Chapter 1 : The discovery

Sheba hummed along to the upbeat pop song blasting through her car speakers as she navigated the rain-slicked streets, her heart practically buzzing with excitement . Basking in the triumph of an extraordinary afternoon, she glanced at the passenger seat where three crisp, high-end shopping bags sat neatly tucked together containing a sharp designer suit for Adrian, a bottle of his favorite imported cologne, and a bold, gorgeous dress she had spent two hours trying on at the luxury mall . For the first time in months, standing in that fitting room mirror, she had allowed herself to feel vibrant, sexy, and utterly proud of her curves, eager to sweep her fiancé into a night of uninhibited celebration .

She pushed the front door open, her boots squeaking against the wet entryway rug .

"Adrian?" she called out, her deep voice echoing down the dimly lit hallway . "Babe, I'm back! I brought dinner and those suits you wanted!"

No answer came, but the faint sound of slow, heavy music drifted down from the second floor an explicit, sensual track from the private playlist Adrian only put on when he wanted pure, raw intimacy .

Sheba set the shopping bags down near the coat rack, her heart giving a nervous, excited flutter . She smoothed her hands down the front of her clothes, instinctively pulling her sweater loose so it didn't cling too tightly to the soft curves of her waist and stomach . It was an old, bitter habit a silent prayer to shrink herself just enough so Adrian wouldn't look at her with that faint, flickering disappointment he so often hid behind a tight smile .

She walked up the stairs, taking each step with quiet, eager anticipation .

As she reached the top landing, the music was cut short by a burst of high, breathless laughter coming from the master bedroom . It wasn't a casual laugh . It was intimate, loud, and unmistakably female .

Sheba stopped dead in her tracks . Her hand slammed against the cold plaster wall to steady herself .

"Stop it, Adrian!" a woman’s voice giggled, followed by the wet, loud sound of a deep kiss and the violent rustle of bedsheets . "If she comes home early from the mall and catches us fucking in her bed, she'll crush both of us ."

"She’s not coming back anytime soon," Adrian’s voice replied, thick with satisfaction, warm and raspy in a way he hadn't spoken to Sheba in months . "She said she was going to spend all evening looking for something that actually fits her . You know how she is . Give her a mall and an insecurity, and she'll hide in a dressing room until closing time ."

"God, she really is like a pathetic workhorse, isn't she?" the woman purred, letting out a soft moan . "My mom was saying the exact same thing over drinks yesterday . She said it’s such a blessing Sheba is so smart with money, because lord knows no real man is ever going to keep her around for her body ."

Adrian let out a cruel, breathless laugh . "Don't be mean, Mira ."

"I'm not being mean! I'm just being fucking real, Adrian! Look at me, then think about what you have to haul into bed every night . I honestly don't know how you breathe under all that meat without suffocating ."

The hallway tilted wildly beneath Sheba’s feet . The floorboards felt like paper, her knees buckling as every drop of air was violently ripped from her lungs .

Mira .

It was Mira . Her best friend since childhood . The woman who had held Sheba’s hand through every tearful night, wiping away her tears while Sheba wept over the brutal insults thrown at her size . Mira, who had hugged her tight and sworn that beauty was on the inside, that Sheba was royalty, that her weight didn't make her any less deserving of love .

Sheba moved toward the bedroom door as if pulled by a rusty, agonizing wire . The door was pushed wide open .

The scene inside hit her like a physical blow straight to the chest .

Adrian was propped against the headboard, his bare chest slick with sweat, his hair messy and dark . And straddling his lap, her long, slender legs draped over his thighs, was Mira . Mira’s silk robe was completely open at the front, her pale, delicate chest glowing under the warm lamp light . She looked weightless, thin, and striking everything Sheba had bled herself dry trying and failing to be .

Adrian’s hands were clamped firmly onto Mira’s bare hips, his fingers digging into her skin with a raw, desperate hunger he had never once shown Sheba in all three years of their engagement .

When Sheba reached for him in the dark, he always turned his back . When they walked down the street, he walked three paces ahead, his eyes glued to his phone whenever his handsome, fit friends passed by . When she bought pretty lingerie, he would sigh and tell her that practical, baggy clothes suited her better .

Sheba stood frozen in the doorway, her broad, heavy frame blocking the light from the hall .

