1| Room 108

Astrid

Room 108.

My pulse quickened and my stomach twisted into knots as I stared at the big, bold number on the door.

I clutched the room card, and a crumpled picture in my hand, the one that had been slipped under my car windshield at work. On the back of the picture was an address and a room number, and it looked like the photo had been taken from a distance. I would have ignored it and called it a stupid prank if the man in the picture wasn’t someone I recognized—my husband. In the picture, he was walking into a hotel with a woman, I tried to get a look on her face, but it was blurred.

Normally, the first thing I did after seeing this was to call Nathaniel, but my calls went straight to voicemail. Switched off. Without thinking, I drove to the hotel.

Every instinct told me to turn around, to leave, to have faith in my husband, but these past few months, Nathaniel had grown more distant. He spent so many late nights outside, that I only saw him at the hospital. What if it was not a joke? What if my husband was really here with another woman? I had to see for myself.

I reached for the door, my hand shaking as I swiped the room key into the scanner.

The door opened with a soft click.

I stepped inside and, for a second, my heart stopped as I took in the scene before me.

Nathaniel was buried deep inside a woman's thigh. His movements were desperate and primal, as if he wanted more than to release himself inside her. Her face was buried into his neck, blocking her features from my view. At first, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, that this was all a stupid dream. But the woman’s soft moan filled the room, confirming my worst nightmare—everything in front of me was real.

“Shit, you feel so good. Yes, you little bitch, take me like a good girl.” My husband grunted heavily, wrapping his hand around her neck. Something about how he treated the woman made her moan louder. Her nails dug into his back as he moved faster with every thrust.

“Faster daddy. Please fuck your little bitch.”

That voice? It can’t be!

I held my hand to my chest in shock. I couldn’t breathe. It felt as though a heavy weight pressed on my chest, and an invisible hand gripped my neck, cutting off my air.

No. No. Anyone but her.

As if she had been expecting me, the woman’s eye flicked towards me, an evil smile spreading across her face.

I gasped. My purse slid off my shoulder, landing on the floor with a thud. But it didn’t seem to get Nathaniel’s attention, as she screamed even louder, mocking me—as if my torment gave her more thrill than the man on top of her.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at Serena, my younger sister. She was having sex with my husband like her life depended on it.

“Yes, I’m close. Nathaniel!”

“Me too, baby.” Nathaniel groaned in pleasure. His body shuddered as he reached his release.

Different emotions swirled in my head at once; I was hurt, betrayed, and confused. A wave of nausea rose from my stomach.

Most of all, I was disgusted.

“W-What are you....two doing?” The scene made me sick. I wanted to throw up and scream out loud, but all I could manage was a whisper.

Nathaniel’s head snapped in my direction. Our eyes slowly met. For an instant, a look of guilt flashed in his face, but it quickly froze back into his usual stony expression.

He pulled out of her, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “What the hell are you doing here? Did you have me followed?”

“N-no. I...” I shook my head as tears streamed down my face. “It’s our anniversary Nathaniel. What is the meaning of this?”

“Great, this is just what I needed.” My husband let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing his temple as if the sight of me standing there was irritating him.

I felt a tightness in my chest at how indifferent he was after I just caught him cheating with my sister. He showed no sign of remorse. He didn’t even scramble to explain or apologize ”Why are you acting this way? T-this isn't you.”

“Stop acting dramatic. Can we just skip this scene? Go home and wait. We'll discuss it when I get back.”

“Dramatic? I'm acting dramatic? You are sleeping with my sister. What do you expect?” I managed to whisper, my voice barely audible. “E-even if you were going to cheat, you should have done it with someone else, not my blood sister. That’s just cruel."

“Oh, get over your high horse, Astrid. You should have expected this. I don’t know why you’re surprised.”

“What?”

He scoffed, not trying to hide his disgust. “Must I spell it for you? You are boring, old-fashioned and dull. You might think you are the perfect wife and I will grow to love you, but the way you act always gets on my nerves.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me up and down, taking in my appearance. “Can you even blame me for cheating? I mean, look at you. You always wear those old glasses like a grandma and dress like you’re over sixty. You don’t even try to make yourself attractive to me.”

My heart ached as if someone had stabbed and sprinkled salt on it. Was this truly the husband I married for three years? His words were so cruel, he didn’t even blink as he said them.

It was three years—three years of constantly hoping he would love me, hoping I could change him. I thought that, even if it was an arranged marriage, we were already married, and that was all that mattered. I just had to make him fall in love with me, but I was wrong.

He didn’t even treat me like a human, much less his own wife.

“Astrid,” Serena called, bringing my attention back to her. “I’m sorry you have to find out this way. I really tried to stay away, but I love him. I would never hurt you on purpose.”

My body went cold as I glared at her. Who was she trying to fool? Serena had always been like that—finding a way to take what was mine while making me seem like the dramatic one.

“Drop the act.” I hissed. “You are a fucking snake. I can see through you. You are not sorry. You have never been sorry.”

“How can you say that to me? I really didn’t mean it.” Serena’s lip quivered, crocodile tears streaming down her face. “It’s not my fault Nathaniel doesn’t see you as a woman.”

My chest tightened as fury surged through me. I wasn’t sure if it was the statement she made, or the way Nathaniel was just standing there like it wasn’t any of his business, but something inside me snapped.

I saw red as I stared at her smug face. Before I knew it, I lunged forward, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her towards me. “You two-faced bitch! You could have any man wrapped around your disgusting little finger, so why Nathaniel? Why?”

“Astrid, you’re hurting me. Please stop.” She cried, but it only flared my anger.

Just when I was about to beat some sense into her, a sharp, stinging pain on my left cheek made me freeze. My vision blurred as my head snapped to the side. I let go of her hair, staggering back. What just happened? Did someone just slap me?

I stared at Nathaniel, confusion etched on my face. My brain found it difficult to process what had just happened.

Nathaniel’s cold stare bore into me, his hand still raised from the slap. “How dare you touch her! Are you crazy?”

I held my throbbing cheeks. My husband had just hit me—for my sister.

“You...you hit me?”

His eyes narrowed. “Yes, I did. And I will do it again if you touch her.”

“I’m your wife, Nathaniel. She is just a mistress. Does she mean that much to you?”

There was a brief pause until his bitter voice echoed through the room, like a dagger ready to pierce everything in its path. “Yes she does. In fact, she is everything you will never be.”

That was it—the final wake-up call from my slumber. “Fine.” I spoke softly, slowly lifting my head to meet his gaze with a blank stare. “I want a divorce.”