Reid’s POV

The car screeched to a halt outside the club, the neon lights burning against the night sky. The bass from inside throbbed in my chest before I even stepped out. My driver climbed quickly from his seat and hurried to me.

“Sir...Madam went inside hours ago. She hasn’t come back out.”

My jaw tightened. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

“I… I thought she only wanted to blow off steam,” he stammered.

I didn’t waste another word. I pushed through the entrance, the smell of sweat, alcohol, and smoke hitting me at once. Lights flashed across the packed dance floor where bodies moved in sync with the music.

“Karline!” I shouted above the noise, scanning the crowd. Faces blurred past me, strangers swaying, laughing, kissing, but not her. My chest ached as I shoved past the dancers, searching every corner, every table.

I pulled out my phone and dialed her, but the call went unanswered. Straight to voicemail.

“Damn it,” I muttered, raking a hand through my hair.

I went further in, toward the velvet ropes that marked the VIP section. A bouncer stepped in front of me until recognition flickered in his eyes. Being CEO had its advantages, I didn’t even need to argue. He stepped aside.

The VIP room was quieter, the music muffled, the air heavy with the scent of expensive liquor and perfume. Private booths lined the walls, curtains drawn on most. My gut twisted. Something felt wrong.

The curtain whipped back, and my world shattered.

Kar.

my karline.

My wife.

Curled against Adrian in the dim booth, her dress slipping off her shoulder, her hair wild, her lips parted as if she’d just been kissed. His arm was locked tight around her waist, his shirt unbuttoned halfway, smug satisfaction written all over his face.

I froze, my heart pounding like a war drum.

“Karline!” My voice roared above the muffled bass.

Her lashes fluttered. She stirred, blinking up at me with glassy eyes. “Reid?” Her voice was soft, slurred, like she was waking from a dream.

Adrian chuckled, stretching like a cat disturbed from its nap. “You’re loud.”

Rage surged through me. “What the hell is this?!”

She tried to push herself up, but her body swayed and collapsed back against the cushions. Her hand reached weakly toward me. “I don’t… I don’t know what happened. Reid, I was just dancing and then..”

Adrian cut her off smoothly, his voice dripping poison. “Don’t lie now, darling. You told me you were lonely. You said you were horny, begged me to touch you. You practically threw yourself at me.”

The words sliced me open.

Karline’s eyes widened in horror. “No! Reid, no, I never said that!” She struggled upright, her body trembling. “He’s lying..I swear on ..”

I stepped closer, my voice raw. “You’re not even drunk, Damnit. Don’t you dare pretend you don’t know what you were doing.”

Her face crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’m dizzy, my head is spinning..I swear something’s wrong with me. Please, believe me, Reid, I’d never_”

Adrian smirked over her shoulder. “You seemed fine when you were grinding on me a little while ago. Maybe your husband doesn’t know what his perfect wife really wants.”

“Shut your filthy mouth!” I lunged, fisting his collar and slamming him against the wall. My fury shook through my arms. “If you touched her without her consent, I’ll bury you.”

Adrian only laughed, his eyes gleaming. “Consent? She was begging, Reid. Why don’t you ask her?”

Karline’s voice cracked through sobs. “Reid, he’s lying! I tried, but my body wouldn’t listen. You have to believe me!”

But the sight, the sight of her in his arms, flushed and weak, his hands all over her, was burned into my brain.

“How can I believe you?” My chest heaved as the words ripped from me. “Do you know what I see right now? I see my wife, not drunk, not unconscious, but sitting in another man’s arms at midnight, letting him touch her. Do you know what that does to me?”

Her lips trembled. “I didn’t let him! I couldn’t stop him, please, you have to trust me!”

“Trust?” I barked a bitter laugh, hollow and broken. “You begged me to stay tonight, Kar. Do you remember? You said you needed me. And I left hating myself because I chose duty over you. But instead of waiting, you’re here. With him. Tell me, how the hell am I supposed to trust you after this?”

Her sobs tore through the booth, her hands reaching for me. “Because I love you, Reid. Only you. Please, don’t let one lie destroy us.”

I looked at her, really looked, and for one fleeting moment I almost believed her. Almost. But the image wouldn’t leave my head, Adrian’s lips grazing her cheek, her body limp and pliant under his arm.

I turned away, voice sharp, final. “Don’t speak. Every word out of your mouth right now feels like a lie.”

