Bitter Ends

Chapter Three: The Weekend

The next morning, Izzy woke up to an empty bed. She stretched her arm out, expecting to feel the warmth of Ethan beside her, but the sheets were cold. Confused, she sat up, rubbing her eyes as she listened for any sounds coming from the kitchen or the living room. Nothing.

"Ethan?" she called out, her voice echoing through the quiet cabin. No answer.

She checked her phone. No texts, no missed calls. The slight ache in her chest returned, the one that had been there since they'd arrived. Trying not to read into it, she pulled herself out of bed and threw on a sweater before padding into the kitchen.

There was a note on the counter:

Went out to grab breakfast. Be back soon. Love you.

Izzy stared at the words, her eyes lingering on the last two. *Love you*. She sighed, tossing the note back down. Maybe he had just wanted to surprise her, to start the day off right. But the creeping doubt was still there, like a shadow in the corner of her mind.

She stepped out onto the deck with a cup of coffee, the cool morning air prickling her skin as she settled into one of the wicker chairs overlooking the lake. The water was perfectly still, mirroring the pale blue sky. It was beautiful—too beautiful for the heaviness that had settled in her chest.

She sipped her coffee, trying to let the tranquility of the morning wash over her, but her mind kept drifting back to Ethan. He'd been acting strange for weeks now, and no matter how much she tried to push it aside, she couldn't ignore the growing sense that something was wrong.

Her phone buzzed on the table. She glanced down, expecting it to be a message from Ethan, but it was from her best friend, Claire.

Claire: How's the lake house, babe? Need me to rescue you yet?

Izzy smiled despite herself, her fingers moving quickly across the screen.

Izzy:It's beautiful, but I think Ethan's more distracted than ever. Not sure a "romantic weekend" is going to fix things.

Claire:Want me to come up there and smack him for you?

Izzy: No, not yet. I'm trying to be patient, but something feels off. I think I'm just being paranoid.

Claire didn't respond right away, and Izzy leaned back in her chair, staring out at the lake again. Maybe she was being paranoid. Ethan had always been a little distant when work got intense. He was ambitious, driven, the kind of person who couldn't shut off, even on vacation. She had known that about him from the start. It wasn't a dealbreaker.

But this felt different.

Her phone buzzed again.

Claire: You're not being paranoid, Iz. Trust your gut. If something feels off, you need to talk to him about it.

Izzy sighed, knowing Claire was right. But the idea of confronting Ethan, of putting all her fears out in the open, terrified her. What if he confirmed what she was beginning to suspect? What if this was the end of everything?

She didn't want to think about that. Not yet.

As the sun climbed higher, she tried to distract herself, scrolling mindlessly through her phone, checking emails, anything to keep her mind occupied. But then a notification popped up on her screen a tagged photo on social media.

Curious, Izzy opened the app and saw a picture of Ethan.

He was standing outside a café in town, a takeout bag in his hand and a smile on his face. But he wasn't alone. There was a woman next to him, her arm linked through his, laughing at something he was saying.

Izzy's heart stopped.

The woman looked familiar—too familiar. Her hair was a little longer now, but Izzy recognized her from the few times they'd crossed paths before.

It was Lauren.

Lauren, the woman from his office. The one he had always insisted was just a colleague.

Izzy's mind raced as she stared at the photo, her stomach twisting in knots. She scrolled through the comments, her breath catching in her throat when she saw the name of the person who had posted it.

Marc.

Ethan's best friend, Marc, had tagged Ethan in the photo, casually mentioning how great it was to see "E and L" together again. Izzy's hand trembled as she read the comment over and over, her pulse quickening.

"Together again?" What did that mean? Why was Lauren here, with Ethan, on their weekend getaway?

Her chest tightened as a flood of memories rushed back—Ethan's late nights at the office, the extra trips, the phone calls he always stepped out of the room to take. She had dismissed it all as work stress, telling herself that there was nothing to worry about. He had never given her a reason to doubt him. Not until now.

Izzy felt like the ground was shifting beneath her. Every instinct she had ignored, every warning sign she had brushed aside, was now glaring at her with brutal clarity. She had tried so hard to convince herself that she was imagining things, that everything was fine.

But she wasn't imagining this.

Just as she was about to dial his number, she heard the front door open. Ethan strolled in, two coffee cups and a paper bag in his hands, looking perfectly at ease.

"Morning," he said, flashing her a smile that used to melt her heart.

Izzy stared at him, unable to force a smile back. Her throat was tight, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to say. But the words wouldn't come. All she could see was that photo, all she could hear was the sound of her heart breaking.

Ethan frowned, noticing her silence. "You okay?"

She swallowed hard, gripping the phone in her hand. Her stomach twisted, and she realized in that moment that everything was about to change.

"Who's Lauren?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan froze, the color draining from his face.

The truth was coming, and she wasn't sure she was ready for it.