On the fifth anniversary of our relationship, my boyfriend betrayed me.

That day, he publicly kissed a famous singer at an awards ceremony, a moment that was instantly captured by the media. The scene quickly made headlines, spreading like wildfire across social media as netizens buzzed with excitement.

As I sat alone, picking at my meal, one of his friends approached me and asked what I was doing. When I told him that it was supposed to be our anniversary dinner, he replied, “I thought he is at that award show tonight, didn’t you see the video?”

I replied casually, "Well, I guess he forgot to mention that. Thanks for the heads-up, or I’d still be sitting here waiting,"

The video went viral, with the comment section overflowing with praise for how perfect they looked together. As I watched my boyfriend gaze lovingly at his first love, the sight of the untouched feast in front of me made my heart sink.

***

"Niall, are you on your way?" I asked, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice as he finally picked up after I called him several times.

"Emilie, I might be a little late. Something came up," he said, sounding distracted.

I sighed, already feeling the frustration bubbling up. I had reminded him about this dinner for weeks, but I didn’t want to argue, especially not tonight. "Alright, just don’t take too long. I’ll be waiting."

It was supposed to be special day—our anniversary. I had booked a table at one of the city’s most expensive restaurants a month ago. We had both been swamped with work lately, so I made sure he cleared his schedule, hoping we could reconnect over a nice meal.

After hanging up, I went home, took a quick shower and slipped into the red dress he bought me for my last birthday—it was his favorite. Normally, I’m more of a natural look kind of girl, but tonight I took extra care, applying makeup and styling my hair just the way he liked. I wanted everything to be perfect.

At the restaurant, a polite waiter guided me to our table by the fountain. The ambiance was elegant, with soft lighting and the gentle sound of water creating the perfect setting for a romantic evening. I ordered a glass of wine while waiting, watching couples around me enjoying their meals and each other’s company.

As the minutes ticked by, I checked my phone repeatedly, expecting a message from Niall. But as the hour passed and my glass was empty, there was still no sign of him. My texts went unanswered and my calls went straight to voicemail. Worry began to creep in, but as the minutes turned into an hour, worry gave way to irritation.

"Could I have another glass of wine, please?" I asked the waiter, trying to mask my frustration.

"Of course, ma’am. Would you like to order now, or wait a bit longer?" he asked, probably noticing the empty seat across from me.

"Bring out the food now," I said, trying not to sound too annoyed. I had carefully chosen dishes I knew Niall would love and I wasn’t going to let them go to waste.

The waiter nodded and quickly returned with two beautifully presented plates. The food looked exquisite, though I barely knew the names of the dishes. I poked at the food, my appetite waning as I wondered where the hell Niall could be.

Just as I was about to give up on the evening altogether, I noticed someone approaching my table. "Emilie, right?"

I looked up to see Isaac Bischof, one of Niall’s friends from college. We had worked on a few projects together, so I forced a smile despite feeling utterly embarrassed. "Hey, Isaac. What are you doing here?"

"I just had dinner with my wife. And you...?" he asked, his expression puzzled as he glanced at the empty seat.

"Well, Niall and I were supposed to have an anniversary dinner," I said, trying to sound casual, though my voice wavered slightly.

"Really? I thought he is at that award show tonight, didn’t you see the video?" he said, frowning in confusion.

"Award show? What award show?" I asked, my stomach sinking with dread.

"His company’s sponsoring it. I also saw his story on Instagram a couple of hours ago," he explained, pulling up a photo of Niall on the red carpet, looking sharp and smiling alongside a famous singer.

I felt my heart drop. "Well, I guess he forgot to mention that. Thanks for the heads-up, or I’d still be sitting here waiting," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.

Isaac looked awkward, clearly regretting his words. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to... there’s probably a mix-up. You should talk to him."

"Don’t worry about it. If anything, I should thank you," I said, forcing a smile, though inside, I was fuming.

After Isaac left, I sat there, staring at the untouched food. Niall had never stood me up like this before. We had been together for five years and I had even thought about marrying him someday. But tonight, his actions spoke louder than any words could. He could have at least told me if he wasn’t going to make it.