Her gasp broke me in half, but I forced my legs to move, storming out of the booth before I shattered completely.

Behind me, I heard her crying, Adrian’s low chuckle threading through it like a knife.

And in that moment, betrayal burned hotter than love.

Karline's POV

The booth door slammed behind Reid, leaving me breathless, my tears dripping hot down my face.

“Reid, wait..please!” I tried to stumble after him, but Adrian’s hand caught my wrist.

“Let him go,” he said smoothly, that smirk still plastered on his face. “He needed to see the truth tonight.”

Something inside me snapped.

I raised my hand and slapped him, hard enough that his head jerked to the side. The sting burned my palm, but the sound of it was worth it.

“You disgusting bastard!” My voice cracked with rage and grief. “You spiked my drink, didn’t you? You made me like this you ruined everything!”

Adrian only chuckled, rubbing his jaw where I struck him. “Ruined? No, sweetheart. I just gave Reid a reason to doubt. The rest was all you, your laugh, your flirting, the way you let me touch your hand. Don’t act innocent now.”

“Stay away from me!” I spat, ripping my hand free and stumbling toward the exit.

I burst out of the club into the cool night air, but Reid’s car was already gone. I caught sight of Natalie slipping into the passenger seat beside him before the vehicle disappeared into the street.

My chest caved. Natalie. With him.

“No, no, no…” My voice broke as I staggered to the curb, praying I was wrong.

The driver hurried toward me. “Madam, are you alright? Should I take you home?”

I nodded weakly, wiping my tears with trembling hands. “Yes… take me home. Please.”

The house was dark when I arrived. Empty.

“Reid?” I called out the moment I opened the door. My voice echoed through the silence. No answer.

I searched every room, the living room, the study, the bedroom. Nothing. His shoes weren’t even by the door. His phone was off when I tried calling.

“Reid, please pick up,” I whispered into the phone, my hands shaking. I tried again. Straight to voicemail. Again. And again.

By the fifth time, my sobs broke free.

I sank to the floor in the hallway, clutching the phone against my chest. The silence of the house pressed down on me, heavy, suffocating.

“Reid, I swear I didn’t betray you,” I whispered into the darkness. “I tried… I don’t even know what happened to me. Please believe me. Please don’t leave me.”

The memories of Adrian’s words came back to haunt me. She said she was horny. She begged me not to stop.

“No,” I whispered fiercely through tears. “I never said that. I never wanted that. Reid has to know. He has to believe me.”

But he was gone. With Natalie.

My breaths came in short gasps, panic clawing at my chest. What if he never came back? What if he truly believed Adrian?

I curled up on the cold floor, sobbing into my hands until exhaustion blurred my vision.

And in that darkness, one thought screamed louder than my heartbeat.

I was losing him.

Reid POV

The car felt like a coffin the moment I left the club, Natalie’s presence beside me suffocating. She spoke softly, her voice like syrup.

“Reid, I warned you… I told you she was getting too close to Adrian. You deserve better than this.”

“Stop.” My voice was hoarse.

“But..”

“Stop!” I snapped, my hand tightening on the wheel. “Not another word, Natalie.”

She flinched and went quiet. By the time I pulled up at the lake on the edge of the city, I couldn’t stand her silence either.

“Get out.”

Her eyes widened. “Reid, it’s dark..”

“I said get out!” My tone was sharp, final. She scrambled from the car, and I slammed the door, leaving her behind as I walked down toward the water.

The night air was cold, biting at my skin. I sat on the damp grass near the edge of the lake, staring at the rippling water that reflected the moon. My hands trembled as I raked them through my hair.

Karline’s face wouldn’t leave me. Her laughter. Her warmth when she curled into my arms. The way her eyes lit up when she called me hers.

And now the image burned in my mind..her lips parted, flushed, sitting in Adrian’s arms.

I pressed my fists into my knees, my voice breaking as I whispered, “Why, Kar? Why? Why did you do this to me?”

The wind didn’t answer. Only the water moved, mocking me with its calmness.

Memories assaulted me.

Her running barefoot through the garden. Her curling against my chest in bed, whispering, “You’re my world, Reid.”

Her tears that night when I left for Natalie’s call. “Don’t go now. Stay with me.”

And I had gone. Like a fool. Like a man who didn’t deserve her.

I wanted to scream, but the sound strangled in my throat.

The pain burned through me, deeper than anything I’d ever felt. She was my safe place, my anchor. And now I felt like a man adrift, shattered, unworthy.

