The Illusion of Forever

This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on Ashley Summers, the delicate and fragile class belle I had only heard about from Nicholas Graham's friends.

She looked frail, and a bandage was wrapped around her wrist. Yet, despite her weakened state, nothing could dim the unique air she carried with her. She was like a flower weathering the storm, fragile but unyielding in her grace.

I had seen her once in a university graduation photo, standing next to Nicholas. In that picture, she was leaning slightly toward him with a sweet smile playing across her lips. I had even joked with him, teasingly asking if he had fallen for the girl in the photo.

He pulled me close that day, holding my hand tightly as he got down on one knee and promising that it was always me whom he loved.

Now, as I absently stroked the wedding ring on my left ring finger, a wave of bitterness washed over me. It was followed swiftly by a surge of nausea that twisted in my stomach, rising like bile.

Without another thought for the two people standing at the door, I rushed to the bathroom and vomited.

When I finally looked up at the mirror, the woman staring back at me had red, swollen eyes and a sickly pale complexion due to the relentless waves of morning sickness. I also saw the reflection of a man standing behind me, his face hard and unreadable.

He massaged his temples with his hand, and when he spoke, his voice was calm, but there was no room for argument. "Ash hasn't been well lately. She's going to stay here for a few days."

I said nothing but just turned back to the sink and turned on the tap to wash away the last bits of bile in silence. I had known for some time that Nicholas had been seeing Ashley behind my back, but I never imagined he would bring her into our marital home, which I had designed.

…

A month ago, my best friend Lily sent me a photo of Nicholas flying a kite with another woman. At the time, I had just found out I was two months pregnant, and the breakfast he made for me before going to work in the morning was still sitting on the table. I remembered brushing off the image, defending him immediately, thinking it was probably just a work thing or maybe he was with a client. Perhaps he had simply run into some girl who couldn't get her kite in the air.

In my mind, I had already crafted hundreds of excuses for him. Back then, I truly believed him when he said he would love me forever.

Even later, when I found lipstick that wasn't mine on the passenger seat or saw an opened gift box that hadn't been for me, I would still come up with reasons to justify his actions.

It was all because I loved him. I had loved him for ten long years.

Even now, even as he brought Ashley into our home under the pretense of helping her recover, I still clung to some foolish hope.

I had always believed that trusting one's partner was the secret recipe to making a relationship last.

However, the heavy ache in my chest and the way Nicholas looked at Ashley with such concern seemed to remind me that the vows he made at our wedding had long since faded from his memory.