Chapter 2Gone with the Broken Wind

"And besides, do you call that atonement? Penny is my daughter, but she's yours too. Taking care of her isn't penance, it's called being a father!"

Alex had always been a romantic, prone to grand, cheesy gestures when he was in love. I used to pretend to cringe at them, but secretly, my heart would soar. I thought I was the only one he would ever love.

Until one day, bored and cleaning, I found a box tucked away at the bottom of his bookshelf. Inside was this stack of paper.

Over two years, he had written her five hundred and twenty-one love letters. The embroidered panties were her response, a token of their shared "love."

It was like opening Pandora's Box. The demons inside swarmed out and devoured my soul.

The emotional shock sent me into premature labor that very day.

Alex, still clueless that I knew about their filthy secret, continued to play the part of the tragic lover in a forbidden romance with Lily, right up until I exposed them.

The day I was cleared to leave the house after giving birth, I packed the thick stack of letters into a bag and stormed to his office, ready to tear them down in front of everyone.

But the receptionist told me Alex had taken Lily out for a "procurement trip."

A female colleague saw my pale, exhausted face and, assuming I was just a dutiful wife delivering documents, took pity on me. "This morning," she whispered, "I heard Mr. Morgan tell Lily he was taking her to The Monarch Hotel."

The last sliver of hope in my heart died. Nothing else mattered anymore.

When I got to the hotel, the staff tried to stop me, thinking I was just some troublemaker. I had no choice but to call the police.

With their help, I finally got into the suite. And there was my husband, his face a mess of panic as he shielded his mistress with a look of pained tenderness.

I lost my mind. I screamed, I clawed, I hurled the most vicious curses I could conjure. I took photos and sent them everywhere.

The whole process was surprisingly straightforward, easy even. But it drained every last ounce of strength from my body.

Now, Alex rubbed his temples, his voice laced with impatience. "Was all that really necessary? The hotel, that was a moment of weakness, I admit. But it was just that one time. And because of the scene you made, nothing even happened in the end, did it?"

"Don't you dare try to justify your cheating!" I shot back. "Alex, you're despicable!"

He smirked, his tone calm and cruel. "You know, Stella, the more you spiral like this, the more perfect Lily seems in my memory."

"You can never compare to her. Let's see how long you can keep this up."

My breath hitched. I stared at him, my vision blurring. He was finally showing emotion, but it felt like a boulder had lodged itself in my chest, suffocating me.

The man who once looked at me with nothing but love in his eyes was now a monster.

I had tried. I had told myself to let it go. He had repented, he had come home, we had a daughter who needed us.

But over the past year, whenever he tried to share our bed, whenever he tried to touch me as a husband, all I could see were his and Lily's bodies tangled together.

The nausea was overwhelming.

I couldn't pretend it never happened.

All the grief and rage I had bottled up inside finally exploded.

"Then divorce me and go marry her!" I shrieked. "Alex, stop acting like you're the victim here! It makes me want to puke!"

I snatched the silk panties off the floor and ripped them to shreds.

"Whore! You're both whores!"

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Alex's face as he watched me unravel. He reached out to wipe a tear from my eye.

"See? You make yourself this ugly just to get a reaction out of me. Was it worth it?"

His voice softened again. "Stella, it's in the past. Why can't you just let us live in peace?"