"I know the person I love is you. My heart has always been yours. But I can't just divorce him." She looked away, staring at the ground. "Justin... he did me a favor. I owe him."
The shifting sunlight cast shadows across her face, but I didn't need to see her eyes to hear the grievance in her tone.
For years, I had been deceiving myself.
I thought that if I loved her enough, if I sacrificed enough, she would eventually forget Brandon. I thought I could love her into staying.
But the truth was brutal: no one can compete with a ghost from the past. I was just the lucky fool who occupied the title of "husband."
She was grateful to me for giving her a home when she was down, yes. But she also hated me. Hated that my existence prevented her from being with her true love. She needed my stability, so she couldn't divorce me—and she twisted her guilt toward Brandon into resentment toward me.
I thought of Mandy's cold, distant eyes.
I thought of Bonnie's perpetual exhaustion whenever she looked at me.
Suddenly, the tragedy of my life crashed down on me.
I had sacrificed everything for a home that was never mine. I had given my life for a woman who didn't love me.
The wind picked up, scattering dead leaves across the bleak pavement.
Bonnie's voice turned soft, almost desolate. She squeezed Brandon's hand, making a gentle promise that felt like a knife in my chest.
"Don't worry. I won't let you or the baby suffer."
"A car, a house... aside from the marriage certificate, I can give you everything you want," she vowed. "Brandon, you have to believe me. You are the only man I will ever love."
Brandon smiled. Warm on the surface, but I saw the malice lurking in the corners of his mouth.
"Aren't you afraid Justin will find out about Mandy?" he asked, dripping with false concern.
Bonnie froze for a split second, then gently shook her head.
"You don't know him."
"Justin is obsessed with me. He can't live without me," she said with terrifying confidence. "Even if he learns the truth, he won't have the heart to blame me."
She took a breath, outlining her master plan. "I've already thought it through. It's his birthday next month. I'll bring Mandy back home then."
"With his daughter back by his side, he'll be so happy he won't have the energy to care about us," she reasoned. "He'll be distracted. And then, I can properly be with you..."