Chapter 4 4

Isabella

I scrolled up through their conversation, each message like a knife twisting in my gut.

Sarah: Just got out of the shower thinking about you

Alex: Send me a pic

Sarah: Only if you promise to return the favor

Alex: You know I will

A photo appeared, showing a bathroom mirror selfie of a blonde woman with water droplets clinging to her skin, her nipples hard and pink against pale breasts.

Alex: Fuck, you're gorgeous

Sarah: Your turn...

I kept scrolling, bile rising in my throat. There it was-a dick pic. Alex's dick. The same one that had been inside me countless times. The same one I'd had in my mouth just last week.

Sarah: God, I want to suck that cock right now

Alex: My door's always open for that talented mouth

Sarah: Remember how I deep-throated you in your office?

Alex: Almost came when you swallowed all of me

My fingers trembled as I scrolled further back, finding more photos and more explicit messages. It wasn't just sexting. They'd been meeting up. Fucking. For months.

The shower shut off. I had about two minutes before Alex would walk out, so I kept scrolling frantically.

I found a video. My thumb hovered over it, my brain screaming not to press play while my finger had other ideas. The sound was off, thank god, but the visual was enough. Alex, my boyfriend, pounding into some blonde from behind, his hands gripping her ass as she arched her back on what looked like a hotel bed.

The bathroom door opened. I quickly locked the phone and set it back where it had been, my heart racing so fast I thought I might vomit.

Alex strolled into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist, water droplets sliding down his chest. The same chest I'd pressed against countless times. The same body that had apparently been busy fucking some woman named Sarah.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, noticing my expression. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I forced a smile, my cheeks hurting with the effort. "Just tired. Long week."

He nodded. "I better get dressed. Mark's waiting."

Mark. Was there even a Mark? Was that just his code for Sarah?

"Sure," I managed to say. "Don't be late."

He disappeared into the bedroom. I sat frozen, trying to process what I'd just discovered. My boyfriend had been cheating for months, based on the dates of those messages.

The "client emergencies, " the late nights, the mysterious phone calls-it all made sense now.

I gripped the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white as I fought to keep my breathing steady. Every sweet word, every passionate kiss, every promise he'd made-all lies. The revelation crashed over me like a tidal wave, threatening to pull me under.

My mind raced back through our time together. How many times had he been with her right before seeing me? How many times had he fucked her, then come home and slid those same fingers inside me?

The bedroom door opened. Alex walked out, buttoning a crisp blue shirt that hugged his broad shoulders. His hair was still damp from the shower, combed back in that effortlessly sexy way that had first caught my attention at that gallery opening. He looked around the living room, brow furrowed.

"Have you seen my phone?" he asked, patting his pockets. "I swear I left it on the counter."

I held up his phone, my hand perfectly steady despite the hurricane raging inside me. "Looking for this?"

He smiled, reaching for it. "Thanks, babe."

I pulled it back, just out of his reach. "Who's Sarah?"

His face changed so fast it was almost comical. The smile vanished, replaced by a blank expression that might have been convincing if I hadn't just seen all the evidence.

"What?" he asked, his voice carefully neutral.

"Sarah," I repeated, my voice eerily calm. "The one you've been fucking behind my back. The one you sent a dick pic to. The one who deep-throated you in your office. That Sarah."

His eyes narrowed. "Why the fuck are you going through my phone?"

Not a denial. Not even close. Just anger that I'd caught him.

"That's your response?" I laughed, the sound harsh and unfamiliar. "I find out you've been cheating on me for months, and you're mad I looked at your phone?"

He reached for his phone again, faster this time, snatching it from my hand. "This is a serious invasion of privacy, Isabella."

"And fucking another woman isn't a serious invasion of our relationship?" I shot back.

He checked his watch, jaw tight. "I don't have time for this right now. I'm already late for my meeting with Mark."

"Is that even real? Or is 'Mark' just code for when you're meeting up with Sarah to fuck her brains out?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped, pocketing his phone. "We'll talk about this when I get back."

I stepped in front of him as he tried to move past me. "No, we'll talk about it now. Tell me you're cheating on me with Sarah."

His face hardened, eyes cold in a way I'd never seen before. "Fine. Yes, I've had sex with her. Multiple times. But it's just casual, nothing serious."

The confirmation hit me like a physical blow. I'd known it was true; I'd seen the evidence with my eyes. However, hearing him say it out loud made it real in a way the messages hadn't.

"Just casual?" I repeated, my voice rising. "You've been fucking her for months! You've been lying to me, sneaking around, leaving me high and dry to go stick your dick in her!"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed, glancing toward the door as if worried the neighbors might hear. "You're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You cheated on me!"