Tragedy of Love

Drowning in Lies

I stopped in my tracks, my heart racing when I saw Kevin standing there. He looked like he'd been waiting, his gaze burning with an intensity that made my stomach twist.

"Kevin," I managed, my voice barely more than a whisper, "what... what are you doing here?"

Without a word, he stepped forward and handed me something. My heart dropped as I instinctively opened my palm to receive it. I ripped open the envelope, and my breath caught in my throat. Inside were photos—remnants of a past I'd tried to escape. Wedding photos of Preston and me, smiling, blissfully unaware of the hell to come. Maternity shots. Moments that should've been cherished but now felt like chains binding me to a life I wanted to forget. The blood drained from my face, the weight of reality crashing down.

Panic twisted inside me, and I took a shaky breath. "Where did you get these?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile truth of the moment.

"Some stranger gave them to me," he replied, his voice calm and low, which only made it scarier. "Told me you weren't who I thought you were. Care to explain?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. All I could do was stare at the photos, memories that felt like shards of glass embedded in my heart. "Kevin, baby, please, it's not—"

"Don't. Call. Me. Baby," he snapped, his calm facade cracking slightly, the fury flaring in his eyes. "You don't get to call me that after lying to me about everything."

"Kevin, please, listen to me," I whispered, trying to keep him calm. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know how. I was scared—"

"Oh, you were scared?" he interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You were scared, so you just kept me in the dark, kept stringing me along like an idiot?"

"Kevin," I pleaded, stepping closer, "just let me explain—"

His eyes flashed with anger, and he took a step back, as if my presence was too much for him to bear. "Don't call me that! Stop trying to play me, Denise! You think calling me 'baby' is going to make me forget that you've been lying to me this whole time?"

"It's not like that!" I insisted, panic bubbling up. "We're separated, okay? He cheated on me! I didn't know how to tell you because I was scared you'd leave if you knew about him—"

"Leave?" he scoffed, disbelief lacing his voice. "Oh, you thought you'd lose me, so instead you kept me as your backup while you stayed married to him? Tell me, were you planning to keep this going forever? Just keep me in the dark while you sneaked around with your husband on the side?"

"No!" I shook my head frantically, reaching out to him. "I swear, I only want to be with you. I—"

"You what?" he cut me off, a bitter smile twisting his mouth. "You love me? You only want me?" He laughed, but it was hollow, filled with nothing but hurt and betrayal. "Do you even hear yourself, Denise? You're standing outside your husband's house, and you expect me to believe that I'm the only one you want?"

"Kevin," I whispered, tears starting to blur my vision. "You have to believe me. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, congratulations," he spat, his voice turning cold and cutting. "You did a damn good job of it. You made me fall for you, made me believe we had a future, while the whole time, you were just using me to feel better about yourself."

"No, that's not true—"

"You lied to me!" His calm cracked, and his voice rose, echoing down the empty street. "You lied every time you told me you loved me, every time you said you wanted a future with me! Was it all a game to you, Denise? Did you even care about me at all?"