Chapter 1: Breaking Point
(Ava's POV )
I bit back a scream as one of my hands flew to cover my open mouth, while the other clutched the phone tightly.
"This has to be a dream! This can't be true!" I muttered under my breath.
My heart pounded against my chest as my eyes remained glued to the picture boldly displayed on my phone screen.
It was a nude video of my fiancé, Gregory, in bed with two women. He was drilling into one of them while the other fondled herself.
All of them were stark naked, and they seemed too engrossed in their activities to notice the camera behind them.
A thought struck me.
Maybe they knew. Maybe they knew they were being recorded.
I whipped my head to the side, struggling to stop myself from throwing up. I edged backwards and slumped onto the couch behind me.
I was just about to leave the house to pick Gregory up from the airport. He was returning from a two-week work trip, and today was supposed to be special—it was our fourth anniversary.
My eyes filled with tears as I let the phone slip from my shaky hands and fall to the floor.
How was I supposed to drag myself to the airport to pick up a cheating partner?
It felt worse knowing I had watched that video so many times that it now vividly replayed itself in my head.
My mouth turned dry. Wrapping my arms around my small frame, I sobbed.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
I glanced at the screen. The caller ID read, "My Love."
That was how Greg’s number was saved on my phone. I knew why he was calling—his flight must have landed, and he was now searching for me at the airport.
"Fuck you, Gregory!" I cursed aloud, breaking the silence in the room. I picked up my phone, turned it off, and stormed into the bathroom.
One thing I knew about Gregory was that he would never admit to being wrong unless there was undeniable evidence against him. In the last four years of dating this man, I had never suspected he would go as far as kissing another woman. And now, there he was in a video, having a threesome.
I bent over the bathroom sink, nausea rising. I let the contents of my stomach out into the sink.
Feeling dizzy, I washed my face and dragged myself back to the living room to wait for him.
I knew he would book a ride home once he got tired of waiting at the airport. He had called several more times, but I ignored him.
Half an hour later, the front door opened, and I sprang to my feet as Gregory walked in.
"Sweetheart!" he exclaimed, closing the door behind him. He dropped his suitcase on the floor. There was a wide grin on his face, and his eyes shone with excitement as he looked at me.
"Welcome home, Gregory," I said coldly.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Gregory? It’s been a long time since you called me that. Are you okay, Sweetie?"
I folded my arms across my chest and stared at him in silence. My heart raced, but I held back from yelling.
He took a few steps toward me, then stopped. "I called multiple times when my flight landed. You weren’t there to pick me up, Sweetie."
"What do you do for work?" I asked.
He frowned. "I thought you knew. I’m a personal assistant to—"
"Oh, spare me that bullshit!" I shot back. "Tell me why you travel so often to places I know nothing about."
He stepped back, eyeing me as though trying to piece everything together.
"Did someone tell you something? Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked calmly.
I pulled out my phone, swiped through until I reached the video, and held it up in his face, fuming.
"Yes, we need to talk about this, you lying bastard!" I said, raising my voice slightly.
His eyes fell on the screen, and within seconds, his expression shifted—from surprise to shock, and then to anger. His brows knitted together.
"Honey, can we not do this right now? There's nothing to talk about." He muttered, turning to pick up his briefcase by the door.
"Gregory!" I yelled. "You cheated on me, and this is the reaction I get?"
"I did that for you!" he growled, pointing at my phone. "That video you saw is completely true, and I did that for you!"
His words hit me with a shock. I could barely believe what he had just said.
How could he say that he had sex with another woman because of me? Different questions swirled around my mind and my breath hitched.
"Gregory," I said, my voice breaking as tears welled in my eyes, "Tell me you're joking. Please, tell me that this isn't true."
He rolled his eyes, wagging a finger in my face, "You started this mess, so let me complete it for you."
"Gregory, you slept with other women and you aren't even guilty about it?"
"You asked what I do for work, huh? I’m a fúcking pornstar." He sneered. Then, he paused for a moment before he continued talking, "Yes, I sleep with other women and get paid for it. How else do you think I’ve been able to maintain our expensive lifestyle?"
Gregory? A pornstar?
His words came at me like a brick, and I staggered backwards as my mind reeled.
He closed the distance between us and stood right in front of me. I looked up into his ocean-blue eyes—the same eyes that made me fall in love with him.
"Ava, now that you’ve found out what I’ve been trying to hide, I have a surprise for you," he said.
Tears streamed down my face. "You cheated on me," I mumbled.
"Yeah. I’ve been doing this for months, and you don’t have to forgive me."
I blinked at him in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"I’m breaking up with you, Ava. I’m ending this shitty relationship today."
"What? Are you serious, Gregory?"
"Yes. The only reason I get excited to travel for work is because I get to have good sex, which I barely get from you. Ava, you’re so boring in bed, and I’m tired of putting up with it."
"You proposed to me last month," I gasped, pinching my arm to wake myself from this nightmare.
He let out a mirthless laugh. "Oh, Ava. Why are you so daft? Did you really think I’d marry you?"
"You proposed!"
"I did it because you practically forced me! With your endless nagging about how your sister is married, I just got a ring to shut you up!"
My eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah, that’s it," he said, his deep voice echoing as he walked away. When he reached the staircase, he turned to face me.
"I’m going upstairs to shower and change. By the time I’m done, if you or any of your things are still here, you’ll regret it."
Something snapped in my brain. "You’re worse than the devil!" I yelled. "You have the guts to break up with me on our anniversary?"
"Anniversary?" He chuckled. "Just get the hell out of my life. Don’t make me force you."
With that, he went upstairs. I collapsed to the floor, holding my head in my hands as I broke down in tears.
