Intertwined

I let out a sigh and looked around the bar, the strangers, the lights, and the soft music playing in the background.

“Well… I just thought I’d have a change of scenery,” I said, motioning toward the space around me. Then toward him. “And, you know, just try not to think about the mess I just got into. Try not to think about the fact that the life I knew… is over.”

He nodded like he understood exactly what that meant.

“The Bennetts weren’t much help, were they?”

I don’t know if it was the drink, the exhaustion, or the anger that had been simmering under the surface.... but suddenly, I just wanted to pour everything out.

“I cannot believe them,” I said, my voice shaking. “I loved them. I loved my mother-in-law. I know people say mother-in-laws are wicked and all that, but I was close to mine. I loved her. I thought… she loved me.”

My voice broke. And for once, I didn’t try to hold it in.

“I treated them like my own parents,” I whispered, my voice heavy with betrayal. “I thought of them as my own parents. We had a great relationship. I thought they even saw me as one of their daughters too.”

I paused, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

“But in the end… it turns out they were all in on it. My husband, them, everyone.” My voice cracked. “And I was the fool the whole time. They were all pretending, lying to my face. Pretending that we were one big happy family, cheating the world with our perfect smiles and fake dinners. I was giving my love to them while they looked at me and mocked me behind my back.”

I shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping. “I feel stupid. Foolish.”

“You shouldn’t,” the man said softly.

“Yeah, maybe… but really, shouldn’t I? I was so stupid. My father must be so disappointed in me right now.”

“I didn’t know your father,” he replied gently. “But I would think… you can’t really condemn someone for loving purely. For trusting fully. So no, I don’t judge you.”

I stared at him for a moment and then looked away. “I feel like the judgment’s already over. The verdict is in.”

“It’s not,” he countered calmly. “It’s just begun.”

A silence settled between us before he asked more seriously, “What happened though? What really happened with you?”

I hesitated, the shame clawing at my insides. “It’s so stupid. I feel so stupid right now. I don’t want you to start thinking of me as... that.”

“No,” he said firmly. “Never. I would never think of you as stupid.”

“You’re just saying that,” I said, half-heartedly.

“But even if you what you said… you don’t know me. I don’t know you. We just met. I don’t think my opinion really matters, does it?”

I looked over at him, and he held my gaze so steadily, so intently, that I paused. Finally, I sighed and muttered, “Probably not.”

There was a moment of quiet between us, then he said, “So why don’t you tell me what’s happened? You said your marriage… your life is over?”

I nodded slowly, the weight of those words sinking deeper into my chest.

“So those two in interwoven?” he asked carefully.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my brow furrowing.

“Is it that your marriage is over,” he clarified, “or that your life is over? Because those are two very different things. If your marriage is over, it just means your relationship with your husband is done. But if your life is over, that sounds like you’re either dead or… you just got some kind of terminal diagnosis, like you’ve only got a few weeks to live. Or maybe you made some irreversible mistake that changed everything.”

I blinked at him, stunned by the clarity in his words. Then I nodded, slowly. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” I took another breath. “And yes. They’re intertwined, I think....”

I swallowed, voice trembling. “Because I wasn’t just married to Ryan. Ryan is my life... He is everything, my career, my love, my home, my future. Everything. And now to realize the betrayal… that it had been going on long before we even got married, and still he went through with it like nothing was wrong…”

The words sat heavily in the air. I took a deep breath, lifted my glass, and drank the whole thing in one go. Then I shook my head and gave him a half-smile.

“Sorry. I know that’s not very ladylike.”

He shrugged. “As I told you, I’m not here to judge.”

“So why are you here then?” I asked, my voice a bit softer now.

“I told you. Do you remember what I said?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. You said that when I found out the truth, you would help me.”

He nodded back. “Yeah, I guess… something like that.”

I leaned back, my hands playing with the rim of the empty wine glass. “I’ve been married to Ryan for ten years. Ten whole years. We got married right after university. Right after graduation, he proposed. I said yes. We had this big, beautiful wedding…”

My voice faltered.

“And then my dad died....” I said quietly, pouring myself another glass of wine, my fingers trembling just a little. “He was so supportive. He was with me through it all, every step of the way. My mother-in-law too… she walked beside me, comforted me, gave me a reason to live again.”

I looked down at the wine, watching it swirl in the glass.

“It was during that time that I gave Ryan all the power. I trusted him. I loved him. He was my husband. I didn’t question anything because I was grieving, and after a while, it was easier to just let him handle everything. I was seeing results. I believed in the dream, we were building a company together. Or at least, I thought we were building it together.”

My voice cracked at the edges, and I paused before continuing.

“I still don’t understand..... I signed those papers. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I owned fifty per cent of Bennett Corporation, but turns out… I didn’t own anything. Not a damn thing.”