Chapter 3

Sarah looked conflicted as she checked our chat.

Gabriel took her phone from her and placed it on the table. "We haven't seen each other in years, Sarah. Since it's your birthday today, would you like to spend the night with me instead?"

"But… Alex and I are already married," she replied hesitantly.

He grabbed her shoulders and exclaimed, "But you don't love him! Aren't you in love with me? Have you perhaps fallen in love with Alex while I was gone?"

I knew that she didn't love me, but I still allowed myself to hope. Maybe she hesitated because she actually cared about me after all.

Unfortunately, her response left me thoroughly disappointed.

"Of course not!" she replied without a shred of hesitation. "I'm just afraid that it'd harm your reputation if someone were to find out about it."

She added, "Alex could never compare to you. In my eyes, he doesn't even hold a candle to you!"

As it turned out, she was only concerned that Gabriel would be labeled as a homewrecker—she didn't care about my feelings at all.

"I'm not worried about that, Sarah. I just want to be with you," declared Gabriel.

Subsequently, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and feverishly pulled her in for a kiss. His free hand then began to wander up her thigh. As the atmosphere in the room grew more and more intimate, the pair proceeded to make their way toward the bedroom.

I was heartbroken and devastated. Sarah's derisive comments, combined with the noises I was now hearing behind me, left me so overwhelmed that I was struggling to breathe.

I tried to flee the room, but I was bound to Sarah's side. I couldn't leave, no matter how hard I tried, so I was forced to listen to what was happening in the background for the rest of the night. Eventually, I became numb to everything that was going on.

The following morning, Sarah reluctantly left Gabriel's home and headed to work.

When she stepped out of the house, she checked her phone and realized that I hadn't called or texted her since last night. Furious, she spat, "You're not even concerned that I was out the entire night? Serves you right that I slept with someone else!"

I was dead; I wasn't going to bother her ever again. Wasn't this what she'd wanted all along?

Once she got to the law firm, I noticed my mom leaning against the entrance of the office building.

My heart ached. I hastily rushed over to my mom and tried to help her up. But to my dismay, my hands went right through her shoulders.

Sarah, on the other hand, frowned at the sight of her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked in disdain.

Once my mom heard Sarah's voice, she shakily got to her feet.

Using her cane to guide her, she then made her way over to Sarah and said, "Yesterday, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Alex isn't picking up my calls, and no one answered the door when I dropped by your place. That's why I decided to wait for you at your workplace."

My eyes immediately welled up with tears. Was this what they called a mother's intuition? I couldn't believe my mom knew that something had gone awry.

"What?" Sarah shrieked. "Alex didn't go home last night? I can't believe he's cheating on me!"

Upon hearing Sarah's accusations, my mom immediately began to panic. She anxiously clutched Sarah's hand and explained, "Alex isn't that kind of guy, Sarah. I know him very well. I just assumed that no one was home because you went out together. Were you not with him last night?"

A flicker of guilt flashed across Sarah's face. Subsequently, she aggressively yanked her hand away from my mom and replied, "I was working last night. How am I supposed to know where your beloved son went? I bet he's fooling around with other women behind my back!"

After losing her balance, my blind mother accidentally tripped and fell down.

I was seething. I wanted to dash forward and slap Sarah across the face. She was the one who cheated on me last night, but she was trying to paint me as the guilty one instead. On top of that, she even pushed my mom and made her fall to the ground.