Whispers of Love in the Evening Breeze

Javier had once been a doctor with Doctors Without Borders, always ready to lend a hand to those in need. Yet, when I was caught in a shipwreck, he wasted no time abandoning me, rushing off because Sybil had caught a cold.

I was rescued and made my way back to the capital.

There, I found Javier lounging among a group of young men from wealthy families, smoking and holding Sybil close. He glanced up at me, clicking his tongue with a mocking smile, his voice dripping with casual disdain. "Well, look at that. You actually made it back."

There was a mocking edge to his voice. “I thought you’d drowned by the shore. I was even considering retrieving your body.”

I had repeated time and time again that I hadn’t been unfaithful, but Javier refused to hear me.

It wasn’t until he learned that the two children I’d lost had been his that he began to tremble. Fear and guilt gripped him, nearly bringing him to his knees.

At last, regret flooded him: too little, too late.

Part 1

The bright sunlight on the beach made everything seem almost unreal. After the shipwreck, I struggled to breathe, coughing up water as I whispered, "Javier, my leg... it hurts. Can you carry me?"

He scoffed at me, not even glancing my way.

He took in my drenched, worn-out state and sneered. "Sybil’s got a cold and you somehow made it to shore, right? Does your leg hurt? Stop being dramatic. Get up and go on your own. I’m not wasting my time on this."

I spat out another mouthful of seawater, then was helped to the hospital by a kind stranger.

At first, I thought he was too busy to care. But I saw his Maserati parked outside when I looked through the blinds.

A cheerful young nurse at the front desk laughed, “Isn’t that Mr. Collins? I heard he used to be with Doctors Without Borders and now he’s a professor here. I also heard he came with his wife, Sybil. They make such a perfect couple.”

My face paled as the realization hit me: he was with Sybil. It all made sense now.

Sybil was Javier’s current fling, bold, stunning and someone he’d been caring for for the last six months.

Once I was out of the hospital, the family elders invited Javier for a meal.

Although weak, I mustered the energy to find him, knowing he’d be at his usual spot.

He was there, lounging comfortably with a group of prestigious young men, his elegance as striking as ever.

Sybil sat beside him, playfully handing him drinks.

She wore our wedding ring. Javier noticed me staring and, with a casual air, waved it off. "What are you looking at? It’s just a little trinket I gave her to play with. Don’t take it so seriously."

“If you want one, I can get you another. It’s just cheap; don’t act like it means more than it does."

Was it our wedding ring, or had he given it to someone else?

And there, in front of everyone, he ground my dignity into the dirt.

It wasn’t the first time I had been in this kind of situation.

“So you made it back, huh? I thought you wouldn’t and I’d already told my mother to get your body,” Javier said, his eyebrows arched in mock surprise. He flashed a playful smile, his expression oozing careless charm.

I turned my cold stare to Sybil Jones and, without a second thought, slapped her across the face.

Javier didn’t stop me. He merely rested his chin on his hand, watching with a lazy smile. “Sybil, apologize to my wife.”

Sybil looked at me, her face full of disbelief. Her eyes reddened as she perched in Javier’s lap, pouting. “I know she likes you and I like you too.”

She paused, then continued, holding up a high school notebook. “But I also know how much she used to like you. Look, it’s all about you.”

My face was pale and in this world of fame and fortune, my years of secret longing were exposed to the harsh light of day.

Javier, how could you humiliate me like this?

"Javier, it's me, Natasha."

"He's playing basketball today and I want to bring him some water, but I’m too afraid."