“Gregory,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Is this true?”
Greg still couldn’t bring himself to answer. The sobbing had subsided, but he remained lying on the floor, unable to come to terms with what he had done. I decided to intervene.
“He slept with her the night before our wedding,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a knife. He told her he needed “one last taste of freedom before he was tied to the same body forever.”
Marianne let out a stifled sob and collapsed onto the edge of the bed, her world crumbling around her.
James’s face darkened. His nostrils flared as he looked at his son. Disgust and disappointment fought for expression on his face.
“You have disgraced our family,” he hissed, his voice full of rage. “How dare you? How could you betray Lilith like this?”
Greg raised his head, panic splashing in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he croaked, barely audible. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?” I repeated, my voice rising in confusion.
“You call sleeping with your ex the night before our wedding a mistake?” I stepped closer to him, the rage I had been holding back finally bursting to the surface. “No, you made a choice, Greg. A deliberate, calculated choice to betray me. And now you’re paying for it.”
Greg turned his tear-stained face toward me, his eyes wide with despair. “Please, Lilith… please, I love you. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I’ll do anything! Just please don’t leave me.”
I laughed, a cold, hollow sound echoing through the room.
“You love me? You love me?” I shook my head in disbelief. “Greg, you know nothing about love. If you did, you wouldn’t have done what you did. You wouldn’t have betrayed me like that.”
He reached out to me, his hands trembling, his eyes pleading. “Please… I beg you.”
I stepped back, letting him fall, my gaze hard and unfeeling. “I’ve had enough, Greg. It’s over. You destroyed us the moment you decided to crawl to Sarah.”
His father, James, stepped forward, his voice sounding like a low growl.
“Get up,” he ordered Greg, his patience finally worn thin. “Get up and face what you’ve done.”
Greg hesitated for a moment, then slowly got to his feet, his knees still buckling beneath him. He looked so pathetic standing there in his rumpled wedding suit, his face streaked with tears, his whole world collapsing around him.
I turned to Marianne and James, who were still trying to figure out what had happened. Marianne’s face was red and swollen from crying, and James’s expression was a storm of disappointment and rage.
“I’m leaving,” I announced, my voice even and calm, my decision final. “Now you can deal with him.”
“Lilith, please,” Greg pleaded one last time, his voice breaking. “Please don’t go.”
But I was ready. I turned away from him, from the mess of our ruined wedding night, and reached for my robe. Throwing it over my shoulders to hide the tattoo, I headed for the door.
“Lilith,” Greg called after me, his voice full of despair. “I’ll change! I’ll make it right!”
But I didn’t even bother to answer. I had nothing more to say.
As I left the room, I heard James’ voice, low and furious, ringing out in the silence. “Look what you’ve done, Greg. You’ve ruined everything.”
And then there were Greg’s pitiful sobs. His cries echoed through the house, but they didn’t bother me. I went downstairs, feeling lighter with every step. I was free. Free from him, from the lies, from the betrayal.
Here’s another story: When Kate’s idea to play a prank on her husband during a late-night drive causes him to panic, the joke takes a dark turn. Minutes pass, and Greg disappears, turning Kate’s harmless prank into a frantic search that leaves her wondering if she’s gone too far. Click here to continue reading.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but for creative purposes, it has been fictionalized. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.