I sat still, hugging my knees to my chest as the night deepened. My phone rested beside the untouched dinner I had spent hours preparing, its screen glowing faintly.

Maybe he got delayed… Maybe he’s on his way. Maybe he would still choose me even after what I heard.

I typed out one last message.

“I’m still here, River. I prepared all of this for us. Please come…”

No reply.

A cold breeze brushed against my skin, yet I didn't move. I called him, my fingers trembling. But this time… “The number you dialed is unreachable.”

Unreachable.

I blinked, heart sinking further. That was it, wasn’t it? All the illusions shattered. He wasn’t coming. He never intended to. I had never been important—only convenient. Just as he told Candice.

Why hadn’t I seen it sooner? Why did I let myself believe that the man who once held my hand at the Eiffel Tower, who whispered promises as we lay on the yacht beneath the stars, could have loved me?

Tears blurred my vision as I stood, slowly gathering the remnants of the dream I tried to keep alive. I drove in silence, each breath growing heavier. The roads swam in and out of focus beneath my tears, the lights of the city bleeding into one another.

I didn’t see the car until it was too late.

There was the sound of metal twisting, glass shattering—and then everything went black.

When I woke, everything hurt. My body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together with fire.

“Don’t move too much, Miss Brown,” a nurse said gently. “You’ve got stitches and some fractures… You’re lucky to be alive.”

Alive. The word felt ironic.

“Where…” I croaked, throat dry. “Where’s my husband? River Brown… Did he know about this?”

The nurse hesitated, adjusting the IV in my arm. “We contacted him immediately. He didn’t come. But he sent his butler to cover the hospital bills.”

My heart twisted. “Just the butler?”

She gave a small nod, then handed me a phone. “Maybe try calling him yourself.”

With trembling fingers, I dialed his number.

One ring… Two… Three… Voicemail.

I tried again.

Nothing.

I tried again.

Still, nothing.

It hit me like a second crash—I was truly alone.

As I stared at the blank wall ahead, the television in the corner changed to a news segment. At first, I didn’t pay attention… until I heard the names.

“River Brown, heir to the Brown conglomerate, was spotted at La Maison with none other than famed fashion designer Candice Lee.”

The screen showed a video of them together. Candice’s laughter echoed through the audio, her hand resting comfortably on River’s chest as he chuckled. His eyes gleamed in a way I had never seen. Alive. Soft. Joyful.

The way he never looked at me.

The reporter continued, “Sources claim the couple might be rekindling their relationship after years apart. They looked deeply connected…”

I turned away, blinking back the tears.

He hadn’t even bothered to check if I survived the crash.

The next few days passed in a fog. I lay in that hospital bed with flowers from strangers—none from him. The doctors came and went. Nurses offered smiles. But the man I married, the man I once thought loved me… was nowhere.

Instead, Candice’s Instagram flooded with updates: spa visits, beachside cocktails, shopping sprees. In every photo, River was beside her—laughing, smiling, spoiling her.

And in every caption, she tagged him boldly. No care, no shame. And he never hid it.

I watched all of it with numb eyes.

The day I was discharged, I received a message from my professor.

“Your scholarship is confirmed. Your flight leaves in 10 days. Please prepare.”

I marked it on my calendar the moment I got home.

Only… it didn’t feel like home anymore.

When I walked into the house, something felt off. The lights were bright, the sound of laughter drifted from the backyard. Curious, I followed the noise, limping slightly.

And then I saw it.

A party. Music. Drinks. River in the center with his friends, looking as if nothing had happened—as if his wife hadn’t just nearly died. As if I didn’t exist.

No one even noticed I had returned.

I was about to head to my room when I heard one of his friends—Ethan, I think—laughing.

“So how are you gonna dispose of that pathetic loser Allison now that Candice is back?”

I should have walked away. I should have gone to my room, locked the door, and never looked back. But my legs wouldn’t move.