I clenched my jaw, tears pricking my eyes. “Maybe I was never enough for you, Karline. Maybe I never deserved you.”

I dug my hands into the grass, grounding myself against the storm inside me.

But no matter how hard I tried to push her away from my thoughts, her voice kept echoing in my ears. “I’d never betray you, Reid. Never.”

My heart ached so violently I thought it might tear out of my chest.

If she was lying, then everything we had was a lie.

If she was telling the truth, then I’d destroyed us with my mistrust.

Either way, I had lost her.

The lake swallowed my reflection as a sob tore free. For the first time in years, I felt small. Broken. Unworthy of the love I thought was mine forever.

“God,” I whispered to the night. “Tell me how to live without her.”

But the silence was my only answer.

Karline's POV

The night dragged on like torture. I didn’t sleep. I sat curled on the sofa, eyes red and swollen, clutching my phone as if staring at it long enough would make it ring. Every sound outside made my heart jump, thinking it was him.

When dawn finally bled through the curtains, I dragged myself into the kitchen. My hands shook as I cracked eggs, sliced bread, and set the pan on the stove. It was the only thing I could think to do, cook his favorite breakfast, the way I always did when he came home exhausted. Maybe the smell, the warmth, the familiarity would soften his anger.

I laid everything neatly on the table, toast, eggs, coffee. My chest ached, waiting for the sound of the door.

At last, I heard it. The lock turning.

“Reid?” My voice cracked.

He stepped inside, his shirt wrinkled, his eyes shadowed, exhaustion and something darker carved into his face. For a second, hope flared in my chest.

“You’re home,” I whispered, hurrying forward. “I made breakfast. Please, eat something..”

But he brushed past me, his expression blank, his footsteps heavy.

“Reid,” I called, panic clawing up my throat. “It’s your favorite. Just sit down for a moment, let me..”

“I’m not hungry.” His voice was flat, empty, and it cut through me like a blade.

He headed for the stairs. I grabbed his arm, desperate. “Reid, please, listen to me! Nothing happened last night..I swear it on everything I love. I didn’t cheat on you!”

He shook me off, his eyes finally meeting mine. They were filled with a pain so deep it stole the air from my lungs. “Don’t.”

“Reid..” My voice broke into sobs. “I would never do that to you. I don’t even know what happened, I was dizzy, I couldn’t think, I, please, you have to believe me!”

“Enough, Karline.” His tone was harsh now, final. He turned away and climbed the stairs, every step echoing like a sentence.

When he reached our bedroom, he shut the door with a heavy thud.

I stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs, staring up through a haze of tears. The plate of food sat untouched behind me, steam curling upward as if mocking me.

“Reid!” I screamed, my voice cracking, raw with pain. “I didn’t cheat on you! Please believe me, please!”

The silence that followed was worse than any insult, any curse. It was the silence of a man who no longer wanted to hear me.

I sank to the floor, clutching my chest, sobbing until the sound of my own heartbreak filled the empty house.

Reid’s cold dismissal: “I’m not hungry.”

Her pleading and screaming, contrasted with his silence and slammed door.

That suffocating, devastating emotional wall between them.

I was still sitting on the floor when I heard the door upstairs creak open. My tears hadn’t even dried yet, but I scrambled to my feet, hope flaring again. Maybe..maybe he was ready to listen.

Reid came down the stairs slowly, his face pale, his jaw tight. His eyes were cold, yet there was pain buried deep in them.

“Reid…” I whispered, my voice shaking.

He stopped at the bottom step, staring at me as though I were a stranger. “If you didn’t cheat on me, Karline…” His voice was low, dangerous. “…then prove it.”

I blinked, stunned. “Proof? Reid, what kind of proof can I possibly give you? I’m telling you the truth I didn’t do anything with him!”

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “Then tell me why you were so comfortable with him. Why you let him touch your hand and didn’t move it away. Why you were laughing at his compliments like a lovesick girl. Why you were so damn close to him that night.”

My chest tightened. “I..I was trying to make you jealous…” The words rushed out, desperate. “You were so busy with Natalie, so blind to how I felt..I wanted you to see me, Reid! I wanted you to fight for me!”

His lips curled in bitterness. “So you wanted to make me jealous… by sleeping with him?”

“No!” I shouted, my throat raw. “No, I never slept with him! I never wanted him, Reid! I only wanted you!”