Trying to calm down, I paid the bill and left the restaurant, my earlier excitement replaced with a bitter sense of disappointment. When I got home, I changed into pajamas, wiped off my makeup and collapsed onto the couch. All that effort, all that hope, wasted. I grabbed my phone, scrolling mindlessly through social media, trying to distract myself.

But then, a video caught my eye—one that several of my friends had shared. My heart sank further as I clicked on it. There was Niall, arm in arm with a beautiful lady, laughing and looking far too comfortable with her. The caption read, [Award Show Chemistry: Pamella Blackwell and a Mysterious Businessman Steal the Spotlight!]

I stared at the screen, disbelief, anger and sadness washing over me as they kissed in the final moments. This was our anniversary and he had chosen to spend it with someone else.

Pamella Blackwell was infamous for her wild ways. Everyone knew her—the queen of the party scene, always out to get guys wrapped around her finger. These days, her love life seemed more talked about than her music career.

The internet exploded into two camps: one group shipping them as a power couple and the other hating on Pamella for her past with men.

[They look good together. Who’s that guy?]

[This is the first decent guy Pamella’s been with. Her exes were all duds.]

[Isn’t he some rich businessman?]

[He’s way too good for her.]

[Can she stop flirting? It’s embarrassing.]

Curious and jealous, I checked Pamella’s social media and saw a story she posted that night. She was leaning on a man’s shoulder, with the caption, [So good to be with you again.]

My stomach twisted. My boyfriend had ditched me on our anniversary and now this? It was beyond humiliating.

I tossed my phone on the bed and buried my face in the pillow. I fell asleep pretty quickly, the whole situation weighing on me.

The next morning, I woke up to a bunch of missed calls and apology texts from Niall.

[Emilie, I'm so sorry. Please call me back, I can explain.

[Em, are you asleep?

[Please call me in the morning. I love you.]

I rolled my eyes, ignored him and got ready for work. As a journalist, I had a pretty solid rep for digging deep into high-profile names—Entertainment stars, wealthy families，you name it. Just a few days ago, I wrote an article exposing a famous wealthy heir for money laundering. and it blew up so much that the police ended up getting involved.

I used to think my life was pretty great—a solid five-year relationship with a handsome, rich man, good friends, supportive coworkers and a decent spot in my career. But I had no clue that what happened last night, combined with an upcoming work task, would soon uncover my boyfriend's affair and send me spiraling.

When I stepped outside, Niall was waiting with coffee and my favorite sandwich, trying to smooth things over. I was still annoyed and hurt, so I just grabbed them without saying a word and headed to the office.

“Emilie!” he called after me, but I was already pressing down on the accelerator, leaving him behind.

As I arrived, I overheard my coworkers discussing the viral video. Most of them didn’t know the man in the clip was my boyfriend, since they had never met him.

"Em, did you watch the video I sent you last night?" one of them asked.

"Oh, yeah, I did," I replied, trying to sound casual.

"I think it could be a good story to cover."

"Well, I'm still working on my article. Maybe you can pitch it to Margareta," I suggested.

Right on cue, Margareta walked in. "You girls must've heard about the award show clip last night. It’s a big deal! Everyone’s talking about it. We need to dig up more on the man with Pamella!"

"Yes, Mar," the others chimed in. Meanwhile, I tried to keep my cool, focusing on my own work and pushing down the jealousy gnawing at me.

"What are you working on right now, Emilie?" Margareta asked, catching me off guard.

"The fraud I mentioned a couple of weeks ago?"

"Is it done yet?" she asked, walking over.

"Not quite, but almost..." I started, but she cut me off. "Em, let’s put that on hold. We need you on this hot news first."

"Mar, you know I’m not into celebrity gossip," I protested.

"I know you prefer the serious stuff, like exposing big cases. You’ve got integrity and awards to back it up. But why not switch it up? Your trafficking story might get lost in the noise with all this buzz about Pamella and her mystery man. Give it some thought."

"I’ll think about it," I replied, not entirely convinced as she patted my back and walked away.

Before lunch, Margareta called me into her office again. "Emilie, you’re on the Pamella and mystery man story. Everything else can wait," she said as I sat down.