I stood in the dark hallway like a ghost, frozen by the voices spilling from the backyard. Their laughter felt like knives, each one sharper than the last. But the voice that gutted me most was his—River’s.

“Well, I’m not sure,” he said, casually, as though deciding what to do with some object he no longer found interesting. “Maybe I’ll send her somewhere far away… or, I don’t know, she’s convenient. Always like a dog, following me around. So maybe I’ll keep her.”

Laughter erupted.

My breath caught in my throat. A part of me wanted to cover my ears, to scream, but I couldn’t. My feet stayed rooted, and the rest of me shattered piece by piece.

Then another voice, probably his best friend, scoffed. “Wouldn’t that provoke Candice, though? Come on, man. You waited for her for seven years. You even flew to London every month just to catch a glimpse of her—and now you’re just gonna let Allison stick around like this? You’re spoiling Allison, and she probably thinks you actually love her now.”

I held my breath.

Then River spoke again—laughing.

“Love her? Oh, no. She’s nothing. Just someone who warms my bed at night.” His voice grew even colder. “Candice… Candice is the love of my life. I plan to marry her soon. Give her everything she deserves.”

The crack in my chest widened. I felt it rupture—sharp, ugly, silent.

I had been a fool.

“Where is Allison, by the way?” another voice chimed in. “Didn’t she get into some car accident? Weren’t you supposed to take care of her?”

River chuckled. “Oh, that? The butler handled it. I had this party to plan for my Candice.”

I think my soul left my body for a moment.

And then Candice arrived, her heels clacking on the patio tiles like the drumbeat of a final sentence. Her voice was honeyed as she approached him. “Thank you for the party… but I think I want some time alone with you. What do you think?”

River laughed again—so carefree, so charmed. “You know I’d never say no to you.”

He stood, took her hand, and disappeared with her inside.

I stumbled backward, tears already streaming down my face, my mouth open in a silent scream.

I rushed to my room and locked the door behind me. But even from there, the hallway filled with the sounds of their pleasure.

The soft moans. The harsh breaths. The sounds of a shared intimacy—one I had foolishly believed was mine.

And all I could do was cry.

The night dragged on. The morning sun was already bleeding through the curtains when the door to my room slammed open.

Ice-cold water splashed against my face, shocking me awake.

I gasped, coughing, drenched and trembling. “What the hell?!”

Candice stood at the foot of my bed, smirking in silk. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” she said, tossing the now-empty glass onto the floor like it was trash. “What the hell are you still doing here?”

I wiped the cold water from my face, struggling to calm my shaking hands. “I didn’t mean to stay,” I said quietly. “I just came here to get my things. That’s all. I already booked my ticket. I swear—I’ll be gone in ten days.”

Candice crossed her arms, tilting her head like she’d just heard the most amusing joke. “Ten days?” she scoffed. “So you’re still planning to attend on his birthday?”

I looked away. “That’s just when my flight is. I don’t have anywhere else to stay until then… And if I suddenly vanish, River will get suspicious.”

She stepped closer, the scent of her perfume suffocating. “Right, because we wouldn’t want that, would we? You still care what he thinks. You think he’ll come running after you? Please.” Her voice dipped lower, sharper.

“I know you don’t want me telling him that you’re the one who forced me to leave.”

“What are you trying to say? That it’s my fault you’re leaving when you clearly know you have no place after I came back?”

Her hand lifted suddenly, ready to strike me across the face—

But the sound of approaching footsteps made her freeze.

River appeared in the doorway, hair tousled, shirt half-buttoned, eyes narrowing at the scene before him. “What’s happening here?”

Candice turned around in an instant, smile blooming like a flower in sunlight. “Oh, nothing,” she purred, linking her arm through his. “I just wanted to get to know your wife better. Since I’ll be staying here, I thought we could become friends.”

My heart stopped.

“She’s going to stay here?” I echoed, voice cracking.

River didn’t even look at me. “Yes,” he said casually. “Candice is a special friend. So I expect you to treat her right. Be respectful. Serve her.”

