CHAPTER ONE: THE NIGHT OF BETRAYAL .

The day had started like any other. The sun shined weakly through the hospital blinds as Elena sat nervously in the doctor's office,tapping her fingers against her purse. She was here for a check up but the doctor's face was serious, too serious. She tried to read his expression, but could not understand what it meant. 

“Mrs. Sterling”, he said softly, folding his hands. “Why isn't your husband here with you?”, Dr. Turner asked.

“He is busy,so I came alone”, she managed to respond.

Dr. Turner continued, “ the results are out,I'm afraid the tumor has grown. It's entered its final stage”.

Her breath got caught in her throat. Final stage!, the words echoed in her head. Elena blinked rapidly, trying to process her thoughts.

“I-I thought the treatment was working”, she whispered.

The doctor sighed."We had hope. But the tumor hasn't responded well to the medication. I'm sorry”.

Elena managed a weak nod,her eyes were teary . She fought so hard,took every pill,followed every instruction but the battle was ending, sadly not in her favor.

As she walked out of the hospital,the bright afternoon sun stung her eyes. She felt empty, she had known about her brain tumor since it was hereditary though rare but she was among the 5% that had it. The world around her went on as if nothing had changed, while hers was collapsing.

Her phone buzzed. It was her secretary , Maya.

“Ma'am”, Maya's voice came through, nervous and shaky, “ I … I think you should see something.”

Elena frowned. “What is it?”

“It's about your husband, Mr. George. I didn't want to believe it, but I found proof. He's been withdrawing company funds into a private account.”

Elena stopped walking. “That's not possible”, she said sharply. She knew her relationship with her husband was a bit strained but George wouldn't do that.” There must be a mistake.”

“I thought so too,” Maya said quickly. “But I sent the files to your email. Please,check them.”

Elena's heart pounded. She hung up and opened her email. There it was, a series of transfers,fake invoices, and digital trails all leading to her husband, George. 

“No”, she whispered. “He would not do that to me”.

She refused to believe it. George was her husband, her partner. She had given him rights to her company, or wasn't it enough ? She decided she wouldn't judge until she heard from him.

Today was their wedding anniversary, after all. She had planned a quiet dinner at his favorite restaurant, a candle lit table, his favorite meal, and a special wine. She didn't expect the test results to come out badly but still masked it and had thoughts of telling George about her health,hoping they could face it together. Maybe he would hold her, tell her everything would be okay.

She texted him:

Don't forget our dinner tonight. I have something important to tell you. I love you.

No reply.

Hours passed. The candles burned low, the food grew cold. Elena kept glancing at her phone, calling him again and again, but each call went unanswered. 

Finally, past ten at night, she gave up.

Her chest felt heavy, not just from her illness but from something , disappointment. She wanted someone to cheer her up but today was not really a good day for her.

The drive home felt endless, the city lights blurred through her tears, and her mind spiraled with questions she couldn't answer.

Where was he? Why didn't he come?. “Maybe he's working late” , she tried to convince herself as she drove home.

When she finally reached home,George's car was in the driveway. Her heart lifted for a moment, maybe he had come home early ,maybe he had planned a surprise. She quickly walked into the house.

As she stepped into the house, that hope began to crumble. It was quiet, too quiet, until she heard it.

Soft,rhythmic sounds. Moans.

At first, she froze, her brain refusing to acknowledge what her ears heard. Her pulse raced as she climbed the stairs, each step heavier than the last. The sounds grew louder, clearer, pleasure filled gasps and whispers that twisted her stomach into knots.

Her hand shook as she turned the doorknob of their bedroom. The door opened with a soft click.

And there, under the glow of the bedside lamp, tangled in their sheets were George And her step sister, Victoria.

Elena stood frozen,disbelief turning to horror. For a second, time stopped.

Victoria gasped and pulled the sheet over herself. George scrambled out of bed, his face pale.

“Elena, this isn't what it looks like”, George stammered. Elena's breath came out in broken gasps “ Not…not what it looks like?, you are in our matrimonial bed, George. With my sister.”

Victoria got up,wrapping the blanket around her. “Elena, please, let me explain…”

“Explain?!!” Elena snapped. Her voice rose with each word. “Explain how you could betray me like this? Both of you?”. She couldn't believe what she just saw,and now they are both trying to gaslight her?She knew she was naive but this was way too much for her to handle.

George tried to reach her,but she stepped back. “ Don't touch me”, this was the first time she couldn't look at her husband's face,the tears streamed down her face. She kept clenching and hitting her chest,as if today wasn't hard enough yet she had another hard pill to swallow.

For a long,heavy silence, no one spoke. Then Victoria straightened, her guilt fading into something almost smug.

“You feel betrayed?”Victoria said softly,almost mockingly “ he was supposed to mine before you took him from me”, she yelled.

Elena's eyes widened. “What do you mean?”, she was surprised at how her angelic sister was the one saying those words to her.

George groaned, running a hand through his hair “ it's pointless now,Victoria. She has seen everything”.

Elena looked at the duo,just then she remembered Maya's call,she didn't want to believe her but with what she just witnessed it could be true but she still decided to ask “ so it's true you've been moving my company funds?”, she secretly hoped it wouldn't be true ,she was willing to forgive him for what she just saw but she couldn't handle more betrayal.

George's lips curled into a bitter smile.