Chapter 1: Flashback

"Emilia, why are you still standing there? You have been there for a while now. Don't you want your money back?"

The voice belonged to my ex-husband's father, a heavyset man whose shirt buttons strained across his stomach. He was calling me again, louder this time.

I was only supposed to collect my money and leave. Rui himself had told me to get it back through his father, as though I were a stranger asking for a favor instead of the woman who had been his wife.

Now his father was shouting my name across the room, and every part of me wanted to shout back.

But I could not. I swallowed my anger, straightened my face into a smile, and answered sweetly, "Yes, Darling. I'm just getting myself ready."

The word tasted bitter in my mouth. Saying it was irritating, but it was part of my plan. Rui would get exactly what he deserved, and soon. Until then, I would simply pretend to be interested.

I turned back to the mirror and stared at my own reflection. My face looked calm, almost polite, as if nothing was wrong. Only my eyes gave me away. They were red and tired, and they carried a pain I could not hide. As I held my own gaze, the memories rushed in, carrying me back to a few days earlier.

____

Tears fell onto the screen of my phone as I watched my husband stand beside the woman he always called his best friend.

He was smiling. He lifted a microphone to his lips, and in front of a cheering crowd, he announced that he would soon be getting married to the woman at his side.

A sharp pain tore through my chest. I pressed my hand against it, as if that could hold me together, but my tears only fell faster. I was ashamed, humiliated, and heartbroken all at once, and I was standing in the middle of my workplace.

One of my colleagues let out a strange, mocking laugh. "I told you your husband would betray you, but you wouldn't listen." She laughed again, as though my pain were entertainment.

"Blah, blah, blah. Please, stop it," Clara snapped at her. "Can't you see she is crying?" Then she turned to me and softened her voice. "Emilia, let's go outside."

I glanced at the package on my desk, the one I was supposed to deliver that evening. I knew I would not be able to do it. My eyes were blurry, and Rui's words were still echoing painfully in my chest.

"Clara, please take the package for me," I whispered. "I'm leaving."

I hurried away from the stares of my colleagues. Some faces glowed with satisfaction. Others were filled with pity. I could not decide which was worse.

I ran out of the building and kept running. Outside, the rain had begun to fall, and it washed my tears away as quickly as they came. My vision blurred, and the street seemed to melt around me.

Then I crashed into someone.

It was a man. I could tell from the cut of his suit that it was expensive, nothing like the ordinary clothes people wore in this part of town. But I could not see his face clearly through the rain and my tears.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" I said, my voice breaking.

His belongings had scattered across the wet ground, and I bent down to gather them with trembling hands. Before I could finish, he gently touched my fingers.

"Don't worry, dear," he said quietly. "Just go."

He did not scold me. He did not yell. In the middle of the worst day of my life, his kindness felt almost unreal. I nodded, unable to speak, and walked away.

I did not go far. I stopped on the road near my home and stood in the rain, letting it soak my hair and my clothes. My whole body shivered, but I did not move. I was punishing myself for believing in Rui, for loving him, for trusting him with everything I had.

"I don't deserve this!" I screamed, lifting my face to the sky. I did not care if the neighbors heard me. I did not care about anything.

Then a familiar figure appeared through the rain.

It was my sister, Violet.

She ran toward me, wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and pulled me inside. "Emilia, please don't do this to yourself," she begged. "You are only hurting yourself."

I folded my arms around my body, still dripping and shaking.

"Please stop crying," she said softly. "Forget about him now, okay? You are strong." She held my cold hands in hers and helped me to my feet. "Come, take a warm bath and go to sleep. Even if you don't feel like going to work tomorrow, you must rest."

I looked at her. The pity in her eyes was almost too much to bear.

Violet helped me recover enough to sit upright on my bed. I stared at her blankly. I already knew my eyes were swollen from crying, so there was no need for her to say it.

Then the bedroom door swung open.

Standing there was our younger sister, Mia.

She covered her mouth with her palm. I knew she was smiling beneath it, even though she was pretending to be shocked. Slowly, she lifted her hand and pointed at me.

"Emilia, I told you," she said. "You placed all your trust in him and left me aside." She folded her arms and tilted her head. "He even told me that he liked me and wanted to have something with me."

"What?" Violet shouted, jumping to her feet.

I did not have the strength to react the way she did.

I simply stared at Mia.