I HAD BEEN LOOKING forward to tonight with a giddy, almost nervous excitement all day. Five years of marriage, and finally, Dylan agreed to have an intimate dinner with me. It may sound absurd, but what I have with Dylan started purely as a business arrangement, and he’s been so cold to me. This night felt special because he finally agreed to my plan.

I opened his last message with a small smile on my lips.

Dylan: I'll come home later, then. Let's have dinner together.

A giggle escaped as I thought this might be the beginning of a change in our relationship. He has always been distant, but maybe this time, he’s willing to take a chance on us. We may have started on the wrong foot, but I can feel it. Something’s going to change.

This dinner felt like a second chance—not just because it’s our fifth anniversary, but because it symbolizes a small spark of hope.

I set the table for a candlelit dinner before smoothing the hem of my dress. I couldn’t remember the last time I had dressed up just for him, but tonight was different. Tonight, I wanted him to see me.

I checked my phone every few minutes, eagerly counting down the time until he’d be here. Dinner was ready, wine glasses filled. All I had to do was wait.

“Ma'am, do you need help?”

I looked up at Sarah as soon as I heard her voice. She’s one of the helpers in this mansion and one of the closest to me. I shook my head. “No need, Sarah. And I know you’re tired, too. You can go back to your room and rest.”

Sarah hesitated. “Are you sure, Ma'am?”

“Yes, of course! Besides, Dylan will be coming home soon. You don’t need to worry about anything.” I assured her.

Sarah nodded. “Alright, Ma'am. But if you need anything, just knock on our door.”

“I will.”

Moments later, Sarah left, and I held my phone, waiting for an update from my husband. I texted him again, asking where he was, but there was no reply. I figured he must be on his way, probably driving.

Just as I was about to put my phone down, a notification popped up on the screen. It was from one of those entertainment news sites, with a flashy headline: “Model Celine Grant Spotted with Rumored New Boyfriend- Guess Who?”

I don’t know what got into me, but I clicked on the notification, curiosity winning over. The page loaded slowly, as if to torture me. And there it was, bold and clear, a photo of Celine, arm-in-arm with Dylan.

I stared, frozen, at the screen. Dylan, my husband, was with her, his arm around her in that familiar way. I couldn’t breathe, my hand trembling as I tried to process what I was seeing.

“N-No…” I whispered, shaking my head.

The table I’d so carefully set now seemed ridiculous, the candles mocking me with their soft glow. The man who was supposed to be here, with me, was with her instead.

I don’t know how long I stared at the photo, willing myself to believe it was a mistake. But there was no mistaking him. He was dressed up, smiling in a way I hadn’t seen in ages, looking at her like she was the only person in the world.

I forced myself to dial his number, my hands shaking so hard I nearly dropped the phone. It rang twice before he answered.

“Hey,” he said casually, as if everything was perfectly normal.

“D-Dylan.” My voice cracked, almost unrecognizable. I forced myself to stay calm, though the pain in my chest made it hard to breathe. “W-Where are you?”

There was a pause. “I told you, I’ll be home soon,” he replied, his tone suddenly cautious.

“Are you with… s-someone else?” I asked, my words coming out softer than I intended, each one tasting like salt and bitterness.

“What are you talking about, Elyse?” he said, his tone shifting, a mix of frustration and feigned confusion. “You’re imagining things. I'm out here for business.”

“T-Tell me the truth, please…”

“What’s with you? I’m telling the truth here!”

“D-Don’t lie to me, Dylan. I saw the photo. With her.” I swallowed, trying to hold myself together. “Just tell me the… truth.”

He was suddenly silent, then sighed heavily on the other end. “Look, Elyse… it’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” I whispered, barely able to believe what I was hearing. “Dylan, you told me you were coming home tonight! I waited, hoping you’d remember… b-but… you’re out there with another w-woman?”

“It’s not what you think, come on! And… I didn’t mean for you to find out like this,” he mumbled weakly. “I’ll explain everything…”

My heart sank. “W-What are you going to explain? That you finally came to your senses and realized that it was… meaningless to endure this marriage with me?”

“That’s not it!”

A bitter smile formed on my lips. “But you’re making it look like that. I’ve noticed everything about you, Dylan. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you with another woman like that. I just… endured it. Because I love you… I love you so damn much even if you don’t feel the same…”

“Elyse…”

Silence. Then, the line clicked off.

I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at the screen, tears filling my eyes. The room felt smaller, colder. My pulse thundered in my ears, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

I placed a hand on my abdomen, trying to ground myself, but then a sharp pain shot through my side. I’d been feeling off lately, with aches and twinges, but I thought it was just stress.

But this pain was different. It was raw and gripping, twisting inside me like a physical manifestation of the betrayal I’d just experienced. I stumbled, clutching the edge of the table for balance.

“A-Ahh…” I moaned in pain.

My body felt heavy, like it was crumbling from the inside out, and all I could think of was the tiny life I was carrying inside me, the one I hadn’t even told Dylan about yet. I’d wanted to wait for the right moment—maybe tonight. But… it was all ruined.

