Chapter 01: Good Riddance

~Lora~

If I hadn’t turned on the bedroom light tonight, I wouldn’t have discovered my husband’s betrayal… or lost everything.

Why did it have to be tonight?

On our matrimonial bed.

I reached for him, unsure of what I truly wanted to do, but my body moved before my mind could catch up.

"Get off me, you slow wench!" Michael exclaimed as he yanked my arms away from him.

My ears rang.

That word…‘wench’...felt unreal.

I tried to regain my composure and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. "What do you mean by 'slow'? And what’s with the 'wench'? Where is all this coming from, Michael?" I asked as I pursued him once more, gripping his collar tightly.

"Didn't you hear him? Back off! Ugh, you're going to make me puke..." Ivy, his secretary, intervened.

Thank God I turned on the light; I was able to catch him red-handed. If not, he might claim I had seen things.

"Where did I go wrong, huh?" I asked, tears streaming down my face.

I glanced at Ivy again, her skin didn’t glow like mine, and her eyes weren’t the grey and hazel colors of mine.

I was undeniably prettier.

But there was something else...

"Why can't you just be up to my standard and class, Lora?" Michael asked for the hundredth time.

He had always wanted a more classy and sexily dressed wife, which I am not.

"So, is that what this is all about?" I asked, my voice cracking as I stared at the man I gave up everything for.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes like I was some kind of burden. "Don’t make this dramatic, Lora. It’s not like I’ve been hiding it, Maybe a month ago… a year or two? I don’t even remember. You were always too busy doing you."

My stomach twisted. "You don’t even remember when you started sleeping with her?"

Ivy laughed, flipping her hair as she perched on the edge of our bed…my bed. "He remembers how good I made him feel, though. Isn’t that right, babe?"

“Don’t call him that,” I snapped.

"Oh, please," she sneered. "You should be thanking me. At least now he’s honest."

I turned back to Michael, searching his face for even a hint of regret. "And what about us? About everything we’ve built? The vows we took?"

"Don’t act surprised, Lora….You were boring to me."

"Boring?" I blinked, stunned.

Ivy laughed behind him. "He needed someone exciting. Someone who knows how to satisfy a man."

"Shut up!" I glared at her.

"No, let her talk," he said, smiling towards her. "She’s saying what I’ve been too nice to say."

I blinked, trying to stop the tears. "So what now? You're leaving?"

He smirked. "No. I’m proposing an open marriage. You do you, I do me."

I froze. "You’re not serious."

"Dead serious. Maybe you’ll stop being clinging for once."

Now it's “clinging” to him.

Great.

I sniffed, my hands trembling as the envelope from the doctor slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.

I didn’t move, neither did he.

My eyes just followed, watching it slide under the couch.

He didn’t notice.

Good.

He doesn’t need to know I’m pregnant anymore.

I clenched my jaw. "You disgust me."

"Right back at you, sweetheart," he muttered, already turning to Ivy.

He shrugged, planting soft kisses on her palm. "Maybe we need something new.… we should try it... Ivy doesn’t mind sharing, and you might actually loosen up for once if you had someone else."

My mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious? You cheat, and now you want permission?"

"I’m giving you a chance to be happy too," he said, hands in his pocket.

I blinked again, trying to focus, but my head was spinning. Pregnant… I was pregnant. And now this?

Michael crossed his arms. "You never really fit into my world, Lora. Maybe now you can find someone else who does."

My vision blurred with tears, my jaw clenched tight.

No, no, no, not here.

Not in front of them.

I turned away, pushing the tears back just for a moment.

Just to breathe.

And as I did, something in me broke…

I didn't know how it happened, but i…just couldn't hold it anymore.

"Why betray me like this? What does she have that I don’t?!" I screamed, grabbing his shirt again and shoving her out of his arms.

Michael stepped back, jaw tight. "Class, Lora. For fuck’s sake. You're one of the most famous fashion designers and my wife, yet you walk around dressed like this?" He waved a disgusted hand at me. "It’s embarrassing. Haven’t I tried? Look at yourself."

I trembled. "Bu..t I've always dressed like this. You met me, fell in love and married me like this.. so why?"

He said, loud and clear. “Don't drag love into this.”

My heart stuttered, that hurt more than the cheating ever could.

“Then what was it? She's not even to compar....” I started, but he cut me off.

"Please, don’t embarrass yourself further. Accept it. And no, we’re not getting a divorce. I won’t give you my signature or consent. So let’s end this pathetic show…" He sneered, looking straight into my eyes.

"Show?!" I snapped, and before I could stop myself, I slapped him hard across the face.

A loud crack echoed, with his cheek turning red instantly.

I didn't mean to, it just happened

"You…" he growled and shoved me, hard.

I stumbled backward, my heels catching the edge of the rug.

My body twisted mid-air, and then…

CRASH.

I landed on the glass table and it shattered beneath me.

Everything happened so fast, I felt pain explode through my head.

I gasped, but no air came.

My chest hammered, my ears rang, and everything blurred.

Michael’s voice faded into the background.

But then I heard it, a soft scoff….a whisper, close to my ear.

“Good riddance, now you'll know your place.”

The last thing I felt was the cold bite of betrayal.

And then…

Nothing.