Chapter 1

My wedding was only days away. After a really boring meeting about where to put table number eighteen, I decided to quickly check the wedding hall one last time.

I didn't really need to. Everything, of course, looked perfect. Smooth silks hung everywhere, crystal lights sparkled like frozen stars, and the air smelled of expensive flowers.

What was more perfect was the day because we're getting married on Christmas Eve which is only a couple of days away but just the Christmas cheer and the feeling of it all made it perfect.

I went home after that and I expected it to be its usual quiet, empty self when I let myself in because Gary was at work and I know he'll be back quite late.

But as I stepped into the living room, a sound hit me first. A low thumping sound then something that sounded like a moan.

Then various moans and groans that were seemingly coming from our room.

My heart beat fast against my ribs and l felt panicked as fear rushed in. l moved against my own will to our room and my hand was shaking badly as I pushed open the bedroom door.

And there they were.

Gary. My fiancé. His body was moving, muscles tight and sweaty, his face twisted in clear pleasure. And Simone. My best friend and my maid of honor. Her head was thrown back against my pillows, a deep sound coming from her mouth with each movement as Gary thrust in.

They were completely, completely focused on each other. Her long, dark hair spread out on my clean white sheets. Her eyes were closed in pleasure. His eyes were also closed, a look of pure, strong desire on his face. Naked, tangled together, lost in their own world of feeling, they were having s*x on my bed in our apartment just days before our wedding.

A loud gasp escaped my throat, taking my breath away, taking the very air from my lungs. My carefully built world broke into pieces.

Gary’s body stiffened. His eyes flew open as he finally saw me. He pulled back from Simone, but only a little, still half-covering her. The surprise on his face only lasted a second. Then it was replaced by a strange calm, an almost bored look.

I always thought that I loved his arrogant side but I hated it today.

“Ava?” he said and his voice flat, without any hint of panic or shame. He even gave a small, annoying smile at the corner of his lips. “What are you doing home so early?l wasn't expecting you.”

Simone after seeing me, let out a small, scared gasp. Her hands flew to cover herself. I honestly have no words for her.

l moved closer and a sharp, loud slap echoed in the silent room as my palm landed on Gary’s cheek. The sound felt good and satisfying.

He flinched and narrowed his eyes at me but I'm not afraid of him. He rubbed his cheek, more annoyed than hurt. “Ava. Stop that. Are you a child? Just calm down.” He sighed, as if I was the problem. “Look, I love you, you know that. This is something l had to do. You’re never here. Always working late, always at the gym, always with the wedding planners. You’re so busy. I have needs too, darling. Simone was just helping me out.”

“Helping you out?” My voice was a hoarse whisper, thick with hurt and burning with anger. “With my best friend? On our bed? You think this is ‘helping us out’?”

He shrugged, already swinging his legs off the bed, not ashamed at all. He was naked for me to see like I was just a curious bystander. Simone was still there, a crying mess, trying hard to disappear, tears running down her red face.

“Honestly, Ava. Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not that big of a deal. You need some time to calm down. I’m going to go.” He waved at Simone. “Get dressed, Simone.” He glanced at me, his eyes now cold and uncaring. “When I get back, we can continue with the wedding plans. We really need to decide on the menu.” And with that, he grabbed his scattered clothes from the floor and dressed with an annoyingly easy way, and walked out, leaving me standing there, my world destroyed.

The moment the front door clicked shut, the calm I usually showed, the polite way I acted to the world, broke completely. A loud, wild scream came out of my throat, a sound I barely recognized as my own.

l'm not a crier so l did the only thing l could do to relieve my anger and heartbreak.

My hands were shaking with anger that shook my whole body, grabbed the nearest thing a heavy glass vase which was a wedding gift. I threw it against the wall. It broke into many shiny pieces.

Then came a lamp then a framed picture of Gary and me, laughing on a sunny beach in Greece for our 5th anniversary, its glass shattering, making his smiling face impossible to recognize in the broken glass. 

how could I not see it.

l looked for my phone and I stared at my father’s name on the screen. He had to know because this wedding is not happening.

I took a deep, shaky breath, making my voice steady. My back straightened as l made my decision. I pressed the call button.

"Ava," his voice was short and sharp, just like him, cold, quick even late at night after business hours to his daughter. "Is everything alright?."

"No, Father, everything is not alright," I said, the words surprisingly steady, though my heart was beating very fast. "I found Gary with Simone. In the apartment. They were having sex."

The silence on the line was long and heavy so I waited. I expected shock. I expected anger, anger for me. Something.

"Ava," he finally said. His tone was not of anger, not of concern for my hurt, but of deep disappointment. "I warned you, didn't I? I told you not to focus only on work. You need to pay attention to your fiancé. Men, they are like that. They need to feel loved. They need… to let off steam."

I gasped. My breath caught in my chest, a physical blow. "Are you serious?" A sharp sound of disbelief entered my voice, almost a scream. "He was cheating! With my best friend! And you are blaming me?"

"Darling, you are getting too upset," he replied, his calm, uncaring voice made me even angrier, like fire inside me. "Simone is pretty. Gary is a man with needs, as I just explained. You are always at the office, always working. What did you think would happen?"

I closed my eyes in frustration. He wasn't seeing my pain. He wasn't seeing the betrayal. He only saw a problem to fix, a situation where I, the woman, was to blame for not making him happy, for not doing what a wife should do even before I was one.

"I expected loyalty," I whispered, the words feeling like a shout inside my head. "I expected respect. I expected him not to make fun of our engagement, not to make fun of me in my own home."

"And I expect you to act like a grown-up," my father cut in, his voice firm, didn't care about how upset or angry I was. "This is not the end of the world, Ava. You will talk. You will fix it. Gary is a good match for you. His father is a Senator. Think of the connections, the stability you will have. Don't be foolish over something normal."

Normal.

He called my broken heart "normal." He called Gary’s sickening betrayal "something so normal." It felt as if he had reached through the phone and slapped me harder than I had slapped Gary.

"Normal," I repeated, the word tasting like dust, like ash in my mouth. "Is that what you think of me, Father? That I should just accept this 'normal' behavior? That I should be happy with a man who shames me in my own home?"

"I think you need to breathe, calm down, and look at the bigger picture," he said, completely unaffected by my distress, by my anger. "Now, I have a call with the board first thing in the morning. We will speak tomorrow when you have had time to think clearly. Goodnight, Ava."