s gut. Today was supposed to be perfect, it was his third wedding anniversary with Olivia Reed. He had planned to surprise he

The clerk, a tired-looking woman with glasses perched on her

ore and after," she had said, her voice flat. "There is no marr

ight with frustration, "There must be a mistake, w

the keyboard. "I can find an Olivia Reed, yes, but her legal spo

ad mentored, the man who had filled in for him on a major project when Ethan had to go overseas for

tone. He thought he was married to the love of his life, but he was a ghost in his own story, his m

ala, Olivia in a stunning red dress, her laughter bright and captivating. He remembered their first date, talking for hours until the cafe closed a

emory w

six-month overseas assignment to find Olivia distant. She' d complained that he was gone too long, that

said one night, her voice sharp. "A tempor

by the perfect life he thought they were building, that he had accepted her

t" echoed in his mind wit

osed love. He let himself in quietly, his key turning silently in the lock. The lights

his back pressed against

"No, Ethan doesn't know anything, he' s as clueless as ever." A soft laugh followed. "You know I can' t leave him, not yet. H

sunderstanding. It was a calculated, manipulative betrayal. She needed Alex, but she was using Ethan. He was a tool, a stepping

for her died in that hallway, replaced by something icy and sharp. He wouldn't confront he

it would be as if he never existed. And then, when she was comfortable and secu

alked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him without a sound. The decision was