband, the man I loved most, couldn't do this to me. I refused to believe it.

"Jam — James…" my voice trembled as I said his name.

James and the woman, who I didn't even know, snapped their heads toward me.

His eyes showed pure disbelief, like he genuinely hadn't expected me home this early. He pulled out of her.

I had never felt pain like that before in my 23 years of life.

He was with another woman. In our marital bed.

Reality crashed into me hard. This was not a dream. This was the most brutal truth of my life.

James hurriedly climbed off the bed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Damn, — Sophie, you came home early today, Why?"

I couldn't believe my own ears. That was what he was saying to me? No guilt. No shame. His eyes held no remorse — only frustration.

Frustration that I had interrupted his little pleasure session.

"You cheater!" I screamed.

I raised my hand and slapped him so hard across his face that my palm burned.

He staggered back, shocked at my action. But the shock didn't last long. His expression twisted into rage almost immediately.

"Sophie, do not cross your limit. How dare you slap me."

"You were cheating on me, James — and you're telling me not to cross my limit?" My tears wouldn't stop falling.

"What did you expect me to do, Sophie?" he yelled back. "Tell me! You've been buried in your work for weeks.

We haven't had sex in forever. I'm a man, I have needs..and you haven't been fulfilling your wife's duties. And besides that—" he stopped, jaw tight.

I stared at him. "Besides what?"

"You are my worst sexual experience."

I went completely still.

Was he real? Was this man actually real?

That was what I was to him. That was all I was.

I felt disgusted. I wanted to throw up on the spot. I laughed — but it was hollow, empty, nothing behind it.

So,I was his worst experience when he himself never gave me an orgasm, not even once, but since I loved him too much, I didn’t want to hurt him or his feelings.

"So you cheated on me because I'm not a good wife?" My voice is angry now, because I wanted to kill this bastard.

"What about you, James? When you were struggling with work — you pushed me away too.

We didn't touch each other for almost five months. But I never went to another man. Did I?"

He turned his face away. Couldn't even look me in the eyes. I couldn't believe I loved this useless man.

I couldn't breathe in that room. I needed to get out. I turned to leave — but stopped at the door. Turned back one last time.

"You know what, James?" A mocking smile crept onto my lips. "You never once gave me an orgasm. Not once. I faked every single one."

His eyes narrowed.

I glanced past him at the woman still sitting on my bed, my marital bed, and pointed toward her.

"She is faking too, by the way. Ask her yourself."

I ran and ran, as far as my legs could carry me, until they gave out completely beneath me and I collapsed onto the ground, landing hard on both knees.

I had always been a good girl. The devoted one. I had loved James with everything — truly believed he was my person.

He had proposed to me when I was twenty-one. We married a year later. Two years together and I thought I knew him. I thought I knew his soul.

I was so stupid. Such a stupid woman I cursed myself.

I cried until there were no tears left. My eyes and my chest ached. Everything ached.

I dragged myself to my best friend Lily's door and knocked. The second she saw my face, she gasped.

"Ohh God — Sophie, what happened?"

She pulled me into a hug and I completely fell apart in her arms.

She cupped my face gently in both hands and wiped my tears with her thumbs.

"Come inside," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "Tell me everything. And don't you dare leave anything out."

I told her everything.

Her expression moved through disbelief, then fury.

"Oh my God, Sophie. That b*st*rd actually did that to you."

I nodded. "Why did this happen to me, Lily? I tried so hard. I always tried to be a good wife. I gave him everything."

My voice cracked. "Maybe I'm the problem. Maybe I'm the worst person”.

"Stop, Sophie, just stop." Her tone cut clean through my words. "You are the most amazing, selfless woman I have ever known in my life. This was your loser husband's fault. His fault, not yours. That man had the nerve to cheat on you and then stand there pointing fingers?"

She shook her head, jaw tight. "You deserve so much better, Sophie."

I didn't say anything else after that. I just sat with it. The silence. The truth settled in me.

I will never trust a man again. I will never love again.

Two days passed, when I found out James cheated on me, he never called. Not once. I had half-expected something, some pathetic apology, some desperate voicemail. Nothing.

Lily hadn't left my side. She was afraid to leave me alone, and honestly, maybe she was right to be. I wanted to go to my apartment, the one I had bought with my own money, my own work, my own name. At twenty-three, I had everything I could have built for myself on paper. And yet I felt completely hollow inside.

"God, Sophie," Lily said, watching me from across the room. "I cannot stand seeing you like this. Let's go out. The club. Just for a bit — it'll help, I promise."

I sighed. I didn't want to go anywhere. But I nodded. I couldn't mourn my own fate forever.

"Okay. Let's go."

The club was loud and alive. Bodies everywhere. Music thudding through the floor. Everywhere I looked, people were laughing, drinking, dancing. Happy faces.

It had been so long since I had done anything like this. My life had shrunk down to work and James and nothing else. There had been no room for fun, no room for anything.

Lily appeared at my side and pressed my favourite wine into my hand. I drank the whole glass in one go.

"God, Sophie.. easy."

"You know," I said quietly, staring at nothing, "I really never thought James would do this to me. Everything he showed me..it was all fake."

Lily sighed. "You're too sweet, Sophie. You always have been. You couldn't see what was right in front of you. And you were so quick with him, one year of dating and you married the man. He was the only one you'd ever been with."

I sniffed. She was right. James was the only man I had ever been with. I had spent my whole youth building my career, keeping my head down, staying focused — and when he came along I thought, this is it. This is the one. I handed him everything.

"I wish I had dated other people first," I said quietly. "So I could've seen through it. Understood how men fake it."

Lily put her hand on my shoulder. "It's not too late. You still have so much life ahead of you, and there are plenty of men in the world worth knowing. And for the record.." she looked me dead in the eyes, "— you are gorgeous. If I were a man, I would've already proposed."

We both laughed. A real laugh. And it felt strange coming out of me, like something I had almost forgotten how to do.

"What about a one-night stand?" I said, half joking.

Lily raised an eyebrow slowly. "Well, well, well. Look at my new Sophie."

"I'm a free woman now," I said, and shrugged — though even as I said the bold words, I knew my nature. It wasn't something that changed in one night. But still. It felt good to say it.

A while later Lily stood up and grabbed her bag. "Okay, we should go."

I shook my head. "I'm going to my apartment. My driver is outside. I need to do this on my own."

"But Sophie—"

"Please, Lily. I need to." I interrupted her.

She studied me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But you call me the second you need anything. The second."

I hugged her. She left.

I didn't leave right away. I stayed a little longer, watching the room, the couples who looked happy, really happy, pressed close together like the world outside didn't exist.

I kept drinking. By the time I finally stood to go, my legs weren't cooperating. I steadied myself against the edge of the table and started making my way toward the entrance.

Damn. Stupid me,I had drunk way too much.

I was halfway across the floor when the world tilted. Sh*t.

My legs buckled. I closed my eyes and braced for the floor.. But I didn't hit it.

Strong hands caught my waist — firm, certain, like catching me had been the easiest thing in the world.

I opened my eyes.

And I just stared.

Damn. Was he even real?