Broken Promises || Chris Evans

10

Chris woke up to an obnoxious buzz of notifications on his phone. As the fog of a hangover and a wild night wore off, realization hit him like a ton of bricks.   He reached for his phone, the screen illuminating his face as the reality sank in. Pictures, hundreds of them, plastered all over the internet. Him and Emily. At the bar, stumbling out of the taxi, entering the apartment. They were all candid, raw, and damning. The panic and shame instantly hit him. He was torn between the memories of a wild night and the reality of his mistake. He had cheated on Delilah, the woman he vowed to love and cherish.  He tried to swallow the sickening feeling in his stomach, but it wouldn't budge. He knew he had to face her, but he had no idea how.

He quickly got out of bed, trying to avoid waking Emily who was still sleeping soundly. The apartment was silent, the echo of his footsteps on the hardwood floor the only sound.  He walked into the living room, the early morning sun streaming through the curtains, illuminating the room. It felt wrong, like a scene from a nightmare. He could see his laptop sitting on the coffee table, the lid open, the screen displaying news article after news article about him and Emily. The headlines stung like a slap to the face. "Oscar Nominee Cheats on Fellow Actress Wife". "The Scandal of the Century: Chris Evans Caught in Betrayal".

He felt sick to his stomach, but he made himself sit down, opening the laptop, and scrolling through the articles. Each word felt like a blow, each photo another dagger in his heart.  
He couldn't believe what he had done. How could he have been so stupid, so reckless? He had no real excuse, no valid reason to justify his behavior. He was in love with Delilah, or at least he thought he was, but he had thrown it all away for one night of recklessness. As he scrolled, he saw that the pictures weren't just on news outlets; they were everywhere. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. His life, and Delilah's by extension, were now public spectacle.

The affair hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment thing. It hadn't been a single drunken mistake. It had been going on for months, happening behind Delilah's back. Emily and Chris had been careful, keeping the affair under wraps. They had been discreet, meeting only at night when. But they had gotten careless. Cocky. They thought they could keep the secret forever, that they would never get caught. And then tonight, they'd gone out in public, and the press had caught them in one of the most incriminating situations possible.

Emily slowly opened her eyes, still hazy from the previous night's alcohol and excitement. She glanced over, expecting to see Chris beside her, but the bed was empty.She sat up, her head spinning a little from the hangover. The events of the night before slowly started to come back to her. As Emily stumbled out of bed, she noticed Chris sitting at the coffee table, his back towards her, his head bowed over the open laptop. He looked tense, his shoulders raised and his jaw clenched. Something was wrong. She walked over to him, her voice hoarse from sleep, "Babe, what's going on?" Chris turned to look at her, his face a mask of unreadable emotion.

"Have you checked your phone?" he asked, his voice gruff and devoid of its usual warmth.
Emily frowned, confusion mixing with her hangover. "No... why? What's happened?" Instead of answering, Chris pushed the laptop towards her. "Have a look for yourself," he said, his tone harsh. Emily moved closer, her eyes landing on the open laptop screen. The words and images assaulted her like a slap to the face. The shock hit her first, followed quickly by dread. The affair was all over the internet, exposed for the world to see. "No, no, no," Emily whispered, her breath catching in her throat. She scrolled through the articles, the images, the headlines. They all told the same story, a story she had hoped would never come out.

Chris was silent beside her, watching her reactions like a hawk. All of a sudden, the gravity of the situation hit her. This wasn't just a scandal. This was a nightmare. Her career, her reputation, everything she had worked for was now at stake. And Chris was just sitting there, stoic and silent, watching her process. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? She looked at him, searched his face for some sign, some hint of what he was thinking. But his expression was unreadable."What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice small and shaky. Her question hung in the air, heavy with unspoken accusations and fears.