The Lies He Told Me (Grace and Antonio)

On our wedding anniversary, my husband Antonio Kaufman watched the sunrise with his first love Sabrina Hayes atop a mountain.

He left me stranded in a rain-soaked forest for hours.

A Facebook notification from Sabrina, visible only to me, revealed the, betrayal:

"Your husband is watching the sunrise with me!"

The accompanying photo showed them in a rose- filled tent, hands. intertwined, wearing matching rings.

Sabrina's chest bore visible hickeys and a bite mark.

Getting no reply, Sabrina sent me more photos, each one a sickening blow.

Antonio eventually called.

"The sunrise is gorgeous. Come join us," he said.noveldrama

Forcing a smile, I replied, "No, I'm fine."

He erupted, "You're jealous! Sabrina's like a sister. I promised to watch the sunrise with her."

"Is your car only big enough for two?" I asked calmly.

"She's severely depressed. If I'd said no, she might have hurt herself," he explained, his voice trailing off as the weight of his words settled in.

Antonio, a brilliant psychologist, expertly cared for his patients, yet seemed to forget my mental health struggles.

We'd met in a psychiatric clinic. He'd pursued me, and now this.

I hung up. His repeated calls went

serviered: my phone was out . Only then did he realit abandoned me.

he'd

We were supposed to celebrate our wedding anniversary today.

After arriving at the mountain, Sabrina called incessantly as we set up the tent.

Hearing her sobs, Antonio declared. "I need to go check on Sabrina."

Then, he shoved me from the car and sped away, promising to return within 30 minutes. Five hours passed.

A fierce

tent. I ate the last of our food, annet , until dawn. Connet

hit, destroying our

and

Finally, a message. "I'm coming."

He never arrived.

Villagers found me and called the police.

I was hospitalized with a high fever and headache.

While receiving an IV, I saw Antonio's Facebook post, "Sweetie, why did you get lost?"

Sabrina commented, "Because my guide wasn't with me."

I liked the post; it vanished, replaced by Sabrina's crying emoji.

After finishing my IV, I took a cab

home, ordered takeout for delive net

and fell asleep on the sofa,

Suddenly, a loud, urgent knocking shattered the silence.