Chapter 2 Chapter 2

*AURORA*

I gasped."Together? You're married to me!"

"I never wanted to. Or have you forgotten how you forced me to marry you?"

"You said...you said when you come back...you said we'd be together again? How could you do this to me? You were with her all this time?"

This all felt so unreal.

No.

I turned to face Carla."How can you do this to me? You..."

My friendship with her had come to an abrupt end due to her improper behavior toward Lucien.

At the time, I was certain she had exited our lives for good. But now, I see they are two sides of the same coin!

Carla, in her relentless pursuit of a life with Lucien, had schemed and manipulated to the utmost degree.

What she called "great love" was, for me, a searing agony that cut to the bone.

I turned to Lucien, tears streaming down my face, my voice trembling as I demanded, "Is this what you call your studies? Mastering the art of destroying a marriage?"

"Aurora, watch your tone!" he shot back, his voice cold and dismissive. "In today's world, open marriages are hardly uncommon. Why shouldn't we embrace the concept? Besides, I love Carla. She used to be your best friend. Isn't this a win-win for everyone? You should respect our choices."

It was in this moment that reality struck me like a thunderclap: our marriage had long since been warped into something avant-garde and absurd. The casual ease with which he uttered those words felt like a blade, sharp and merciless, plunging straight into my chest and tearing my heart to shreds.

To him, it seemed, I was expected to endure everything quietly, to accept this humiliation without protest. My deep affection meant nothing to him, lighter than air.

The pain of betrayal, which gnawed at my soul, was invisible to his eyes.

While I had spent my days clinging to memories of our past love, nurturing a fragile hope that the embers of our marriage might reignite, he had been thousands of miles away, indulging in a passionate affair with my former best friend. Together, they had savored the most intoxicating moments of their lives, while I foolishly waited, trapped in a fantasy of reconciliation.

At that moment, I could no longer bear to face either of them. Even a single glance felt like it would rip my shattered heart into even smaller pieces.

So, I turned abruptly and ran, fleeing as fast as my legs could carry me.

Tears poured down my face like a torrential flood, blurring my vision. Yet no amount of crying could wash away the darkness that now enveloped my heart, an inescapable anguish as deep and suffocating as ink...

***

I drove over to the only place I could think of.

My friend, Danica's house.

I cried all the way to her house, it felt as if someone had let open a dam in my tear glands and the tears just wouldn't stop flowing.

I sniffed as I knocked on the door.

The door opened and she looked surprised.

"Aurora, what...you're crying." She murmured.

I just stared at her, my throat felt too hoarse to even speak.

She led me into her house, then shut the door and hugged me.

I closed my eyes, painfully as I started to cry again.

After a while, I managed to stop crying, we were seated side by side in the living room now.

"What's going on, Aurora?"She finally asked.

That question spurred another round of tears.

She rubbed my back, soothingly.

"As much as I don't want you to cry, I am very confused right now, what's going on?"

"Dani, he...I...I...Lucien, he...she...I was..."

"Calm down, Aurora."She cooed. "I don't understand what you're trying to say, what happened to Lucien?"

I got a hold of myself a bit and murmured.

"He's back."

"Then why are you crying? Isn't that what you've wanted for three years now?"

"He came back with Carla."

"Carla?" Dani let out, stunned.

"Yes, and she's...she's pregnant for him."I let out, painfully.

"So you mean to say when he left three years ago, he left with Carla?"

I nodded and tried to avoid staring at her.

I knew she was giving me the "I told you so" look.

From the start, Danica had been of the opinion that Lucien might have led Carla on, that Lucien should have told me that Carla had been trying to seduce him, she felt that Lucien could have been cheating on me with Carla.

But I refused to accept it.

And when Lucien wanted a break up, she also said it could be because of another woman.

I choose not to accept anything other that what he told me because I didn't want to lose him.

I sniffed."I've already lost so much, Dani. I didn't want to lose him. The Sullivans are all I have left."

Danica made me rest my head on her shoulder.

"Aurora, have you thought for a moment that this really isn't healthy for you? You choose to ignore every signs because you didn't want to lose him. But you deserve so much better, girl. You have to stand your ground, you can't keep tolerating that man."

"But...but he loved me. There was a time when I was all he sees. I've known him all my life. He promised to spend the rest of his life with me. How could he have changed his mind like that? How? How did I become the other woman?"

I do not think I've ever cried this much before.

I felt so devastated, like a ton of bricks was sitting on my chest and I was struggling to breathe.

"He's not remorseful at all. He said he did nothing wrong. He said...he said this was an open marriage."

Danica stood up and pulled me to stand, grabbing hold of my shoulders.

"I am tired, Aurora. I am tired of you crying and hurting because of that man! He is not worth your tears. This should be his loss not yours! He said your marriage is an open marriage? He didn't feel any remorse for betraying you like that so why should you wallow in pain because of a man like that?! I think it's time you start seeing yourself as the beautiful, gorgeous and amazing woman that you are!"

An empty feeling crept through my veins.

The emptiness I felt was horrific and I didn't realize that I had grown so dependent on him.

So dependent that all my hopes and dreams were just spending the rest of my life with him.

Did I really want that?

Did I really want to spend the rest of my life with a man who could hurt me like this?

This was like the painful wake-up call I needed.

"For three years, you've been faithful to him even while he's been away. Now that he's the one who said it's an open marriage, MAKE IT A FACT ONCE AND FOR ALL! Is it really that hard to find a man to sleep with?"

Danica's words were like a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into my heart.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she seemed completely exasperated by my stubbornness. Without another glance, she slammed the door and left, leaving me alone in the empty room, wrapped in endless confusion and doubt.

I sat frozen in place. For three years, my tears had been my closest companion. Countless nights, I cried silently in the dark, drowning in waves of longing that pulled me under.

I had lied for him so many times, weaving excuses for his endless absences to our friends, painting the picture of a diligent, devoted husband, desperately trying to preserve the dignity of our marriage.

But now, it felt like all those efforts had turned into a sharp slap across my face.

Danica's words, though harsh and cutting, were like a lightning bolt piercing through the darkness, forcing me to confront the reality I'd been avoiding.

If Lucien was the one who first betrayed our vows, why should I remain shackled by a loyalty to a marriage already broken beyond repair?

Tonight, I would break free from it all!

I would enjoy the night, let the flames of passion burn away the memories of the past, and erase his shadow from my life once and for all!