When Love Betrays のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

Gabriel returned home at exactly twelve that night.Over the years, no matter how busy he claimed to be, he always came home before midnight. He never spent the night out. Never raised suspicion. Who would have imagined that such a careful, devoted man had another family?He opened the bedroom door and stopped short.Victoria was sitting up in bed, her eyes red and swollen, tear tracks still visible on her face. A flicker of concern crossed Gabriel’s features.“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I’m late. Are you overthinking again?”He lifted the takeout bags. “I brought you seafood and pizza. Eat a little before you sleep.”Gabriel’s care had always shown in small gestures—bringing home her favorite foods, checking her medicines, tucking the blanket around her shoulders. Victoria had once believed meeting him, and marrying him, was a gift from God.That night, she finally understood the truth.Gabriel moved closer to the bed and set the food aside. As he leaned in to help Vict

Gabriel left for work just after dawn.He kissed Victoria’s forehead, told her to rest, told her he loved her. His voice was steady. His lie, effortless. Victoria kept her eyes closed until she heard the door click shut. Only then did she exhale, slow and sharp, as if she’d been holding her breath all night.She didn’t wait for permission.By midmorning, Victoria signed the discharge papers herself. The nurse protested. The doctor frowned. She smiled faintly and insisted. She had too many things to do—far too many—to lie in a hospital bed pretending her life hadn’t already been dismantled.The following afternoon, Aunt Mary’s car pulled up outside.The moment Victoria slid into the passenger seat, the strength she’d been forcing cracked. Mary didn’t ask questions. She only reached over and squeezed Victoria’s hand, grounding her.“Slowly,” Mary said. “We’ll do everything slowly.”Victoria shook her head. “No. I can’t afford slow.”They drove straight to her parents’ house.Victoria ha

The house felt wrong the moment Gabriel stepped inside.Not quiet—quiet had lived here for years, learned and tolerated—but emptier. As though something essential had been lifted out, leaving the walls slightly hollowed, the air thinner than before.He paused just past the doorway, keys still clenched in his fist. The automatic lights came on, revealing the familiar living room: the cream sofa Victoria had chosen because it didn’t irritate her eyes on bad days, the glass coffee table he’d always hated but never argued about, the pale curtains filtering the last of the evening light.Everything looked exactly the same.And yet—“Victoria?” he called, already knowing there would be no answer.His voice echoed too cleanly.He frowned, checked his watch. She should have been home by now. Even on hospital days, she never stayed out this late without telling him. Routine had become her religion—medication times, meal windows, rest hours. She clung to predictability the way sick people did w

Days had passed since Victoria had disappeared from his life, yet Gabriel still couldn’t accept it. Every morning, he woke with the same knot of panic in his chest, the same unbearable emptiness where her presence should have been. His mind refused to quiet itself. The house felt hollow, even with Prisca nearby. The sounds of the walls, the floorboards, the faint hum of the refrigerator—all seemed to whisper her name, mocking him.He had called, messaged, even reached out to Aunt Mary multiple times, but all his efforts were in vain. Victoria’s number was switched off, her aunt’s line went straight to voicemail, and every attempt to track her whereabouts ended in silence. His heart raced each time he imagined the worst, but he couldn’t stop himself from hoping. He refused to believe that Victoria would leave him forever.That evening, the sun had dipped low, painting the horizon in shades of orange and gold, yet Gabriel’s gaze remained fixed on the darkened road leading to Victoria’s f

Victoria did not disappear.She withdrew.There was a difference—one Gabriel would not understand for a long time.Disappearing was chaotic. It was loud, desperate, soaked in tears and unanswered questions. Withdrawal was something else entirely. It was deliberately controlled. It was the quiet decision made after the crying stopped, after the heart finished breaking, after the mind finally took over.Victoria woke before dawn.The room she stayed in was small, clean, and different. A single bed, pale curtains, a narrow window that let in just enough light to remind her that the world still existed beyond her pain. There were no personal items, no photographs, no memories clinging to the walls. She had chosen it that way.Familiar spaces carried ghosts. She needed somewhere neutral—somewhere her past could not follow.She sat up slowly, pausing to steady herself as a familiar weakness rippled through her body. Her chest felt tight, her limbs heavy, as though gravity pressed harder on