The Architect's Reckoning

I was on top of the world. Fresh off winning the National Design Award, my future as an architect in D.C. was limitless. Seraphina, the dazzling daughter of a Senator, was on my arm. That night, I planned to propose. But then came Marcus, her war-hero cousin, and everything shattered. In front of the city's elite, Sera chose him, declaring her new path, and publicly humiliated me with a stinging slap across my face. The next day, Senator Vance "informally" rescinded our engagement and canceled my project. My promising D.C. career was over, replaced by an exile to a grueling, isolated project in rural West Virginia. Broken and alone, I fell desperately ill, clinging to life in a rundown cabin. While fighting for survival, I received their wedding announcement-a seemingly cruel final blow, a double happiness symbol that felt like a twisted joke. I couldn't comprehend how the woman who had promised me forever could discard me so utterly, so publicly, then send a joyous wedding invitation while I lay dying. Was I truly so worthless that I deserved this utter destruction, this banishment where no one cared if I lived or died? But fate had other plans. A local herbalist, Clara, found me, nursed me back to health, and saved my life. We built a quiet, real life together, found true happiness, and started a family. Now, five years later, a husband and father, I' m back in D.C., and the ghost of my past, Seraphina, is demanding answers.