I stared at him, stunned into silence.

Candice leaned her head on his shoulder and yawned dramatically. “Speaking of serving… how about you cook breakfast for us? I’m starving.”

They turned to leave, and just before they disappeared down the hallway, River glanced back. “Don’t keep us waiting, Allison.”

And just like that, they were gone. Laughing. Whispering.

Leaving me soaked, humiliated, and shaking.

I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the water pooling on the floor.

Ten days.

Just ten more days.

The next day, Candice played her role flawlessly.

She acted as if she cared—offering me coffee I didn’t ask for, giving me fake compliments about my “simple but sweet” dress, even laughing at nothing in particular when River was around, like we were just two girls getting along. But I could see through her sugar-coated words. Every smile was laced with venom, every soft voice was an act of dominance.

So I played my part too. I faked indifference. I smiled back. I nodded. I even thanked her for the coffee I never drank.

But beneath the mask, I was unraveling.

River had changed.

He was no longer the man who used to hold me in the dark, whispering that I was his everything. No longer the man who promised me forever.

Now he only had eyes for Candice.

That afternoon, he announced with a tone too cheerful to be real, “We’re going shopping.”

“We?” I had asked, though I already knew the answer.

“Yes,” he said, grabbing Candice’s hand with a smile. “You’ll come with us, won’t you? Help Candice pick things out.”

I didn’t realize help meant carrying her bags, following them like a servant while she twirled in designer stores and modeled dresses like a goddess on a runway.

When shop assistants asked if she was Mrs. Brown, River didn’t correct them.

He just smiled. They even commented on how beautiful his wife was, how lucky he must be.

Still, he said nothing.

He let them believe. And I stood there, holding shopping bags that weren’t mine, watching the man who once told me I was his world now pretend I didn’t exist.

In that moment, I finally saw it—how River had never gone public with our marriage.

At first, I thought it was for privacy. He hated press. I respected that.

But now… I understood. He never wanted the world to know I existed. Because maybe, deep down, he had always been waiting for Candice to come back. And when she did, he wanted things to slide perfectly into place.

I was just… in the way.

When we got home, Candice flopped onto the couch like a spoiled child after a long day at the carnival. “I love shopping with you,” she purred, kissing River’s cheek.

He smiled at her, not at me. Never at me anymore.

That night, while they laughed over wine and talked about things I wasn’t part of, I quietly got dressed and slipped out.

I didn’t tell anyone. I just needed air.

I needed to feel something that wasn’t suffocating.

It was a small graduation celebration. Familiar faces. Loud music. Cheap drinks. Nothing fancy, but it was real. My college friends cheered when they saw me, pulling me into hugs. For a while, I forgot. I danced. I laughed. I drank.

Too much. Far too much. The lights were spinning, or maybe I was. Someone handed me another shot, and I took it without thinking.

That’s when I heard the whispers.

"Isn’t that Candice? River Brown’s girl?” someone said, pointing across the bar.

And there she was. Candice. Laughing with her own circle of friends, dressed like the queen of the night, owning the room.

“She must be his wife now,” someone added, loud enough for me to hear.

Then came the laughter.

“Oh no, poor Allison. Remember how she used to say she was River’s wife?”

“Delusional much?”

“They only share a last name. Coincidence.”

I turned my back. I didn’t want to cry—not here. Let them laugh. It didn’t matter anymore. I’d be gone in days.

I returned to the dance floor, more unsteady than before. My world swayed like a sinking ship.

And then Denver appeared. He has been my friend since college.

“Allison,” he said gently, placing his hands on my arms. “Hey, you’re drunk. You should go home.”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, even as I leaned into his chest, too dizzy to stand on my own.

“No, you’re not.” He looked worried. “Come on. I’ll take you.”

I didn’t resist when he helped me outside. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him. I didn’t say anything. I just held on—because at that moment, he felt like the only steady thing in my collapsing world.