Chapter 21
There was a different kind of silence that night.
It wasn’t the gentle hum of peace Brent and I had recently built after everything-the countless apologies, the tender reassurances, and the daily affirmations that he had changed. It wasn’t the kind of silence
I cherished while working on my project, knowing that just outside my office door, Brent would be waiting with tea or food, asking if I needed a break.
No, tonight’s silence was heavy. Choking. Unspoken.
Ever since I saw that message on Brent’s phone-from her-I hadn’t been able to breathe the same way. I told myself not to panic. That maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t what it looked like.
Maybe Mina had sent that message out of desperation, and Brent simply hadn’t seen it. Or he did, and chose not to reply. Maybe… maybe he was protecting me by saying nothing.
But even if I told myself a hundred reasons, my chest ached from the weight of fear I carried.
I waited, hoping he would tell me. That he’d take my hand one morning, like he always did, anc say, “There’s something I need you to know.” But the days passed. The silence grew. And th message from Mina stayed buried in my memory like a dagger that wouldn’t stop twisting.
Brent started coming home late.
‘It’s work,” he said one night, brushing a kiss on my forehead before slipping out the door in his suit, looking far too polished for a simple business errand.
wanted to believe him. God, I needed to. For our child, I had to. I kept smiling, pretending, because stress wasn’t something I could afford now. Not with a life growing inside me. Not
when we had come so far.
But I watched his back more closely. Not because I didn’t trust him-but because I was terrified of being that woman again. The one who looked at her man and didn’t see the signs until it was Coo late.
was working late in the study one evening when I noticed the time. Almost midnight. Brent
hadn’t come home.
My hand instinctively touched my belly, whispering a quiet apology to our child for the storm brewing inside me.
That’s when I heard it. Footsteps. But not Brent’s.
I stood slowly, every part of me alert. The security should’ve notified me if someone had entered the estate. I reached for my phone but before I could call anyone, the door to the study opened.
My heart stopped.
She stood there, dressed in a wine-red coat and heels that clicked sharply against the marble. Her hair was longer than in the photo I’d seen on Brent’s desk months ago. Her lips painted a deep crimson, twisted in a knowing smile.
“Mina,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“So, you know who I am,” she replied, her tone sickeningly sweet.
“How did you get in?” I demanded, finding strength through the rage curling inside my chest.
“I have my ways,” she said with a casual shrug, stepping further inside as if she owned the place. “Don’t worry, I won’t be long. I just came to let you know the truth.”
“There’s nothing you can say that I’ll believe.”
She smirked. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m not here to convince you. I’m here to tell you what he didn’t.”
I wanted to scream. To yell for the guards. But I was fBrent-too afraid to shatter the illusion l’c been holding onto with trembling hands.
“Brent and I…” She paused, reaching into her purse. “We’ve been seeing each other.”
I didn’t react. I couldn’t.
“I told him he didn’t have to keep pretending with you. That he doesn’t love you. He never did.”
“Stop,” I whispered, but it came out broken.
She pulled out her phone, unlocking it, and turned the screen to me. A photo. Blurry, but unmistakable.
Her lips. On his.
My knees nearly gave out.
‘He came to see me last night,” she said. “He kissed me. Said he missed me. That’s all you neec to know.”
didn’t say a word. I didn’t ask her to leave. I didn’t even look at the photo again.
Because deep down, my world had already cracked.
stood, numb, as she tossed a final look over her shoulder and walked away like she hadn’t just burned the ground beneath me.
Only after the front doors slammed did I let myself crumble to the floor.
The tears didn’t come at first. Only the sound of my heartbeat crashing like waves in my ears. I wrapped my arms around my belly, whispering apologies through clenched teeth.
‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
3rent, where were you?
Why didn’t you tell me? Had I really believed in forever again, just to have it slip through my ingers?
