His Secret Life, My Broken Trust

er woman's voice on my husband's watch, but

ed our unborn child, all to steal my

unleashed a monster hell-bent on bur

pte

dra Sm

a fight or a lie, but a woman's voice on m

. The scent of his cologne, sandalwood and bergamot, filled the space between us. He was flying to a tech conference in

hand came to rest gently on my still-flat stomach. A genuine smile, the kind that

id, leaning into his embra

ne last, lingering kis

silver band I'd gifted him for our anniversary, slipp

the door. "Can you grab that for me,

tal. As I picked it up, the screen lit up with a notification.

iet foyer. "Don't forget our little arrangeme

ran cold. Eddie. No one called him Eddie e

ce of our home. It couldn' t be. Carla was my professional rival, a ruthless executive at a competing firm. But she was also

ngement? What arrangement? My thoughts were a tangl

d to

g through the fog of shock. I wasn't going to sit here

all him back. I didn't send a text. I just walked out of our house, got into my smart car-one of my ow

a judgment. Every bump of turbulence felt like my world tilting off its axis. I kept

a cab to the hotel where the conference was being held, my heart hammering against my ribs.

all, but in the hotel's dimly lit

nails painted a sharp, predatory red, rested on his arm. It was Carla. Her sleek blonde

ic. It was hungry, familiar, possessive. My husband, the man who had placed a te

complete implosion. The glass I was holding slipped from my numb fingers and crashed to

, danced in their depths. I remembered the day she' d attended our wedding, her smile as bright as her dress, telling me, "You're so luck

larm. They scrambled out of the booth, their movements clumsy

ooperate. A wave of nausea and dizziness washed over me, my vision blurrin

ed street. My mind was a chaotic storm of denial. It was a

embling as I dialed his number. It r

okay?" His voice was

d?" I asked, my own v

ust got out of a long s

hind him, I could hear it-the faint, distinctive chime of the Seattle str

rd tasting like bile. I hung

aking it impossible to breathe. I started walking, with no destination in mind, just needing to move, t

b, my mind completely

ires was the la

horrific impact, a

I was floating in a sea of white. White ceiling, whi

awake. You were in a bad accident. A targeted cyberattack on your car's navi

t hollowed out. A deep, aching

tomach. It felt diff

d, my throat raw.

expression softening into one of profound sadness

been filled with hope and life just hours ago. The doctor's words were just a

voice gentle but firm, "we were unable to sav

d came out. The world dissolved into a silent, ag

cern and devastation. He rushed to my bedside, grabbing my

brand. I recoiled, s

id, my voice flat, d

, my phone was on silent. I rushed here as soon as I

side table, buzzed. I glanced at the sc

hat felt like a cage, I reached for his phone. My fingers moved with a life of their own, m

was at the top. It wasn't long, but it was

done? Did th

s. The bab

member the plan. Secure the source code for 'Prometheus' and we t

nary AI source code. The

le T

e. A name. They had a

ried me to destroy me. The car crash wasn't an

an ex

ents before solidified into something el

s into my hair. I let him. I leaned into his embr

broken me. He th

what he had j

the darkness, a single, b

gea

den by the hospital blanket. I dialed a number I had sworn I would never call aga

d on the f

s voice was lac

a pain that was now morphing into pure, unadult