Chapter 5

It wasn't until I returned home from the hospital that I realized the truth.

During the days I had been recovering alone, Vanessa hadn't just ignored my messages and calls—she hadn't even come home once.

The house was empty, the furniture covered in a thin layer of dust.

I sat there for a long time, staring at the lifeless space around me. She must've been having the time of her life these past few days.

I pulled out my phone and opened Ethan's Instagram again.

The newest post was a video.

The lights were dim, the music loud and distorted, the crowd twisting and swaying on a dance floor.

Vanessa was there—pressed close to Ethan, their bodies moving in perfect rhythm to the beat.

As the song ended, Ethan's arm slid tighter around her waist. Vanessa tilted her head up, her gaze hazy, her expression soft. Her eyes were locked on him. Ethan leaned down and kissed her—deeply, completely—as though they were the only two people in the world.

The video ended there, but I kept scrolling.

More videos, more posts.

They were everywhere. Dancing at nightclubs, drinking and brawling at street food stalls, racing motorcycles down empty roads in the dead of night.

All the things they used to love when they were young.

While I lay alone in a hospital bed, this was how she had spent her time—reliving her past with him.

The thought was laughable.

Vanessa was my wife, yet the only way I could see her was through another man's Instagram feed.