The Illusion of Forever

I had been secretly in love with my childhood friend for nine long years. When we finally got married, my family and friends thought I was the happiest person in the world.

After I became pregnant, he used the excuse of "helping an old classmate" and invited the most beautiful girl from our class into our home.

During the worst of my pregnancy, when nausea and exhaustion hit hardest, he took her to the hospital, made crafts with her, and watched sunsets with her.

He even had the guts to accuse me of being small-minded and petty and acting like a bitter, jealous wife.

Only then did I realize that it was just my foolish fantasy that I lived my dream of marrying my childhood sweetheart and had a happy life.

I let go of the love I had for him and of the future I thought we would share.

Now, however, he was the one who regretted it.

All a Fantasy

This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on Ashley Summers, the delicate and fragile class belle I had only heard about from Nicholas Graham's friends.

She looked frail, and a bandage was wrapped around her wrist. Yet, despite her weakened state, nothing could dim the unique air she carried with her. She was like a flower weathering the storm, fragile but unyielding in her grace.

I had seen her once in a university graduation photo, standing next to Nicholas. In that picture, she was leaning slightly toward him with a sweet smile playing across her lips. I had even joked with him, teasingly asking if he had fallen for the girl in the photo.

He pulled me close that day, holding my hand tightly as he got down on one knee and promising that it was always me whom he loved.

Now, as I absently stroked the wedding ring on my left ring finger, a wave of bitterness washed over me. It was followed swiftly by a surge of nausea that twisted in my stomach, rising like bile.

Without another thought for the two people standing at the door, I rushed to the bathroom and vomited.

When I finally looked up at the mirror, the woman staring back at me had red, swollen eyes and a sickly pale complexion due to the relentless waves of morning sickness. I also saw the reflection of a man standing behind me, his face hard and unreadable.

He massaged his temples with his hand, and when he spoke, his voice was calm, but there was no room for argument. "Ash hasn't been well lately. She's going to stay here for a few days."

I said nothing but just turned back to the sink and turned on the tap to wash away the last bits of bile in silence. I had known for some time that Nicholas had been seeing Ashley behind my back, but I never imagined he would bring her into our marital home, which I had designed.