Chapter 3
I wrote: [Why did you lie to me?]
[Do our 20 years together mean nothing to you?]
[Is Athena really all you care about?]
My eyes brimming with tears, I erased the message, letter by letter.
After what felt like forever, I wiped away my tears and made my way to the audience.
James showed up just as the concert was about to start, strolling in late.
He didn't even sit down before speaking, "Baby, why didn't you answer my message? You just came in on your own?"
I didn't look at him, just asked, "So the concert you mentioned is actually Athena's performance?"
"You know I've never gotten along with her and her mom," I said.
Athena came between my marriage, and before that, her mom did the same thing to my mom.
It was like I was stuck in a loop I could never break out of.
When James first told me to patch things up with Athena, I just stood there, completely stunned.
Then I slapped him and called him a cold-blooded jerk.
He pulled me into a hug and held on. Didn't let go for what felt like forever. Just kept trying to calm me down. After that, he never mentioned it again.
A shadow crossed James' eyes. He pressed his lips together, then managed a smile.
"Alright. I swear I won't make decisions on my own anymore. Come on, baby. Forgive me?" He coaxed, trying to win me over.
My lips twitched into something like a smile, but then I noticed his shirt was a little open, showing his neck and collarbone.
There were faint, patchy marks there, like love bites or bruises.
It felt like a needle went straight through my heart.
A slow, stinging pain spread through me, only now sinking in.
The smile on my face was barely holding together, but thankfully, the lights dimmed, saving me from showing how I really felt.
I turned away, out of James' sight, and my face instantly went blank.
But the moment the music started on stage, I felt like I was teetering on the edge of an abyss.
As the crowd gasped in awe, James gazed at Athena, standing there radiant under the lights. He was beaming. So proud.
My heart sank to rock bottom.
Athena stood center stage, basking in the spotlight. "Thank you all for coming to my concert.
"The song I just performed is my latest original. It's called 'Love's Downfall'."
"I drew inspiration from my husband... and my brother," she said, her eyes shining.
Undisguised excitement flashed across James' face, crushing whatever hope I was still clinging to.
My throat tightened as I clung to his arm.
"Why is this song identical to my 'Remembrance'?" I demanded, my voice shaking with disbelief as I stared at the stage.
James' face froze for a second, but he quickly pulled himself together, acting like nothing was wrong.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence. You know how artists sometimes think alike," he said, trying to play it off.
That excuse was so ridiculous. Not even a fool would buy it, but he still tried to feed it to me.
On the big screen, the draft of the song popped up, and Athena was going on and on about her creative process.
But my eyes were glued to the handwriting.
Bold strokes. Fluid lines. That little flick at the end of every word. There was no mistaking it.
It was James' handwriting.
I wrote this song after my mom passed away, as a tribute to her memory.
I only ever showed it to James.
So how did my song end up there? The answer was painfully obvious.
Of course. Our whole marriage was just so Athena could have her happily ever after. So why would my song be any different?
My chest felt like it had shattered into a thousand pieces.
All that was left was a final, hollow echo inside me.
I let out a laugh, but my eyes were as cold as ice.
James seemed to sense something. He paused, then reached out and took my hand.
"Don't overthink it. Just go home and change. Tonight, I'll make it up to you and give you the birthday you deserve," he said gently.
It was the second time he'd made that promise.
And just like the first time, he broke it.
Right as I was about to leave, his phone call came, canceling everything.
"Selena, something came up. An important client dropped in at the last minute. We'll do it another time..." he said.
"Go ahead," I said, my voice flat.
He sounded like he wanted to explain himself, but my words shut him down.
Before he could say another word, I hung up on him.
Then, I stared at the outfit I'd spent nearly three hours carefully picking out—so much effort, all for nothing, just to end things in a rush.
I let out a bitter laugh.
This was the last time.
I didn't sleep a wink that night.
I went through the villa, collecting everything related to James and me.
I packed it all up.
I took our wedding photo out of its frame and burned it.
After five years of marriage, that was the only real photo of us together.
I packed up all the jewelry, dropped it in a box, and addressed it to a local orphanage.
The ties and clothes I bought for him? I threw them all into a pile and burned them to ashes.
While the fire raged, Athena's messages started flooding in, one after another.
She wrote: [Selena, you haven't been checking your timeline lately? Guess I'll just send these to you directly.]
[I'm borrowing James for tonight, but I'll give him back tomorrow, okay? Don't be mad.]
Then, cozy selfies of her with James kept flooding my phone, one after another.
Just seeing them made me want to throw up.
I gagged a few times, then typed back: [Hope you two stay together forever. So you don't ruin anyone else's lives.]
After sending that, I dialed a number.
"Mr. Grant, it must suck always being pushed around by the Parker family, right? How about we make a deal?" I said.
After selling off all my shares to our biggest rival, I picked up the phone and called the agency.
"Let's get this started," I told them.