Chapter 6
I thought heartbreak would feel like crying.
Instead, it felt like silence.
After David spoke, I sat motionless with my phone against my ear.
Still together.
Those two words kept repeating in my mind.
Not recently involved.
Not a mistake.
Still together.
Marcus had been cheating on me while asking me to marry him.
While choosing flowers with me.
While tasting wedding cakes.
While promising my dying father's memory that he'd always protect me.
"Nia?" David asked.
I swallowed.
"I'm here."
"I'm sorry."
I looked at my wedding dress hanging across the room.
"Can you send me the footage?"
"Yes."
"Please send everything."
He promised he would.
When the call ended, I sat on the edge of my bed.
Then I started crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just helplessly.
I cried for the years I'd given Marcus.
For the future I'd imagined.
For the children we'd discussed.
For the mother who'd been humiliated because someone wanted to destroy me.
Eventually, Mom knocked.
"Nia?"
I wiped my face.
"Come in."
She entered carrying a plate of toast.
When she saw me, she put it down.
"Oh, baby."
I couldn't speak.
She sat beside me.
I leaned into her arms.
And I cried the way I used to cry when I was little.
She didn't ask questions.
She didn't say she'd warned me.
She simply held me.
After a while, I whispered, "He never loved me."
Mom pulled back.
"Don't say that."
I stared at her.
"Mom, he was with Vanessa the whole time."
Her eyes filled.
"He may have loved you in whatever broken way he understood love."
I shook my head.
"But that doesn't excuse what he did."
Mom nodded.
"No, sweetheart. It doesn't."
I took a deep breath.
Then I told her about the footage.
She listened quietly.
When I finished, she said something I'll never forget.
"Nia, you don't have to prove your worth to someone who chose to betray you."
I looked at her.
"You didn't lose your future."
She squeezed my hands.
"You lost a man who was hiding the truth from you."
I held those words close.
Because I desperately needed to believe them.
By noon, David had delivered the video files through a secure link.
I watched them with Danielle on a video call.
The footage showed the service corridor outside the ballroom.
Marcus stood near a decorative column.
Vanessa faced him.
Her long hair was pulled over one shoulder.
She was holding the cream-colored envelope.
The audio was clear.
"When are you going to tell Nia about us?" Vanessa asked.
Marcus looked furious.
"Keep your voice down."
"I'm tired of waiting."
"After the wedding."
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"You always say that."
Marcus reached for the envelope.
"Just make sure she signs the investment documents during the honeymoon."
My stomach turned.
Vanessa folded her arms.
"And then?"
"Then we can deal with everything else."
She stepped closer.
"You're still promising me we'll be together?"
Marcus looked around.
Then he kissed her.
I covered my mouth.
There it was.
No more doubts.
No more excuses.
My husband kissing another woman less than an hour before marrying me.
Danielle remained silent while I struggled to breathe.
The video continued.
Vanessa pulled away.
"What about Evelyn?"
Marcus rubbed his face.
"She's the problem."
I froze.
He continued.
"She keeps asking Nia questions about the company."
Vanessa smiled.
"I can handle her."
Marcus frowned.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"I know exactly how to make Nia lose control."
He shook his head.
"Just don't embarrass me."
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
My hands were ice cold.
Danielle spoke gently.
"Nia, are you okay to continue?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
She explained that the video could be relevant to the financial and marital issues.
But she wanted the original files preserved and properly documented.
I agreed.
Then she asked whether I wanted to report the assault on my mother.
I looked toward the hallway.
Mom was resting.
I thought about the way she'd cried.
"Yes."
Danielle recommended that Evelyn make the report herself, with my support, because she was the person harmed.
When I asked Mom, she hesitated.
Then she nodded.
"I don't want Vanessa doing this to anyone else."
That afternoon, we met with an officer.
Mom described what happened.
Her voice trembled at first.
But she told the truth.
She explained how Vanessa approached her.
How she mocked her appearance.
How she grabbed her hair.
How she cut it while Mom tried to pull away.
I sat beside her.
I held her hand.
When the officer asked why Vanessa had targeted her, Mom looked at me.
Then she said, "Because I loved my daughter enough to ask questions."
I started crying again.
We provided the recording.
We also provided David's contact information and the wedding footage.
The officer explained that the evidence would be reviewed.
Mom nodded.
Then she asked quietly, "Will they make me face her?"
The officer explained the process and available support.
I watched Mom listen carefully.
She was frightened.
But she wasn't backing down.
When we returned home, Marcus was standing on the porch.
My stomach dropped.
He held a bouquet of white roses.
The same flowers I'd carried down the aisle.
"Nia."
I stopped beside the car.
Mom gripped my arm.
Marcus looked at her.
"Evelyn, I'm sorry about everything."
Mom said nothing.
He stepped forward.
"I know this looks terrible."
I laughed bitterly.
"Looks terrible?"
His eyes moved toward me.
"Can we talk?"
I held up my phone.
"I saw the footage."
His face changed.
"What footage?"
"The service corridor."
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
I watched the truth settle over him.
He knew.
He knew I had finally seen everything.
I took one step closer.
"You kissed Vanessa before our ceremony."
He looked down.
"Nia—"
"You planned to use our honeymoon to pressure me into investing ninety thousand dollars."
He said nothing.
"And you knew she wanted to make me look unstable."
Marcus looked toward Mom.
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
I stared at him.
"Which part?"
He swallowed.
"The hair."
I felt a terrible emptiness.
He still didn't understand.
I looked at the roses.
Then at him.
"Take those flowers and leave."
He reached for my hand.
"Please, Nia. I made mistakes."
I pulled away.
"No."
My voice was steady.
"You made choices."
He stared at me.
I continued.
"And every one of those choices hurt someone who trusted you."
Marcus looked desperate.
"Don't end our marriage without giving me a chance."
I took a breath.
"Your chance was every day you told me you loved me while planning a future with Vanessa."
His shoulders dropped.
I walked past him with Mom.
At the front door, I turned around.
"Marcus?"
He looked up hopefully.
I shook my head.
"The woman you married yesterday is gone."
Then I stepped inside and locked the door.
May you like
For the first time, I wasn't waiting for him to choose me.
I was choosing myself.
