On our engagement day, I discovered countless erotic photos of my fiance with another woman on hisptop.


    Eight years with him, and this was my reward.


    Betrayal, raw and unforgiving, wed at me.


    Immediately, I booked a flight to Fiassi, a flight scheduled to depart on our wedding day.


    This had to end.


    I called my boss. "Mr. Rond, I''ve decided. I''ll take the Fiassi job."


    His surprise was palpable. "Fantastic. I''ll get the team on it. But your wedding..."


    "No problem," I managed, my voice trembling.


    Tears streaming down my face, unseen by him, as I ended the call.


    It was the first time I''d ever touched Antonio Kaufman''sputer.


    We''d started at the samepany after graduation, different departments, separate lives.


    Tonight, he was at a bachelor party, his phone off.


    His boss, desperate for a proposal, contacted me.


    That was when I saw those photos.


    Eight years of memories flooded back.


    No snapshots of us, not a single trace on his phone.


    My pleas for shared photos were always dismissed: "We see each other every day. No need for pictures."


    But it wasn''t about the need; he simply wasn''t invested in me.


    Then, his friend''s words from our engagement party resurfaced. "I thought Antonio would be a bachelor forever for Mandy''s sake! You''re actually getting married? Are you sure you''re not doing it in a fit of pique? I hadn''t notice the guilty look in Antonio''s eyes then.


    "Our marriage is based on love!"


    dered, my voice ringing


    confidence I no longer f


    Shaking. I closed hisptop.


    A breakup text was ready to send, but his response to my


    message from yesterday


    .  o


    was


    His Facebook profile was a void waiting for someone toe back."


    A wry smile yed on my lips.


    He had someone else. a nk canvas except for one line: "I''m


    I''d always thought Antonio was simply introverted, but my naivety was breathtaking


    I''d questioned that bio countless times; he''d never exined.


    Now it was chillingly clear.


    Three days until our wedding.


    The countdown on my phone''s wallpaper mocked me


    Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the relentless ticking seconds.


    Then, the call from Antonio''s friend.


    "Grace, Antonio is wasted. Come get him."


    In the background, I heard Antonio''s slurred voice. "Mandy, don''t leave me..."


    A sharp pain pierced my chest.


    Before


    ang to fetch him, I s trinkets now. Cet


    discarded our matching couple gear


    went


    As I approached the private room,ughter spilled out.


    "Hey, Mandy, what brings you back today? Regretting Antonio''s wedding?"


    Mandy Dcruz was there.