Soothe

Serena blinked, fighting back the tears stinging her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, trying to steady her breathing. Just then, her phone buzzed softly against the nightstand. The screen lit up the dark space. She reached out and grabbed it. It was a new email from an unknown sender. She tapped the notification open, and her entire body froze in utter disbelief.

Attached to the message were dozens of high-resolution photos. Every single one captured Declan with Lyla.

Serena swiped through the images, her chest tightening with sickening dread. The first photo showed Lyla in her first trimester. She was sitting in a clinic waiting room, and Declan was right beside her. The next image was taken months later. Lyla had a visible, swollen belly. She and Declan were walking through a sunlit park. Their hands were intertwined, his fingers laced securely with hers.

Then came the hospital photos. Declan pacing anxiously outside a delivery room, running his hands through his hair, tension radiating from his posture. Every image was stamped with a clear timestamp. They were all from the exact year Lyla had her baby.

The puzzle pieces clicked together. During that entire year, Declan had constantly packed his bags, citing urgent business trips, plummeting stocks, and the financial fallout of his older brother Nolan's death. But he was never at work. He was staying by Lyla's side, playing the devoted partner throughout her pregnancy.

A heart-wrenching pain tore through Serena's chest. The tears she had held back finally spilled over her lashes, tracking hot paths down her cheeks. She looked down at the man lying next to her. His heavy, muscular arm was still draped across her waist, his grip firm. He held her captive in his embrace, pretending to be her loyal husband.

'Eight years together,' she thought, the realization twisting like a knife in her gut. 'Has he ever loved me for real?'

The heavy, suffocating weight of his muscular arm wrapped around her waist became unbearable. The crushing betrayal morphed into a volatile, blinding fury. Serena sat up abruptly, tearing herself from his possessive hold. She twisted her body, raised her hand, and slapped Declan across the face with all the raw strength she could muster.

The sharp crack echoed loudly in the quiet bedroom.

Declan jolted awake. His eyes snapped open, a fierce anger flashing across his sharp features. He pushed himself up, ready to snap at whoever had struck him. But the moment his gaze landed on Serena’s weeping face, the hostility drained from his expression.

He rubbed his reddening cheek, his brow furrowing in concern. "Serena," he whispered. His tone dropped into that familiar, gentle cadence. He shifted closer, reaching out to grab her bare shoulders. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

His touch felt like burning acid. Serena pulled away sharply, creating a physical barrier of distance between them. She glared at him, her voice dropping to a freezing temperature. "Declan, I want a divorce."

Declan dropped his hands. He let out a slow breath, his voice softening even more. He looked at her as if she were a fragile child throwing a temper tantrum. "Serena, what happened? Why are you suddenly like this? We are okay, aren't we? Don't say that."

Serena’s tears stopped. The coldness in his manipulative tone dried them up completely. She lifted her chin and stared right into his dark eyes. "Do you think I'm only being irrational?"

Declan pressed his lips into a thin line. He said nothing. His silence spoke volumes.

In that instant, Serena felt a wave of crushing powerlessness. It was like punching into thin air. 'He'll dismiss me as jealous,' she thought bitterly. 'He thinks that after petting my head and soothing my anger, everything will just miraculously go back to normal. He'll keep running between Lyla and me as if nothing happened.'

She grabbed her phone from the tangled sheets, tossing the device directly at his broad chest. It bounced off him and landed face-up on the bed.

"Declan, all that year you fed me excuses," she snapped, her tone eerily steady. "Nolan's death, the plummeting stocks, the urgent business trips. But you were never working. You were with Lyla during her pregnancy."

Declan glanced down at the glowing screen. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the photos, but he didn't reach for the phone.

"What is she to you?" Serena demanded, leaning forward. "Can't her own family take care of her? Why you? Why did you, her brother-in-law, have to be there for every prenatal checkup? Tell me."

She thought she would scream. Yet she kept her posture rigid, her eyes glinting with cold sarcasm. "Or is this some twisted tradition your family follows? When the elder brother dies, the younger takes his place and marries his widow? You treat her like a substitute wife."

"Serena!" Declan shouted. His expression darkened dangerously, the gentle facade shattering. He glared at her, his jaw ticking.

He let out a heavy sigh, shifting his stance to look down at her with a conflicted frown. "Nolan passed away so suddenly. My parents were too heartbroken to take care of her."

He paused, his eyes narrowing as he turned the blame back onto her. "As for her parents... you've always disliked her. You constantly kept her away from your parents and the rest of the family. She was isolated because of you. She didn't dare tell anyone what she was going through."

Serena stared at him, stunned by the sheer audacity of his words. He was using his dead brother as a convenient shield and blaming her attitude for his cheating.

"Alright, stop it," Declan ordered, his tone firm and dismissive. "I took care of her and Leo all for Nolan. Don't let your thoughts run away with you."