I reached for my phone to call for help, but my vision blurred, my limbs went weak. The pain intensified, and I crumpled to the floor, my hand instinctively moving to protect the life that was already slipping away.

“N-No… baby, hold on,” I whispered before falling into darkness.

I WOKE UP SLOWLY, as if pulling myself out of a thick fog. The bright hospital lights were harsh against my eyes, and my body felt heavy. My mind was a blur, but as I started to focus, memories came rushing back. The dull ache in my heart grew sharper as the realization hit me.

“N-No…” I murmured weakly, my eyes watering as I shook my head.

“Ma'am, you're finally awake! Thank God!” Sarah said, standing by my side, teary-eyed. She was with our driver, Carlos, who also looked gloomy.

“H-How’s my baby, Sarah?” I asked nervously. I knew what had happened wasn’t a joke. I felt the pain. But I was hoping my baby was fine.

Sarah didn’t answer right away. She just stared at me, crying. My brows furrowed as she shook her head, as though trying to say something but struggling to find the words. My heart pounded loudly in my chest as the realization began to form in my mind.

“Sarah, I'm asking you. How’s my… b-baby?” I asked again. “My baby is fine, right? I know my little one is strong! C'mon, tell me…” My voice broke as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Sarah slowly shook her head. “I'm s-sorry, Ma'am. We… tried our best to bring you here as soon as possible, but… the b-baby didn’t make it…”

I shook my head, refusing to believe her. “No… No! That’s not true! Y-You're lying…”

“C-Calm down, please…” Sarah tried to reach for me as I began to tremble and cried out in pain.

“I… I can’t! I can't lose my baby… No!” I shouted, clutching my chest as though it would ease the pain.

Sarah hugged me tightly, trying to calm me down. Carlos joined in, our driver, but I pulled away from them, crying in agony. I was shouting, hysterical, until the doctors came and injected something that made me feel weak.

With tears on my cheeks, I fell into a deep sleep again.

I kept telling myself it was all just a dream, that it wasn’t real, and that my baby was still there, holding on. But the next day, when I woke up, the doctor broke the news, and I nearly lost it again.

“Mrs. Anderson, I’m so sorry, but… you lost the baby.”

The pain washed over me anew, drowning out every other sensation. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even move. And then I heard the door creak open. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.

“Elyse…” Dylan’s voice was soft, almost hesitant, as if he feared I might shatter.

I squeezed my eyes shut, the warmth of his voice cutting through the numbness, sparking a flame of anger that replaced the emptiness in my chest.

How dare he? How dare he show up now, acting as if he cared? He hadn’t been there for me before, certainly not on the night of our anniversary, when he’d chosen to be anywhere but by my side.

“You don’t need to pretend to care, Dylan,” I whispered coldly, not hiding the venom in my tone. My voice was barely more than a whisper, but it held all the hurt I felt. “It's too late.”

Dylan stepped closer, ignoring my words. I could feel his presence beside me, but I kept my gaze fixed on the window, unwilling to let him see the hurt in my eyes. He reached out, his hand brushing mine, and I jerked away as if his touch had burned me.

“Elyse, p-please… let me explain,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. The Dylan I knew never let his guard down. He was always composed, always distant, but here he was, raw and unsteady. Still, his words felt like a cruel joke.

“Explain what, Dylan?” I spat. “That our marriage was just a transaction? That I was just an accessory to your business plans?” I paused, my voice breaking. “Or that you weren’t even there on our anniversary because… because you simply didn’t care?”

He took a deep breath, and for the first time, I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before… regret, maybe even guilt.

“Elyse,” he began, “I know I haven’t been the husband you deserved. I know I’ve kept my distance, and I won’t deny that our marriage started off as… business. But that night, I was on my way home. I was coming back to you.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Do you even hear yourself? After everything, you think a few words are enough?”

He flinched, and for a second, I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I know it sounds meaningless now, but it’s the truth,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I needed to finish something before coming home to you. Because the truth is… I want to start over with you.”

My heart twisted at his words, but I couldn’t let myself believe him. Not now. The pain of losing our child was too fresh, too consuming.

I turned my head, unable to look at him. “I honestly don’t care about that anymore, Dylan. It’s all over. My baby… is g-gone…” My voice cracked as my eyes watered, but I refused to let the tears fall. Not in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Elyse…” he whispered.

I chuckled coldly. “I just hope that your sorry can bring everything back. I hope it could bring back my baby’s life…”

He didn’t answer. Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. He stayed beside me, unmoving, as if waiting for some sign of forgiveness. But I couldn’t offer him that. Not now, maybe not ever.

Finally, I gathered the strength to look him in the eye. “I can’t do this anymore, Dylan. I can’t keep living in this… lie,” I said, my voice breaking.

“W-What do you mean?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“We both know we started off wrong. And I think… it’s time to finally put an end to it.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, I don’t want it…” he said seriously.

I shook my head. “No, Dylan. We both need this.” Tears welled up again, and I looked away, ashamed of the part of me that still ached for the man I’d hoped he could be. “It’s too late, Dylan. The damage is done. Let’s get a divorce…”

I HAD TO STAY in the hospital for a few days, as the doctor needed to thoroughly check on me before discharging me. I didn’t want to stay any longer, but Sarah and the other helpers at the mansion were so worried about me that, for their peace of mind, I agreed to remain there.

