Detroit, MI:
Justin's face paled, the slip of Lilah's name hanging in the air like a bomb waiting to explode. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The silence was suffocating.
Monica's eyes blazed, her voice low but cutting. "Did you just call me Lilah? Are you serious right now?"
"Monica, wait—"
"Wait?" She took a step back, her hands trembling. "After everything I've done to fix this marriage? All the sacrifices? You have the nerve to call me by her name?"
Justin clenched his jaw, the tension rising. He'd held back for so long, trying to maintain some semblance of peace, but now, the dam was cracking. "Sacrifices?" he scoffed, his voice dripping with bitterness. "What sacrifices, Monica? Cheating on me with your lies, sneaking around behind my back with God knows who? You think I don't know?"
Her eyes flashed with fury. "That's in the past, Justin. We were falling apart, and I made a mistake—"
"No," he interrupted, his voice cold as ice. "You made choices, Monica. You chose to betray me, over and over again. And now, you're trying to act like you're the victim? You think I'm just supposed to forget everything you did?"
She took another step forward, her voice a dangerous whisper. "I made mistakes. But I'm trying to fix it, to rebuild us. And now you're throwing it all away for some girl? For Lilah?"
Justin's eyes narrowed, his voice even colder. "You don't get to play the martyr here. You cheated, Monica. You tore this marriage apart. And for years, I tried to forgive you. I tried to stay for the kids, to make it work. But you? You never cared. You never tried. All you ever did was blame me while you kept lying."
Monica's face twisted with rage, her words sharp. "You think Lilah's going to save you? You think running to some younger woman is going to fix all your problems? She doesn't even know you like I do."
Justin shook his head, his voice steady. "She doesn't have to know everything. What matters is that she's real. She's genuine, Monica. She believes in me, something you haven't done in a long time. Lilah's everything you're not—kind, honest, supportive."
Monica's laughter was harsh, mocking. "Supportive? Honest? She doesn't know the mess you've made of your life, Justin. She doesn't know the real you. But she will. And when she does, she'll leave you just like I should have."
His eyes burned with a fury he'd been holding back for too long. "The difference is, Lilah's not you. She won't lie, cheat, and tear me down the way you did. She makes me feel like I'm worth something. You never did."
"You're pathetic," Monica spat, her voice dripping with venom. "You think you're this perfect husband now, but you were never enough. That's why I did what I did, Justin. You pushed me to it."
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Residuals (COMPLETED)
Fanfiction"I just can't stand Ben anymore." She admitted truthfully, and maybe she would have kept this information to herself if she wasn't drunk. "All he does is drink and plays video games, we don't sleep together, he hasn't touched me in almost a year I'm...
