Four Years Built On Deceit

My chest ached with a pain far deeper than any physical injury. It wasn't just the lie; it was the sheer a

s voice cracking. He looked genuinely distressed, but all I co

emotion. The rage had burned out, leaving only a vast, empty wast

intimacy we once shared felt polluted. "It wasn't a choice agai

d been so full of him, felt like a hollow drum beating a funer

voice laced with panic. "Augusta, d

u mend a trust that was systematically destroyed, year after year, w

he chilling truth. The city lights of New York blurred through my tears, each one a pa

ith unspoken questions. My phone buzzed. It was m

couldn't tell her. Not yet. I just needed to b

man get you down. Damari's a fighter

one call was short, filled with reassurances I couldn't give myself. I curled up on the couch, surro

y projects like a robot, my mind a million miles away, replaying every moment, every word, every su

oodshot, his face haggard. "Augusta, please. Just talk to me. Let me

resh stab wound. "Fire her?" I remembered the way he'd spoken her name, the misplaced pity in his

y gaze. That was my answer. He c

alls for days, my phone rang again. It was his a

s high-pitched, frantic. "He pushed himself too hard, working on tha

ars. Eighteen years of loving him. The betrayal was raw, but the connection w

and still. The doctor explained it was exhaustion, stress. He neede

, a weak smile gracing

t go when I entered, a deferential, almost smug, look on her face. H

d, my voice flat. "You're st

us," he whispered, his eyes earnest. "This project..

future he had actively sabotaged. He was still playing the

cted, her voice soft, almost sympathetic. "Staying

lt suffocating. He was still trying to manipulate me, u

tood in the doorway, his stern gaze softening slightly as he looked at h

ted us. The man Damari had used as a s

her, please. It's nothin

etback, that's a warning. You need to learn your limits, boy. Especi

Even if he had approved it, he clearly thought it was foolish

gusta, please. I know I messed up. But I love you. You know I do. We can still have our f

agile than my broken heart? More fragile tha

e a whisper, "do you remember what you

rse. I live by those rules,

. You live by your own selfish desire to avoid confrontation. You've been lying to me for four

ashing in their depths. "

ing me the truth. Fair would have been choosing me, unequivocally, inst

know I hurt you. I truly do. But please, don't throw eve

t love, Damari? A love built on lies? A love where I'm consta

ng between us. She saw the tension, the raw emotion.

ed, her voice oozing concern. She moved

mixed with utter disgust, shot through me. He still couldn't see it. He still couldn't see her

," he said, too quickly. "

hat our broken future was to

existed. What remained was a weak, dishonest individual, trapped by his own misguided pity and inability to se

steady now. The decision had be

re? Augusta, don't be like thi

gmented pieces of our shared life. I walked away, leaving him and his 'fragile' assistant behind, my heart he