Chapter 3

3 Determined to win Sarah back, I bought her favorite cupcakes and drove to her office. We were husband and wife. It shouldn't matter who made the first move.

As I approached the building, I overheard some of her employees gossiping.

"What do you think is going on between the new client and the boss?"

"They seem like a perfect match, don't you think?"

"But isn't her husband Mark from the Lawson family? This client's name is Roberts, isn't it?"

Roberts… The name sent a jolt through me. Could they be talking about Sarah and Josh?

My hand trembled as I held the box of cupcakes. With a growing sense of dread, I walked to Sarah's office. The light was on. I was about to knock when I heard voices inside.

"Sarah, I didn't expect…" It was Josh's voice.

I froze. Why was he here? What did he mean by "arrange work"?

"Josh, there's no need to be formal. I started this company for you. 'SarJosh,' it's both our names."

"Josh, you have no idea how much I've missed you all these years."

Then, I heard Josh's voice, low and intimate, and the sound of them embracing.

I stood there, paralyzed.

I don't remember how I left the office. I was just grateful that no one had noticed me, sparing me further humiliation. The image of Sarah and Josh in each other's arms was seared into my mind.

Sarah and I had been childhood sweethearts. Josh was the classic "love interest" who appeared out of nowhere. He was our high school classmate. I went abroad for college, while they attended the same university. They were the campus "it" couple, everyone's relationship goals. People even placed bets on whether they'd get married after graduation, with 90% betting they would.

But when talk of marriage became serious, the social divide that they'd ignored in college suddenly became a major obstacle. Josh came from a working-class background, while Sarah's family was wealthy. They wouldn't accept a son-in-law with no house, no car, and no promising career. So, Josh left.

Under pressure from our families, Sarah and I got married. Now Josh was back, successful and wealthy. The wall that had once separated them had crumbled.

The realization hit me hard. My marriage to Sarah was probably over.

I drove aimlessly for hours, finally returning home, exhausted and defeated. As I reached the front door, I heard laughter from inside. I opened the door and saw Lily nestled in Josh's lap, giggling, while Sarah, wearing an apron, watched them. It was a picture of domestic bliss.

But all I felt was a hollow ache, as if everything I held dear was slipping away. Rage consumed me. This was my house, my wife, my daughter. Josh had no right to be here.

Blind with fury, I kicked the door open. Lily started crying. I lunged at Josh, and we fought.

It ended with Sarah taking Lily and leaving with Josh. Before she left, she glared at me. "Mark, you better hope he's okay, or I won't let you get away with this."

Any lingering hope I had for Sarah vanished.

I sat amidst the wreckage of my living room and wept. More than twenty years of knowing Sarah couldn't compete with the four years she'd spent with Josh.

Two weeks had passed since that night. This was the first time I'd seen Sarah.