Pancakes for a Stranger's Love

r fifth anniversary, leav

had happened until a stranger

ouse, flipping pancakes for her with

em down, Bennett

his pregnant mistress, look

, cutting off my access to our bank

in agony, claiming I was faking p

headaches" weren't

Stage IV G

d necklace I had always wanted, I

iced my entire career for an

the medical report in the t

vorce papers

pte

Marsh

bed beside me. It was our fifth anniversary, and Bennett was gone. He' d

blurred at the edges. Not just from the headache, but from the unshed tears. He h

ence. I reached for it, my fingers trembling. The lock screen showed the same four u

e ar

you

please

ur anni

He used to answer within minutes. A simple emoji, a quick "busy," anything.

hard to even think straight. I' d blamed it on stress, on the pressure of supporting Bennett' s startup.

t a call, not a message from Bennett. A friend request on a so

t still clinging to hope, wanted to ignore it. But another part, a cold, creeping dread, knew

ely, another notification popped up. A

. His arm wrapped around a woman I didn't recognize. Her head thrown back, shining dark hair,

med in, my fingers shaking so hard I almost dropped the phone. The shirt Bennett was wearing. I'

the woman was de

even the headache. My vision swam. I typed, my fingers fl

you? Wha

yping appeared, then disappeared. N

nd, the image of Bennett's laughing face burned into my retinas. Sleep was a

in a sickly grey light. Exhaustion finally claimed me, dragging me

leek dark hair, her bright, confident smile. He was telling her jokes, the same jokes he used to te

t even looking at me, his voice cold,

ed. A triumphan

room was bright now, the grey replaced by the harsh realit

again. Jayda.

. Then anothe

ett, in an apron, flipping pancakes. For her. For Jayda. Her hand resting on his back, a casual, intimate ge

for me. Not once in five years. "Too busy," he'd always said. "Orde

ong day working on his startup's pitch deck. He'd just waved his hand dismis

cage. My fingers, numb with shock, flew across the screen again. This ti

ng me pictures of my husband?

this? Does he know you' r

r! You think you' ve won? You think y

rs. My chest burned. I waited, but there was n