[In the Shadows of Love] ~ Pedri.Gonzalez

Chapter 1

Emily sat curled up on her couch, scrolling through her social media feed as the evening light filtered through her apartment windows. Her thumb paused on a photo that caught her eye—a picture of Mark with his arm around another woman, both of them smiling broadly. The caption read, "Celebrating our love! #ThreeMonthsStrong."

Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the post, unable to believe what she was seeing. She clicked on the woman's profile, her fingers trembling. Photos and posts filled the screen, chronicling a relationship that had apparently been going on for months—overlapping with the time Mark was still with her.

Emily's mind raced as she pieced together the timeline. The dinners he missed, the unexplained absences, the sudden secrecy with his phone—it all made sense now. The betrayal felt like a punch to the gut, and tears began to blur her vision.

Desperate for answers, she opened her messages and typed out a shaky text to Mark: "We need to talk. Now."

Within minutes, her phone buzzed with his reply: "What's up?"

Emily's anger flared. How could he pretend nothing was wrong? She took a screenshot of the incriminating post and sent it to him, followed by: "Explain this."

A few agonizing minutes passed before Mark replied: "Seriously, Emily? Are you stalking me now?"

She couldn't believe his audacity. Without thinking, she hit the call button. Mark answered on the second ring, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Emily, what's your problem?"

"My problem?" she seethed, her voice trembling with fury. "You've been seeing her for three months! How could you do this to me?"

He scoffed. "Oh, come on. Don't be so dramatic. It's just a picture."

"Just a picture?" she echoed in disbelief. "You've been cheating on me, Mark. This isn't something you can just brush off."

"Whatever," he said dismissively. "Maybe if you weren't so boring, I wouldn't have had to find someone else. Get over it."

Emily felt as though the ground had been ripped out from under her. "I can't believe you're saying this. I thought you loved me."

Mark's tone turned cold. "Love? You were just convenient, Emily. Grow up and move on."

That was the final straw. "You know what, Mark? I'm done. I deserve better than this, better than you."

She hung up, her hands shaking but her resolve solidifying. As the reality of his betrayal sank in, so did her determination to move forward. She deleted his number, blocked him on social media, and closed the chapter of her life that he had tainted.

The pain was raw, but amidst the hurt, Emily felt a spark of hope. She knew she would heal and find happiness again, far away from the lies and deceit of her past.

Emily sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes red and swollen from crying. She had just finished explaining everything to Bella over the phone, and now Bella was on her way over. Minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Emily opened the door to find her best friend standing there, concern etched on her face.