Chapter 2
Last night, while Ryan was fast asleep, I secretly unlocked his phone and started snooping.
I hardly ever went through his phone.
He never expected me to check, so every single chat was laid out right in front of me.
Three months ago, he added a new contact: Emily Lane.
When they first started chatting, he texted: [You look just like an old friend I used to know.]
Seriously? That was such a cliché pick-up line.
But honestly, now that I thought about it, Emily did have a bit of a resemblance to Ryan's first love from back in college.
I kept scrolling through the messages.
October 8th.
Emily: [Thanks for the great dinner, Mr. Bennett. Coffee's on me tomorrow.]
October 20th.
Ryan: [I've already ordered your coffee. No ice, less sugar, right?]
Seeing that, it stung a little.
He always remembered how Emily liked her coffee, but never bothered to remember mine.
November 1st.
Emily: [Whoops, got some lipstick on you by accident. Think your girlfriend's gonna freak out?]
I remembered that night. He stumbled in late, smelling like a mix of alcohol and someone else's perfume.
I spotted the lipstick on his shirt and asked what happened. He brushed it off, saying it was just business, all part of the act. And stupidly, I believed him.
November 10th.
Emily dropped a beach selfie in her swimsuit.
Ryan: [Thinking about setting up a company trip to the beach, so I can see you rocking that swimsuit in real life.]
Emily shot back a bashful emoji.
November 20th.
Emily shared a song.
Ryan texted back genuinely: [I've listened to it a bunch of times. Guess we really vibe with the same music.]
Seeing that, it hit me that ever since things got dull between us, we barely shared any of those random bits of our lives anymore.
Turned out, in the cracks of our relationship, he was letting someone else slip in.
December 1st.
Emily: [Mr. Bennett, if I'd met you sooner, do you think you would've wanted me to be your girlfriend?]
Ryan: [If it were you, I'd wish I could turn back time.]
That was enough. I turned off his phone, not wanting to read another word.
It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing my heart, and I could hardly breathe.
I always believed couples should trust each other, so I never snooped around or played detective, and I never grilled him about where he was or what he was doing.
But I never imagined that, after five years together and right when we were discussing marriage, I'd find out he was cheating on me.
Honestly, actually experiencing betrayal was something that words couldn't even begin to describe.
Maybe it was for the best, I told myself. If I was meant for happiness, I wouldn't end up in a family that would bring me nothing but pain.
Over the weekend, I was so wiped out that I didn't even bother going back to Ryan's place. I just lay around my own apartment for two days, barely moving.
There were a few messages from Ryan on my phone.
Ryan: [Charlotte, where are you?]
[Stop throwing a tantrum, okay? I'm waiting for you at home.]
[I got you a limited-edition crocodile-skin bag. Consider it my apology.]
He just figured I was in a mood, and that buying me a fancy bag would magically make everything okay.
When we first got together, we used to fight all the time.
Back then, Ryan was just starting his own business, working himself to the bone every single day.
He wanted to show everyone that he could build something from scratch, all on his own.
He barely had time to spend with me or do any romantic stuff, so I'd get moody for no real reason.
But honestly, it didn't take much to cheer me up.
It never took long for us to patch things up. Just a kiss, a hug, a silly laugh, or some unexpected little present.
But watching him work himself to the bone, I just couldn't bear seeing him run himself ragged like that.
So I went all in and joined his team, doing everything I could to help him chase his dreams.
We'd argue so fiercely about the company's direction that sometimes it felt like we'd flip the table.
But after those all-nighters, we'd still end up hand in hand, grabbing some snacks from a street vendor in the middle of the night.
Life was simple but satisfying, hectic but fulfilling.
Then, the company landed a few big projects, and things finally started to get on track.
Life just kept getting better for us.
The gifts he used to make up with me went from a single rose to pricey handbags.
And honestly, every time, those gifts did the trick.
Women just couldn't say no to a new bag.
Just when I thought our lives were finally on the upswing, Emily walked right into the picture.
At the interview, the fresh college vibe she had attracted all the interviewers.
Ryan was especially captivated. I could see it in his eyes that he was thinking about his first love from his college days.
As time went by, I started to notice that whenever we were together, he just seemed absent-minded.
He was always reaching for his phone, checking his messages.
And sometimes, he'd randomly smile at his screen, totally caught up in whatever he was looking at.
Back then, I didn't really give it much thought.
Maybe I was just too sure of myself, convinced that five years together meant nothing could tear us apart.
Then, everything fell apart like this.