He laughed, but it was hollow, broken. “Do you even hear yourself? I walked in and found you in his arms. You weren’t fighting him off. You were lying there like you belonged to him. How the hell am I supposed to erase that from my head?”

Tears blurred my vision again. “Because you know me! Because you love me! You should know I would never, ever betray you that way.”

Reid’s fists clenched at his sides, his voice breaking as he snapped, “I don’t know you anymore, Karline.”

The words cut sharper than any blade. I staggered back, clutching my chest as if I could hold myself together.

“You don’t mean that,” I whispered, choking on sobs. “You’re just angry..”

“I mean every word.” His tone was ice.

And in that moment, I felt the ground vanish beneath me. The man who once swore he’d never let me go was now looking at me like I was already gone.

His words rang in my ears like a death sentence. I don’t know you anymore, Karline.

Something inside me snapped. The begging, the pleading, the endless tears, it all burned away, leaving only anger and fire.

I lifted my head, wiping my face with trembling hands. My chest heaved as I looked him dead in the eye.

“Fine,” I shouted, my voice echoing through the room. “You want proof, Reid? I’ll give you proof.”

He froze, his jaw tightening, but I didn’t stop. My pain came out as fire now, every word trembling with rage.

“You think you can throw me aside because of a scene you walked into? You think you know the truth from a single lie Adrian spat in your face? No! You don’t get to destroy me like this without consequences!”

“Karline__” he started, but I cut him off, my voice breaking into a scream.

“You’ll regret this, Reid! You’ll regret doubting me! You’ll regret ever believing him over me!”

The room went still. My own words shook the air between us, heavy with fury and heartbreak.

His face flickered shock, then guilt, then hardening again as he looked away.

I clenched my fists, my body trembling. “I’ll prove it to you. I don’t care what it takes, I’ll prove I never betrayed you. And when I do…” My voice cracked, softer but sharper. “…you’ll remember this moment. You’ll remember how you broke me when I needed you most.”

Silence swallowed us both. My scream still echoed in my ears, my chest rising and falling violently.

For the first time, I saw Reid look at me not with anger, but with something else, fear.

It had been a month. Thirty days of living with a man who felt more like a ghost than my husband.

Reid still came home every night, but he might as well have been living on the other side of the world. His side of the bed stayed untouched. He slept in the guest room. He never once touched the food I cooked, not even a sip of coffee.

And worst of all, he stopped looking at me.

***

I set the table as always, toast, eggs, fresh coffee. My hands were steady now, not trembling like before. I told myself I wasn’t expecting anything anymore.

Reid walked in, his tie already in place, his jacket slung neatly over his arm. He glanced at the spread of food and then past me, as though I were air.

“Morning,” I tried softly.

“Morning.” His tone was flat, clipped. He reached for the keys on the counter instead of the plate in front of him.

“You’re not eating?”

“I’ll grab something at the office.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Reid, we can’t keep living like this. Please, talk to me.”

His jaw tightened. He didn’t look at me. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

And then he was gone.

The coffee went cold.

***

I lay in our bed, staring at the ceiling. The silence was deafening. From the guest room down the hall, I heard the faint creak of the mattress, the opening of a drawer, his footsteps.

I closed my eyes and whispered into the darkness, “Goodnight, Reid.”

No answer came.

***

One evening, I walked into the study and froze. Reid was there, his head bowed over documents. His sleeves were rolled up, his glasses perched low on his nose. For a moment, my chest ached with the memory of how I used to curl into that space, my head on his shoulder while he worked.

“Do you want some tea?” I asked cautiously.

“No.”

“Reid…” I stepped closer. “I miss you.”

He looked up then, and for just a second, his eyes softened, pain flickering across them. But it was gone as quickly as it came. He closed the file in front of him and stood.

“I have work to finish.”

And he walked past me, leaving me standing in the doorway, my heart in pieces.

***

Sometimes he didn’t even come home until after midnight. I smelled perfume on his jacket once, not mine. My stomach twisted, but I didn’t dare ask.

The few times I mentioned Natalie’s name, his expression turned to stone.

“Don’t start,” he warned coldly.

So I stopped asking. But the silence between us grew heavier by the day.

***

ONE MOTHER LATER.

A month ago, I had screamed at him that he would regret doubting me. Now, I wasn’t sure who was regretting more, him, for believing Adrian… or me, for still loving a man who had already shut me out.

And how should I confront him that I am pregnant?