Chapter 1

Karina:

I sat on the couch, staring at the flickering candles, the soft glow of their light dancing across the walls. The room was perfect—rose petals scattered across the table, their faint fragrance mixing with the aroma of the dinner I had spent hours preparing. The cake stood proudly on the counter, a delicate swirl of frosting adorned with a “5” I had painstakingly crafted.

 The cake had taken ages to bake, and even though I knew my limitations in the kitchen, today, I had tried my best to challenge my boundaries, all because I wanted to do something special for the love of my life.

It was supposed to be a celebration, a moment to mark our fifth year together. Five years of love, laughter, sacrifice, and promises. Five years of us, Karina and Ethan—partners, soulmates, and soon-to-be husband and wife. 

But as I looked around the room, the perfection of the setting felt hollow. He wasn’t here. He was supposed to be here hours ago. 

I glanced at the clock. Midnight. Midnight on what should have been our night, our anniversary.

For a moment, my mind went into overdrive, thinking about all the worst case scenarios. Had something happened to him on the way home? Had he been hurt? But I shook my head, trying my best to ignore the dark thoughts and focus on the positives.

Recently, he had been doing this quiet often. Coming home late, sometimes staying at the office even when it was the weekends. I started to feel a bit lonely and insecure, but then I would tell myself that he was simply working hard to secure more deals. He was a hard working man, a go-getter, and I loved that about him.

So maybe...that's what this was about as well, right? Him being at the office, burning the midnight oil for a secure future. For us.

My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it with hope fluttering in my chest, praying it was him saying he was on his way. And it was him. But the message was like a dagger through my heart. 

"Hey, Kitty. Running late. Don’t wait up."

Don’t wait up? On our anniversary? After everything I’d planned? My grip tightened on the phone as tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t believe he’d become this person—so consumed by work, so distant. So... indifferent. 

I told myself to calm down, to be patient. He’s busy, I thought. He’s doing all this for us. But even as I tried to convince myself, the hollow ache in my chest grew. How long could I keep lying to myself? 

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was an unknown number. My brows furrowed as I hesitated before opening the message. Attached to it was a video. My fingers trembled as I pressed play, the screen lighting up with an all-too-familiar figure. Ethan. 

At first, I didn’t understand. He was laughing, carefree, with a drink in his hand. Shots lined up on a bar in front of him. And then I saw her. A woman draped across him, her arms around his neck, her lips brushing against his ear as she whispered something. I couldn’t hear it, but I could see the way his face lit up—how he turned to her with a smile I hadn’t seen in years. And then... he kissed her. 

The air left my lungs in a violent gasp, my phone slipping from my hands and clattering to the floor. I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen. My chest felt like it was caving in, my pulse roaring in my ears as my mind raced. How? Why? 

I sank to the floor, my hands clutching at my chest as if I could physically hold the pieces of my breaking heart together. The candles continued to flicker around me, their soft light now mocking me. The roses, the dinner, the cake—it was all a lie. The love I thought we had, the life I thought we were building—it felt like it had been shattered in an instant. 

I stared at my phone, my heart pounding in my chest as the video played over and over on the screen. Ethan—my Ethan—was there, his arms wrapped around a woman I didn’t recognize. Her long hair cascaded down her back as she leaned into him, their lips meeting like they had done this a thousand times before.

I don’t know how long I had been playing the video on repeat. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to throw something, but all I could do was sit there, frozen in disbelief. How did it come to this? How had the man I loved, the man I sacrificed everything for, become a stranger?