The Wilted Blossoms of Love

After I left Benjamin's office, Anson glanced at me a few more times. He probably didn't understand why I wasn't leaving with Benjamin and the others.

I ignored him and wandered home alone, lost in thought.

My heart ached, and my mind kept replaying the image of Benjamin getting entangled with that woman.

I knew who she was. She was the new secretary Benjamin's company had just hired. She was also the one who sent him the bunny officer video on the tablet.

Her name was Jessica Cooper, a fresh university graduate—truly undeniably attractive and tempting.

When she first joined the company, Benjamin had even joked that she reminded him of me when I was just starting out.

I had her WhatsApp account, and I clicked on her status updates.

The very first story was a selfie of her bunny officer costume, with a small mosaic carefully placed over her private parts.

Her caption read, "Bunny officer has captured Mr. Benny's heart today."

Benjamin's like on that story felt like a stab to my heart. He had openly commented, "Of course, Mr. Benny's heart belongs to the bunny officer."

He probably didn't think I would ever see Jessica's social media. After all, I didn't have the habit of scrolling through my social media accounts.

I thought back to when we first got together. I had always wanted reassurance about my place in his heart.

Whenever I saw someone beautiful, I would ask him, "Do you like this type of woman?"

He would laugh helplessly and tightly hug me in his arms. "What are you thinking? No matter what my type is, I only like you. There is only one Selena Johnson in this world. Besides you, even if they were as beautiful as Aphrodite, I wouldn't spare them a second glance."

Back then, I was overjoyed. Now, I was utterly heartbroken.

Five years had passed, and my husband—who had always been so devoted, gentle, and considerate of me—had actually lied to me.

I sat there blankly for two hours before finally making up my mind to call my mom, who was abroad.

"Mom, I've decided to come to you. Yes, I want a fresh start, a new identity."

My mom was thrilled. She had always wanted me to join her from the start, but I had stubbornly stayed behind to get married.

"Are you sure? Did you get into an argument with your husband? Don't act on impulse," she advised.

"I'm sure. It's not an impulse," I replied.

I didn't want him anymore.

Mom helped me book a flight out, and I also immediately contacted a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement.

Then, I calmly ate dinner before laying in bed and scrolling through my phone.

Sure enough, Benjamin came home right on time. He spent a long time in the bathroom before finally climbing into bed and pulling me into his arms from behind.

He loved sleeping like this. He said that holding me this way made him feel happy and secure.

I could clearly see the red marks left behind on his body. My eyes burned with tears, and Benjamin immediately became anxious.

"What's wrong, Lena?"

I sniffled, forcing back my tears. "It's nothing. I just saw a story about a husband cheating. It was really heartbreaking."

Benjamin chuckled softly and said, "Silly, what's there to be sad about? I would never do that."

I stared at him intently, and he emphasized helplessly, "I will always love you, Selena. If I ever betray you, may I live in endless suffering, never finding relief."

"Sure," I said, nodding.

…

I told Benjamin I was attending a designer exchange conference and would be gone for a week.

He had originally planned to come with me, but right before we were supposed to leave, he received a video call.

On the other end, Jessica was dressed in a leopard-print bodycon dress, fishnet stockings, and high heels. A leather collar adorned her neck, and she held a small whip in her hand.

She asked, "Benny, will the leopard girl get to see you tonight?"

Benjamin's gaze darkened, and he turned to look at me. "Lena, there's an urgent matter at work that I need to handle. You can go over first, and I'll join you tomorrow, okay?"

I smiled as I looked at his shifty gaze and the forced calm on his face.

"It's fine. Work is important. I can handle it myself," I said.

Benjamin let out a long sigh of relief and pulled me into a gentle hug.

While in his embrace, I whispered in his ear, "Goodbye."

His body visibly stiffened for a moment, but he quickly relaxed, said his goodbyes, and left.

As I waited for my flight in the departure hall, I received a video from Jessica. In the video, Benjamin was holding her down while indulging in passion and whispering sweet nothings.

"Selena, do you finally see who Benjamin really loves?

"Did you hear that? He said he'd rather die than be without me.

"Did you know he likes uniforms and little whips? Did he ever play like this with you?"

I took screenshots of this and saved them, then blocked Jessica from my contacts.

Then, I sent the saved videos and screenshots to Benjamin's friend group and posted them on my social media.

After that, I turned off my phone and walked away.