Chapter 1

At the memorial, I clung to my wife Megan Olsen's cold hand, staring at Eileen Price's photo in silence.

Forty years of friendship were gone just like that, torn apart by illness.

Eileen left too quickly. From diagnosis to death, it was barely half a year.

On stage, Eileen's husband, Samuel, delivered the eulogy. His voice trembled and broke several times.

After the guests gradually departed, a few of us who were close to Eileen stayed behind to discuss the arrangements.

Samuel's eyes were rimmed with red as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Megan walked up to him and gently patted his shoulder. Her hand lingered there, a little longer than what would seem normal comfort.

I didn't think much of it. After all, my wife and Eileen had been close friends. It was natural for her to feel sad.

"I'll take you home, Samuel," Megan said softly, but loud enough for me to hear.

I looked up, just about to suggest we go together, when her next words froze me completely.

"Actually, there's something I need to tell everyone," she said, glancing around the room. Her eyes paused on me for a moment before shifting away. "Samuel and I... we've been in love for a long time."

*****

The whispers faded away, and the hall fell into an eerie silence.

"Eileen knew about us," Megan continued, her voice shaky but firm. "Before she left us, she asked me to take care of Samuel. We've decided to get married when the time is right, and spend the rest of our lives together."

I stood there frozen, like I'd just been sucker-punched out of nowhere.

Forty years of marriage suddenly felt absurd and laughable.

What did she just say? They had been in love… for a long time?

Then what about me? What did our forty years together mean?

"Dad!" My daughter Abby's voice jerked me back to reality. She clung to my arm, her eyes burning with anger and disbelief.

"Mom, are you out of your mind?" My son Lucas shot up, his voice cracking with fury. "You're saying this at Eileen's memorial?"

Megan didn't glance our way. She walked straight over to Samuel, and the two of them intertwined their fingers.

"I get how this must feel out of nowhere, but we truly love each other. I hope you can understand, especially you, Bruce," she said.

A wave of dizziness hit me, and it felt like a boulder was crushing my chest. I could barely breathe.

I stared at their intertwined fingers, and those countless times Megan claimed she was going to the hospital to see Eileen replayed in my mind...

The sound of rain pounding against the windows grew louder in my ears. I stood up, not sure where the strength came from. My voice was weirdly steady as I said, "I'm heading home."

Abby and Lucas started to follow, but I waved them off.

As I stepped out of the hall, the rain was coming down in sheets.

I hadn't brought an umbrella, letting the cold rain pelt my face, mingling with tears I hadn't even realized were streaming down.

Driving home, all I could see in my mind was Megan and Samuel's fingers tightly entwined.

Forty years together, and in that moment, it all felt worthless.

When I got home, the once-familiar place now felt painfully strange.

Our family portrait hung on the living room wall. Megan was leaning against my shoulder, her smile as soft and gentle as ever.

We'd taken that photo five years ago, marking our 35 years together.

I stood there staring at it, and suddenly, memories of meeting Megan started flooding in.

Back then, she was a star student at the teachers' college, and I was just a young lecturer who'd recently joined the faculty.

We bumped into each other in the library. She was carrying a stack of books and almost tripped, and I reached out to steady her. That was how it all started.

She was twenty-three, her eyes sparkling with life, and her smile was so bright and carefree.

Our wedding was simple and warm—just a few tables, surrounded by family and friends. She wore a plain white dress, and she was so beautiful that my heart raced.

On our wedding night, she snuggled up to me and whispered, "Bruce, the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was meeting you."

And now, she told me she had loved another man for years.

I opened the liquor cabinet and grabbed a special bottle of wine I'd been saving forever, pouring myself a heavy glass.

I'd always meant to crack it open for our fiftieth anniversary.

Each sip burned my throat, but it couldn't thaw the cold ache settling deep inside me.

My phone buzzed. It was Lucas calling.

I picked up, and I could hear the anger simmering in his voice. "Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, my voice hoarse.

"Abby and I just can't accept this. Mom's gone way too far!" Lucas said.

I paused for a long moment. "Just don't do anything rash, alright? I need some time to figure things out."

After I hung up, all those odd little things Megan had been doing the past six months suddenly flashed through my mind.

She kept switching up her phone password. She even took her phone into the bathroom when she showered.

More than once, I'd wake in the middle of the night and catch her out on the balcony, texting away. If she saw me, she'd scramble to lock her screen.

I'd never suspected a thing. I just figured she was worrying about Eileen's health. And honestly, I even felt bad for doubting her at all.

I realized all those nights she never came home, the hurriedly ended calls, and even those sudden flashes of affection. They were all pieces of a lie.

With exhaustion dragging me down, I collapsed onto the bed we once shared. The scent of her still lingered on the pillow, and the ache in my heart felt like a knife twisting inside me.

I never imagined betrayal like this would ever happen to me. And never, ever did I think Megan would choose Eileen's memorial to announce it.

That night, I tossed and turned until dawn. In my dreams, everything was broken, shattered fragments of the life I thought I knew.