1. I*******M POST

CELESTE POV

“I’m not going to stop the wedding. But I can promise you, the last thing we’d be is a real couple.” 

Declan’s words echoed in my head as I stared at the candles that had nearly burned themselves into puddles of wax.

He had kept his promise.

Tonight was our anniversary, and despite everything I had done to make it perfect, Declan Bronte still hadn’t shown up.

The restaurant was quiet now. Even the boy band I had hired to create a romantic atmosphere stopped playing about an hour ago.

Three hours. 

I had been sitting here, staring at the door, waiting for him to rush in and give an excuse for why he had to show up late, but there was nothing.

“Would you like to place your order now, ma’am?” the waitress asked gently.

I could feel their eyes on me. The staff had watched me sit here for hours, and the sympathy in their eyes made my skin crawl.

I had booked the entire restaurant so Declan and I could have a quiet moment to ourselves, hoping that would bring us closer, but instead, it only highlighted how far apart we had become. 

My eyes darted to my wristwatch.

11:59 PM. 

In one minute, it’d officially be another day, and my husband hadn’t arrived. A small shaky laugh escaped my lips as my chest tightened. I looked up to the waitress, who was still waiting for my response.

“I was just about to leave,” I said, forcing a smile on my face. “You can share the gifts with your colleagues. I’m sure you’ll make better use of them.”

The lie burned my throat on the way out. Those weren’t just gifts— I had carefully picked them for the man I loved, and now, they meant nothing.

A cold breeze hit my face the second I stepped out of the restaurant. Salt water stung my lips as I wiped off my tears.

One year of marriage, and I was dining alone. I didn’t even ask for much, all I wanted was for him to show up. To revive my hope that this marriage could still work, but even that was too much.

My driver stopped the car in front of me and I hopped in.

“Where are you going, ma’am?” he asked, looking at me through the rearview. 

“Take me home.”

The car hit the road almost immediately, and I couldn’t stop the tears that trickled down my cheeks. I stared out through the window, watching the city blur past.

My phone buzzed for the hundredth time. All messages from my best friend who had been waiting to hear how my day went.

“Girl! What the fuck? I spent nights planning your anniversary and you won't even tell me how it's going?”

“Ugh! You better be ready to fill me with those juicy details.”

“Phew! This is why one should never befriend a woman in love.”

“Make cute babies!”

The tears I had been fighting to hold back spilled over my cheeks, and I couldn't stop myself from whimpering.

An I*******m notification from Avery, Declan’s secretary popped up on my phone screen, and I clicked on it by mistake before I could clear it.

It was a picture of her and a man whose back was turned to the camera with the caption ‘some nights are too perfect to share with others’. 

My stomach curled tightly, and suddenly it felt like everyone was having the best moments of their lives except me.

I zoomed in on the picture, not sure what I was hoping to find, when I noticed a striking similarity in the man’s physique. That looks like him… no, it can’t be. Declan with his secretary? That is impossible.

I could feel the hair on my back standing as I zoomed closer. I noticed a mirror which captured the face she was trying so hard to hide, and when I zoomed closer, my breath froze.

Declan.

This must be a joke. I shook my head, laughing through the tears that blurred my vision. Declan would never. His secretary? The girl I used to bring lunch to, along with his? They were having a late night meeting. 

That has to be it.

“In that position?” A sarcastic voice scoffed in my head.

I shook my head, refusing to believe it was what it looked like. Without a second thought, I went to check all of her previous posts, only to see that she was always posting a man on dates with his face covered.

My fingers trembled as I saw a particular shirt I gifted him on his birthday. It was designed just for him and even has his initials on the back. I tried to convince myself that it was just a normal date, but from the way she was smiling so brightly while they touched, that wasn't nothing. It couldn't be.

I barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out. I ran into his closet to see if he had given someone else the shirt. If he did, then I was worried for nothing. The pictures must have been with that man, but who was I kidding?

The shirt was back in its place, like he had worn it, gone out with her… and returned home to me like nothing had happened.

All this time when I’d sleep late, waiting for him to return, hoping and praying he’d look at me one day and see the girl he used to cherish, and maybe love me again, he was out there… cheating on me with his secretary.

Who else knew about this? Every time I went to his office to deliver lunch myself— did they wait for me to leave before laughing at how stupid I was? Was he ever going to tell me that he fell for someone new?

The more I thought about it, the heavier my chest felt. Tears streamed down my face and my heart raced so fast it felt like it was going to explode.

I clutched hard at my chest, struggling to inhale a breath, but it felt like something was stuck in my lungs, blocking the air.

I gave up everything for him— my dreams, my dignity. I turned myself to his shadow, chasing after him like he was the air I breathed, and yet, I wasn’t the one he wanted to come home to.

I thought… 

The room closed down on me and my vision blurred. I blinked once, twice, trying to understand what was happening, when my legs gave out. A sharp pain shot through my veins and everything went blank.