Mira turned first . Her eyes went wide, her lips parting in a sharp gasp as she scrambled backward, clutching the silk robe over her breasts . "Sheba!"

Adrian sat up straight, his face instantly draining of color . But the shock on his face didn't turn into remorse it turned into immediate, ugly rage .

"Sheba," Adrian snapped, his voice sharp and aggressive as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, completely unbothered by his nakedness . "What the fuck are you doing here? You said you were going shopping all night!"

Sheba stared at them, her chest heaving violently, gasps of ragged air tearing through her throat . "What... what is this?" she choked out, tears instantly bursting past her eyelashes and scalding her full cheeks . "Adrian... what the fuck are you doing with her?"

"Oh, don't start fucking crying already, Sheba, please," Mira scoffed, rolling her eyes as she pulled her hair over her shoulder, not even bothering to get off the bed . "You always do this . You make every single thing so incredibly dramatic ."

"I make it dramatic?!" Sheba screamed, the sound tearing out of her chest like a wounded animal . She took a heavy, slamming step into the room, her broad hands clenching into tight, trembling fists . "You are in my bed! With my fiancé! You lying, backstabbing bitch!"

"Your fiancé?" Adrian barked, standing up and pulling his jeans on with zero rush, glaring at her with utter disgust . "Look at yourself, Sheba! Look at you! You burst in here soaking wet, sweating, screaming like a fucking lunatic! You think an adult man wants to come home to this every day?"

"I gave you everything!" Sheba sobbed, her voice breaking into a desperate, agonizing wail as tears poured down her chin, soaking into her sweater . "I built your company! I bought those fucking designer clothes downstairs for you! I loved you, Adrian! You told me I was beautiful! You swore you loved my body!"

"I lied!" Adrian roared, stepping right into her face, his eyes cold, cruel, and full of pure venom . "I lied to keep you happy so you’d keep fixing my books! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to walk into a high-end corporate dinner with you on my arm? Watching my business partners look at your rolls, watching them pity me? I had to get completely wasted just to lay in bed next to you, Sheba!"

The words struck her like a physical fist to the jaw . Sheba let out a choked, broken gasp, stumbling backward as if he had punched her square in the face .

"You sick, arrogant bastard!" Sheba screamed through her blinding tears .

Lost in a wave of unbearable agony and raw rage, Sheba lunged forward, her heavy arm swinging wildly to slap the smug, cruel look right off his face .

Adrian caught her wrist effortlessly in mid-air . He sneered, winding back and shoving her away with all his physical strength .

Sheba’s heavy frame crashed backward into the corner of the heavy wooden vanity . The sharp edge slammed violently into her hip, sending a shoot of blinding pain through her lower body . Expensive perfume bottles and glass jars rained down around her, shattering across the hardwood floor as she hit the ground with a heavy, humiliating thud .

"Get the fuck off me!" Sheba sobbed from the floor, gasping for air, her hands scraping against the broken glass as she tried to force her large body back up . "Get out! Both of you, get the fuck out of my house!"

Mira let out a high, cruel laugh from the bed, crossing her slender legs casually . "Your house? Sweetie, your name isn't on a single piece of paper . Adrian put the deed in his name months ago because he knew you'd pull a pathetic stunt like this eventually ."

Mira leaned forward, her eyes narrowing with pure, unfiltered malice . "You really thought he loved you, didn't you? Look at you on the floor, Sheba . You look like a pathetic, fat whale surrounded by literal trash . Did you honestly think a gorgeous, successful man like Adrian would ever choose a heavy, hideous woman like you over someone like me? You were a convenience . A free accountant he fucked when he was drunk and used until he got bored ."

Sheba lay on the floor among the shattered glass, her knees pulled to her chest, sobbing so hard her entire body shook uncontrollably . The physical pain in her hip was nothing compared to the absolute, crushing destruction inside her chest . Every insecurity she had ever fought, every cruel comment from her adult life, every silent insult from her family it all flooded back at once, drowning her completely .

Adrian looked down at her where she lay weeping, his expression completely devoid of mercy or regret .

"Grab your bag and get the fuck out, Sheba," Adrian said coldly, tossing her wet, oversized coat onto her lap like a pile of rags . "You're ruining my night, and frankly, I'm sick of looking at you ."