I still can’t accept it… my baby is really gone. The pain is relentless; I can’t even sleep peacefully at night without crying. I didn’t even know if it was a boy or a girl.

But I’m grateful to Sarah for staying with me, even though I know I’ve been hard to deal with. I appreciate her patience; she never tires of being there for me, even though she must be exhausted from managing the household chores. She comes by whenever she has free time.

The next day, I took a deep breath as I watched Dylan standing at the side of my bed, holding out a neatly wrapped sandwich, his eyes filled with a hope I’d crushed so many times in the past days. I wanted to scream, to shove him away, but a part of me held back.

I’m so tired of him coming here. His presence tears me apart inside, and dealing with him drains the life out of me. So I tried to stay as calm as possible.

My gaze stayed on the window. The weather is nice today. It’s peaceful, but I can’t appreciate it because of the pain I feel inside… and because of the man I despise most right now, standing beside my hospital bed.

“Please, Elyse,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, “just… hear me out.”

I didn’t answer. I stayed silent, acting as though I hadn’t heard him. I thought he would stop, but he kept talking.

“Y-You’re not serious about the divorce, right? It can’t be true. Take it back, please…” His voice trembled as if he were pleading. But despite his desperation, I couldn’t feel any empathy. Why should I? I was the one who got hurt here, both physically and emotionally.

“Why should I, Dylan? Nothing will change my decision. So stop coming here… it’s pointless. I want a divorce. That’s final,” I replied coldly, without any hint of emotion.

He sighed, shifting his weight as he looked down. “I know I messed up. I know I hurt you, and we… lost our baby, but-”

“But you didn’t care enough to stop it from happening in the first place!” I snapped, my eyes glaring with anger that had been bubbling up for too long. “I saw those photos, Dylan. You looked… happy. With her. How dare you mention our baby? The truth is you don’t care… not about me, not about our unborn child. We’re nothing to you. That’s the damn truth!”

He blinked, taken aback. “Elyse, that… that wasn’t what it looked like. Of course, I care about you and our child! And that woman… she’s just… a friend. That’s all. Please, believe me.”

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Really? Just a friend? Wow. Then how do you explain the Dylan I’ve seen online? I don’t recognize this man… someone who’s out with a famous model, laughing and having the time of his life while I was left… alone… struggling to save my… b-baby.” My voice cracked, and my eyes filled with tears.

“Elyse, please, just listen to me.” He stepped closer, desperation in his eyes, reaching out to me. But I pushed his hand away like he was something toxic. “I’m telling the truth. Nothing happened. We were at an event, yes, but it wasn’t-”

“T-Then why was your arm around her?” My voice broke, and I hated it. I couldn’t be this weak in front of him! “You two looked comfortable together. You make a great couple.” I chuckled sarcastically.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was as though he was scrambling to find something, anything, that would fix this, and coming up empty. I shook my head, half-expecting him to walk away, but he didn’t. He just stood there, pleading silently, looking lost.

I let out a bitter laugh. “You can say whatever you want. But I’m done. Let’s stop this,” I said coldly.

I half-expected him to get angry, to yell, but instead, he looked down at his hands, still clutching that sandwich with solemn eyes. No. I wouldn’t be swayed by the look in his eyes. I wouldn’t be moved.

“Elyse… don’t do this. Please,” he murmured, his voice barely holding together. “I… l-love you. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

A laugh escaped my lips as I shook my head. “You love me? Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe your lies? Not again, Dylan. And if you really did, you should’ve thought of that before getting involved with someone else,” I replied, my voice steady.

“I didn’t get involved with anyone. I wouldn’t do that to you. Why won’t you believe me, baby?”

“Because I’m tired of your lies, Dylan! I’m tired! I’m sick of this marriage! I was stupid to expect more from you when I should have known I’d never have your heart!”

Dylan shook his head in frustration. “Elyse, I swear on everything, nothing happened between us. I went to that event for work… you know how it is. You already have my heart in ways I didn’t expect. I only realized it too late,” he admitted.

I scoffed, turning away. “Stop it, Dylan. It won’t change anything. I don’t trust your words anymore.”

“Elyse…” His voice was softer now, broken. “I don’t know how to make you believe me. But I’m here, aren’t I? I’m here, trying everything I can to fix this…”

I swallowed hard, feeling the ache settle in my chest. Part of me wanted to believe him, to hope this was just a misunderstanding and he hadn’t hurt me like this. But the image of that photo was burned into my mind, a constant reminder of everything that had gone wrong.

“I don’t know, Dylan,” I whispered. “Maybe it’s just too late.”

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, breaking the silence. He glanced at it, his expression shifting as he read the name on the screen. He seemed uneasy, which made me curious about the caller.

“Who is it?” I asked sharply.

He looked up at me, eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights. “It’s… it’s nothing,” he replied, looking away. He tried putting the phone back in his pocket, but I didn’t miss the caller’s name.

It was her… the famous model he chose to stay with on the night of our anniversary.

Celine Grant.