100 Reasons to Vanish

My life with Ethan was a fairytale. Diamonds cut like stars, a library wing, a best-selling book titled "100 Reasons Mia Hayes is the Center of My World"-he built a universe around me, declaring me his guide. I was his everything, or so I believed. Then, I found it. A hidden folder on his home office computer. Images of Ethan and a young woman, Skyler Reed, sickeningly intimate and explicit. My carefully constructed world shattered, a thousand glittering pieces falling around me. The betrayal was a physical blow, colder than any frost. Every grand gesture, every loving declaration, now felt like a cruel joke, a meticulously crafted lie designed to blind me. I remembered my one rule for us, whispered years ago: "If you ever truly lie to me, if you break that trust, I will walk away. And you will never find me again." He had laughed then, promising I was his universe. Now, his universe was a lie. A cold dread seeped into my bones. The fear, long buried, clawed its way up my throat. How could I have been so blind? So utterly naive? Was everything just a performance for his audience, for my adoration? The profound humiliation burned hotter than anger. But amidst the wreckage, a chilling clarity emerged. My world was destroyed, yes, but I was not. The decision was instant. Cold. Clear. I picked up the burner phone I'd bought months ago, a nagging unease I'd dismissed as paranoia. "It's Amelia Hayes," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "I need to activate the Disappearance Protocol. Immediately."