THE GEM HE DISCARDED FOR A PEBBLE

The crystal champagne glass feels cold and smooth in my hand. Don Carlos de Casa, 1788. Derek's favorite. It's silly to pop such an expensive bottle on a random Tuesday, but today isn't just any Tuesday. It's our fifth anniversary.

Five years since our whirlwind romance. Five years since our picture-perfect wedding made every magazine. Five years of being New York's golden couple. Giselle Monroe and Derek Ken. I glance at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling Mirror. My dress is deep blue, the shade he once said made my eyes unforgettable. A small, smile plastered on my lips. I planned everything today. Just for the two of us. No business talk, no events. Just him and me, like it used to be before the company took over our lives.

In my pocket is a gift I've been waiting to give-a vintage watch just like his grandfather's, the one he lost and always talked about. I wanted something meaningful, something to say I still remember who we were. I walked away from the dining area and walk toward his study. He'd texted saying he was finishing a quick call. Maybe I can steal him early. Share the champagne before dinner. My heels click quietly on the marble floor as I near the door.

It's slightly open. That's normal. He often leaves it like that. I raise my hand to push it fully open. Then I hear it. A soft gasp. Not Derek 's voice. A woman's. One I know too well. I freeze. Then comes another sound. A low groan. Derek. My breath catches. My heart races, but not in the good way. It slams against my ribs like a trapped bird struggling to free itself from the cage. "No. Please, no."

I muttered slowly and silently. I push the door open. And there it is. Derek 's back facing me, his jacket lying on the chair, his shirt wrinkled and untucked. Pressed against the bookshelf, blouse hanging open, is Lilith. My cousin and my Mentee. The girl I raised after her parents died. The one I trusted like a sister. The one I introduced to him, my husband.

Her face is flushed red, her right hand in his hair, the left clutching his shoulder. She's laughing as she stares at me. The champagne flute slips from my fingers. Clattering on the floor. he crash is loud glass exploding across the floor. Time stands still. Derek turns around. His face twists first in surprise, then something else. Not guilt but annoyance. Lilith gasps as she notices that Derek had seen me, She stood up from Derek's body and struggled to fix her blouse. "Giselle!" she cries, trying to force tears like a bad actress caught mid-scene.

Derek steps away, brushing off his shirt. "What the hell, Giselle ? You can't just sneak up like that." He said, no remorse in his voice but contempt.

I stare at Lilith. Her fake tears already gathering. The nerve she has. The disrespect shed shown me. "Please," she says, stepping forward like this is all just a big misunderstanding. "It's not what it looks like" I swallowed hard. I have been taken for a fool.

"Don't." My voice cuts through her lies. It was cold, flat and dead. What exactly does this look like. My cousin sleeping with my husband. We're not in the film industry that you'll say that it's a scene.

I look at Derek. The man who kissed me goodnight yesterday. Who whispered he loved me. Now, his face is unreadable. Not apologetic. Just calculating. "Giselle ," he begins, softening his voice. "Let's not do this here. We'll talk in private." Let's not do what here. He really must take me for a fool. I fight hard with the tears in my eyes, I can't key them fall now. Never.

I laugh, but it's hollow. "This?" I said referring to the mess. "You mean this betrayal on our anniversary? That's what you expect me to keep 'private'?"

He looks irritated. "You've been distant. Always busy with your charity stuff. Lilith's been here for me. She understands the pressure I'm under."

Lilith sniffles like she's the victim. "I never meant for this to happen," she whispers. "We just happen to connect to each other. It's an accident, big sis." Hearing her refer me as big sis was like acid being poured into my ears. Connected? What a pretty word for cheated.

They look at me like I'm overreacting. Like this is some kind of mix-up. Like I'm the problem. My chest feels tight, but I keep my face still. Yes, I'm hurt. but I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing it. Then Maria, our longtime housekeeper, appears in the hallway. Her face goes pale. Not a look of shock but mostly fear. She knows. All this had been happening under my nose. Maria the housekeeper knew and I never. They must have looked at me like a fool.

Derek notices her presence at the door. "Maria, leave. Now." His voice sharpens. She disappears. He turns back to me, now lowering his voice. "We don't have to make this ugly. Think about the company. Your reputation." My reputation. The thing he's dragging through the dirt.

He steps closer. "Be smart, Giselle. What do you even have without me? You gave up everything for this life. You walked away from your family. Without me... you have nothing."

Nothing. That word sinks deep. For a moment, it crushes me. But then something else takes its place. Not forgiveness, Not sorrow. But cold, clear fury. He thinks I have nothing? He thinks he still holds all the power?

I slowly straighten, meeting his eyes. His jaw tightens. The watch in my pocket feels heavier now, not as a gift, but as a reminder. He threw away a diamond, for a pebble.

My lips curl, not in a smile, but something sharper. I'll let him think I'm broken, I'll let him think I've lost. He has no idea what nothing really looks like. But he's about to find out.