That morning, I fixed Daniel’s tie and kissed him goodbye beneath the mirrored lights of our mansion, certain my life was a dream. He said he was heading to Valencia for an urgent meeting—one meant to prove to my father that he could succeed without leaning on my family’s fortune. I believed him without question.
I’m Emily—the heiress who quietly paid for his bespoke suits, his luxury car, and the ventures he proudly called “his.” I trusted him completely.
Later that day, I drove to Segovia to surprise Megan, my closest friend, who had told me she was hospitalized with a severe case of typhoid fever.
When I reached the private hospital and stopped outside room 305, fruit basket in hand, time slowed. The door was slightly open. There were no groans of pain—only laughter.
Then I heard it.
My husband’s voice.
“Open wide, sweetheart. Here comes the airplane.”
Ice spread through me. Daniel was supposed to be on the road to Valencia, hundreds of kilometers away. Heart racing, I leaned closer and looked through the narrow opening.
Megan wasn’t ill. She looked radiant—relaxed against crisp white sheets—while Daniel sat beside her, feeding her fruit with the tenderness of a devoted partner.