THE WOMAN HE CHOOSE

The applause was deafening.

Isabella Morgan stood near the front of the ballroom, holding a glass of champagne she had barely touched. Her eyes were fixed on the man standing beneath the golden lights, smiling confidently as cameras flashed around him.

Her husband.

Alexander Blackwood looked every bit like the successful businessman everyone admired. His black tuxedo fitted perfectly, his expensive watch caught the light, and his smile never seemed to fade.

Tonight was supposed to be special.

It was the fifth anniversary of Blackwood Holdings, the company Alexander had built from almost nothing.

And Isabella had been there from the beginning.

She remembered the nights he stayed awake worrying about unpaid bills. She remembered selling her jewellery to help him secure his first office. She remembered preparing meals at midnight while he worked on business proposals.

She had believed they were building something together.

Apparently, she had been wrong.

“Isabella?”

She turned.

Her best friend, Victoria Hayes, approached her in a beautiful silver dress. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders, and a diamond necklace rested against her collarbone.

“You look beautiful,” Victoria said, smiling.

“So do you.”

Isabella glanced at her friend’s necklace.

“That’s new.”

Victoria touched it lightly.

“Oh, this? Alexander got it for me.”

She said it casually, almost carelessly.

Isabella smiled.

“That’s thoughtful of him.”

Victoria’s smile widened.

“He’s always thoughtful.”

Before Isabella could respond, the music softened.

Alexander stepped onto the stage with a microphone in his hand.

“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us tonight. Five years ago, I had a dream. A dream that many people considered impossible.”

The audience laughed politely.

“But tonight, standing before all of you, I can proudly say that we made it.”

More applause followed.

Isabella smiled.

She wanted to feel proud. She wanted to believe that every sacrifice had been worth it.

Alexander continued speaking about growth, ambition and the people who had supported him.

Then his eyes found hers.

For a brief moment, Isabella thought he would acknowledge her.

Instead, he looked away.

“There is someone very special I would like to recognize tonight.”

The audience grew quiet.

Alexander extended his hand towards the side of the stage.

“Victoria, would you please join me?”

Isabella’s smile disappeared.

Victoria?

Her best friend looked at her for a second before walking towards the stage.

Isabella watched in confusion as Victoria climbed the steps and stood beside Alexander.

He took her hand.

Then he kissed her knuckles.

A strange feeling settled in Isabella’s stomach.

“Victoria has been an incredible part of my journey,” Alexander announced. “She understands me in ways very few people do. She’s been my strength, my inspiration and the woman who has stood beside me through everything.”

A few people exchanged glances.

Isabella tightened her grip on her champagne glass.

Alexander smiled at Victoria.

“And tonight, I want everyone here to know that she’s the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

For a moment, the room went completely silent.

Then someone clapped.

Another person followed.

Soon, the entire ballroom was filled with applause.

Isabella couldn’t move.

She stared at the two people standing on the stage.

Her husband.

Her best friend.

Victoria raised her left hand.

A diamond ring glittered on her finger.

Isabella’s champagne glass slipped slightly in her hand.

She looked at the ring, then at Alexander.

He had proposed to her best friend.

While she was still his wife.

“Alexander!”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried enough for the people closest to her to turn.

Alexander finally looked at her.

There was no surprise in his expression.

No guilt.

Not even embarrassment.

He had known she was there.

“Isabella,” he said into the microphone. “I was hoping we could discuss this privately.”

She let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Privately?”

Her eyes moved to Victoria.

“How long?”

Victoria lowered her gaze.

“Isabella, please don’t make a scene.”

“How long have you been sleeping with my husband?”

The question fell into the room like a stone.

Several guests looked away.

Alexander’s jaw tightened.

“That’s enough.”

“Enough?” Isabella repeated. “You just announced your engagement to my best friend in front of everyone, and you want me to be quiet?”

Victoria stepped closer to Alexander.

“Alex, I told you this would happen.”

Isabella turned towards her.

“You told him what?”

Victoria sighed.

“That you wouldn’t accept it.”

Isabella stared at her.

For fifteen years, Victoria had been more than a friend. She had been family.

She had sat beside Isabella during her wedding preparations. She had helped her choose her wedding dress. She had held her hand when Isabella lost her pregnancy two years earlier.

And now she was standing beside her husband, wearing his engagement ring.

“How could you?” Isabella whispered.

Victoria’s expression hardened.

“Maybe you should ask yourself why your marriage got to this point.”

Alexander stepped down from the stage.

“Isabella, we’re done. I don’t want to embarrass you any further.”

She looked at him.

“You’re telling me our marriage is over?”

“It has been over for a while.”

The words struck harder than she expected.

She swallowed.

“And you couldn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want unnecessary drama.”

Isabella almost laughed again.

Unnecessary drama.

Five years of marriage, reduced to an inconvenience.

She looked around the ballroom. People who had attended their wedding were now watching her humiliation unfold.

Some whispered.

Others pretended not to stare.

She suddenly felt very alone.

But she refused to give them the satisfaction of watching her fall apart.

She placed her untouched champagne glass on a nearby table.

“Congratulations, Alexander.”

He frowned slightly.

She turned to Victoria.

“And congratulations to you too.”

Victoria looked surprised.

“That’s all you have to say?”

Isabella looked directly into her eyes.

“For now.”

She turned and walked towards the exit.

Her heels clicked against the polished marble floor. She could feel the eyes following her, but she didn’t look back.

Outside, the night air was cold.

She reached for her phone with trembling fingers and called her younger sister.

“Hello?”

“Amara…”

Her voice broke.

“Can you come and get me?”

“Isabella? What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes.

“Please. Just come.”

The call ended.

For several minutes, she stood beneath the entrance lights, trying to understand how her entire life had changed in less than ten minutes.

Then her phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

Unknown Number:

You should probably check your husband’s office before you decide to leave quietly.

Isabella frowned.

Another message arrived.

There is something Alexander hasn’t told you. Something about the company you helped him build.

Her breathing slowed.

She read the message again.

Then a photograph appeared.

It showed Alexander sitting across a desk from a lawyer, signing a document.

Isabella zoomed in.

Her name was clearly visible.

ISABELLA MORGAN.

And beneath it was a signature that looked exactly like hers.

Her blood ran cold.

She had never signed that document.

Not once.

What had her husband done?