By the time I hung up, it was dark.
I drifted home like a ghost. Back to the house that had been so warm two years ago. Our home.
Back then, Caspar had proposed with everything he had. He'd lit up the Harbor City skyline with fireworks that blazed for three straight nights. People still talked about it as one of the greatest love stories the city had ever seen.
This villa, over five thousand square feet of luxury, he'd personally overseen every detail of the renovation for an entire year before it was finished.
Every corner was exactly the way I liked it.
But soon, none of it would be mine.
I was heading upstairs to start packing when voices drifted from the first-floor bathroom. A man and a woman.
Caspar's voice, deliberately low, strained to the point of breaking:
"Ebony, I already did everything you told me to do. What more do you want?"
I moved closer without thinking.
Through the crack in the door, I saw Caspar pinning Ebony against the wall.
"I already agreed to do what you wanted. I faked being sick for two years so you could get your thrill from sneaking around. Why won't you leave her alone?"
"And today, you deliberately provoked her at the hotel like that. Are you not satisfied until you've destroyed our marriage completely?"
Caspar's voice was ice-cold.
It froze me where I stood. I couldn't even breathe.
But Ebony just smiled, a wicked, venomous smile.
"Oh, Caspar. We're just getting started."
"Don't forget, it was Maud's father who killed mine. He's the reason I grew up on the streets, suffering through hell. You think this little bit of payback is enough?"
"I want her to know exactly what it feels like to have her husband stolen from her."
"Once I've gotten it all out of my system, I'll give you back to her."
She reached out, her wrists sliding up slowly until her arms were draped around Caspar's neck. Her smile turned suggestive.
"Besides, your acting has been pretty impressive these past two years. You've really gotten into the role. Are you going to tell me you didn't enjoy yourself while we were sneaking around?"
Silence from inside the room.
My breath caught. I stumbled, nearly falling, and something clattered.
"Who's out there?"
Caspar's low voice carried through the doorway.
He rushed out immediately. The first thing he saw was me, collapsed on the floor, shards of broken porcelain cutting into my skin.