Chapter 2: The Woman With the Flowers
Part 2 ⬇️
She was young.
Beautiful.
Holding a bouquet of flowers that I hadn't given her.
Ben walked straight to her, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her.
Right there.
In front of everyone.
My legs stopped working.
I just stood there in my new dress — the first thing I'd bought for myself in six years — while the people around me started clapping for someone else's love story.
Then Ben turned.
He saw me standing there.
He didn't look ashamed.
He looked annoyed.
He walked over slowly and said, in a voice so low only I could hear it:
"Catherine.
Don't make a scene."
"Who is she?" I whispered.
He straightened his gown.
"We'll talk later."
"Tell me who she is, Ben."
He glanced back at her, then back at me.
And what he said next made my whole body go cold.
"She's the reason I made it through.
Not you."
I couldn't breathe.
Around us, people were laughing, taking photos, celebrating.
Nobody knew what had just happened.
Nobody saw what he'd just done to me.
Then an older woman appeared at Ben's side.
His mother.
She looked at me with an expression I'd never seen from her before.
Not surprise.
Not sympathy.
Relief.
Like she'd been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
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What Catherine found out next — about the woman, about Ben's mother, and about what had really been happening behind her back — is far worse than anyone in that auditorium could have imagined.
Click the link below to read the full story.
