The King’s Devotion

Catherine Jones stood frozen in the doorway, her heart pounding in her chest. The scene before her seemed surreal, yet painfully real. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of Tristan and Evelyn, her stepsister, tangled in each other's arms on the king-sized bed.

A few hours ago, she’d gotten an anonymous text message from someone who said her boyfriend was in a hotel with some girl. The text contained the hotel room number and some additional details. However, she didn’t want to believe it. She had trusted Tristan too much and almost deleted it, thinking it was some sort of sick joke.

But something inside her urged her to confront her fears head-on. And now, she wished she had never entered that room. The betrayal cut through her like a knife, shattering the illusion of trust she had built with Tristan over three years.

Her voice trembled as she found her words. "Tristan... How... How could you?"

Tristan sat up on the bed and turned towards her, his eyes avoiding hers. There was a flicker of guilt in his gaze, quickly masked by indifference. He was already planning to break up with Catherine for a while now, but he was too chickenhearted to bring up the discussion. Perhaps, her finding out like this was for the better.

There wasn’t a single sympathy in his voice as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Catherine, but I've always liked Evelyn. I can't deny my feelings for her anymore."

Catherine's heart shattered into even smaller fragments as his words sank in. She had given Tristan everything, believing their love was unbreakable. Yet, here he stood, confessing his attraction to her stepsister and showing no remorse for his actions.

"So, I was just a placeholder until you could be with her? Was I ever important to you?" Catherine choked, fighting back tears.

"You were important at some point, but now I'm sick and tired of you. Evelyn is different. She understands me in a way you never could."

"You... You're heartless... a monster."

"Don't act like you're innocent in all of this. You were so clingy, always demanding attention." Tristan scoffed irritably.

"I loved you! I gave everything I had to make us work." Catherine shouted at the top of her lungs. Her entire body was trembling now and she felt her legs could give way at any moment.

He replied with a sneer, his lips curling in contempt. “We were together for three years, it was always the same routine with you and I got bored. You were always more focused on your job anyway. Evelyn here brought excitement back into my life."