"But I'm almost done with my current piece. Can’t you assign this to someone else?" I asked.

"Sorry, Em. The CEO loves your work, but he wants us to play it safe for now after stirring up some big names. It’s for your own good too. Celeb stories can be fun, trust me. And no one knows who this guy is yet. He’s super private. Don’t let the competition beat us to it. This could boost your profile too,” she said.

I hesitated and said, “But what if there’s nothing going on between them? What if they’re just friends? I don’t want to spread rumors.”

Margareta smiled, “That’s exactly why we need you. Investigate, get the truth. If there’s nothing to it, you can clear their names too.”

I couldn’t really argue. This assignment was mine whether I liked it or not.

I dragged myself back to my chair and dialed up my go-to investigator, Sean Brians.

"Hey, Sean. How’s it going?"

"Not much. Who’s the new target now?" he asked.

"You saw that viral clip from the Stellar Sound Awards last night?"

"Yeah, the new couple, right?"

"Yep, that’s them. I’ll send over their details. Just keep me posted like usual," I said.

He chuckled. "Didn’t think I’d see the day you’d cover celeb scandals, Em."

I hung up, not really in the mood for jokes and sent him the addresses for Niall and Pamella.

Then, I started browsing everything I could find about Pamella online. There wasn’t much on Niall besides some articles about his start-up, but Pamella? There were tons of stories, mostly about her chaotic love life. She had dated some big names and one guy even claimed she used him before they had a very public fallout.

I scrolled through the mess, frowning, when my phone rang—it was Niall. I hesitated but picked up.

"Emilie, are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner and make up for missing our anniversary," he said.

Still angry, I wanted to turn him down, but curiosity got the better of me. I needed to hear his side of things and, more importantly, I wanted to know what was really going on between him and Pamella.

So, after work, I drove to the restaurant where Niall was already waiting, holding a bouquet and giving me that warm smile.

"Hey, beautiful."

Normally, that might’ve melted my heart, but not this time. I accepted the flowers in silence.

As we sat down and waited for our food, Niall started, "I’m really sorry I missed our anniversary dinner. I went to the awards show because my start-up supported it and I got a free pass. I only planned to stay for an hour, but then I ran into an old friend—Pamella. She’s a singer now."

He paused, probably waiting for my reaction, but I just listened, stone-faced.

"We caught up and then Pamella had a panic attack. She asked me to stay with her until the event was over. I muted my phone, so I didn’t realize you were trying to reach me. By the time I remembered, it was already 9 PM. I rushed to the restaurant, but you were gone."

I rolled my eyes, not buying it entirely. "So, what’s your relationship with Pamella?"

He shifted nervously, avoiding my gaze. "We were friends in college and we haven’t seen each other since graduation."

I pulled out my phone and showed him the viral video. "Your kissing video is everywhere. People are making a big deal about it."

Niall shook his head and replied, "Don’t listen to the internet. There’s nothing going on between us, it’s just for the show."

I wanted to believe him and for a moment, I did.

But when I got home, I started second-guessing. I called Sean, debating whether to cancel the whole thing and tell Margareta that there was nothing between Niall and Pamella. My gut was telling me to protect my relationship, but my head was still spinning.

When Sean answered, something in his tone made me doubt everything all over again.

"Emilie, I've got some bad news," Sean said over the phone. "I know he's your boyfriend because I just saw you two having dinner together."

I tensed up. Sean went on to explain that he and his team had followed Niall and Pamella that day. They had met up at a private country club, arriving in separate cars.

I gulped. "So, you know about my relationship now. Keep that under wraps, okay?"

Sean hesitated before asking, "Are you sure you want to go through with this investigation? You okay?"

I gritted my teeth and forced a calm tone. "Yeah, just keep digging. I can handle it."

My doubts about Niall's story were growing. I could not shake the feeling that there might be something more going on. Then I remembered Isaac, an old friend of Niall’s who I’d bumped into at the restaurant. I shot him a text, [Hi, Isaac. Sorry for the late message, but can we meet up tomorrow? I need to ask you something.]

He replied quickly, [Sure, let’s meet up.]