Noah's POV
My thumb hovered above the screen.
Every instinct told me not to open it.
Delete it.
Block the number.
Pretend it had never arrived.
Instead...
I tapped it.
The video began playing.
The image was slightly shaky, as though whoever recorded it had been hiding their phone.
An office.
Large windows overlooked a city skyline I didn't recognize.
Dark wood.
Glass walls.
A familiar figure stood beside a desk.
My breathing stopped.
Diamant.
He was wearing the same charcoal suit he'd left in yesterday morning.
The same silver tie.
The same watch I'd fastened around his wrist before he left.
There was no mistaking him.
The camera zoomed in slightly.
Another figure stepped into view.
The woman.
The same woman.
The one from the restaurant.
The one from the photographs.
She stood close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
I couldn't hear what they were saying.
There was no audio.
Only silence.
My heartbeat echoed loudly inside my ears.
Diamant looked at her.
She smiled.
Then...
She reached for his tie.
Straightened it gently.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
No...
Diamant didn't move away.
He simply stood there.
Watching her.
Then she leaned closer.
Closer.
Until...
Their lips met.
The video ended.
The screen went black.
I stared at my own reflection.
No.
No.
No.
There had to be another explanation.
There had to be.
I replayed it.
Once.
Twice.
Five times.
Ten.
Each time...
The ending stayed the same.
I could explain the photographs.
A picture captured one second.
One angle.
One moment.
Pictures could lie.
But videos...
Videos moved.
Videos showed time.
Didn't they?
I lowered the phone slowly.
My hands were shaking.
This couldn't be happening.
Not after...
Not after everything.
The baby.
That night.
The way he'd held me.
The day he canceled work just to stay with me.
The forehead kisses.
The quiet laughter.
The promise hidden inside his embrace.
Had all of that meant nothing?
A painful laugh escaped my throat.
No.
It had meant something.
To me.
I stood abruptly.
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too suffocating.
I began walking.
Living room.
Kitchen.
Hallway.
Back again.
I didn't even realize I was crying until a tear landed on my hand.
I wiped it away immediately.
Another followed.
Then another.
"No..."
I whispered to no one.
"He wouldn't..."
Would he?
My mind fought against itself.
Trust him.
Believe him.
You promised.
But another voice answered.
Then why didn't he tell you about her?
Why did strangers have to?
Why do these videos keep coming?
Why is he always with the same woman?
I pressed my hands against my temples.
Stop.
Please stop.
I opened our message history.
The last message was from two days ago.
A simple reminder for me to eat on time.
Nothing since.
I stared at his contact.
My thumb hovered over the call button.
Just call him.
Ask him.
He'll explain.
I almost did it.
Almost.
Then I looked back at the paused video.
My courage disappeared.
What if he answered?
What if he lied?
What if...
It was true?
Somehow...
That possibility hurt more than silence.
I dropped the phone onto the couch.
My knees gave out.
I sat on the floor.
The house was enormous.
Too enormous.
Every room echoed.
Every hallway reminded me he wasn't here.
The silence wrapped around me until it became unbearable.
Night fell slowly.
The lights outside the windows blinked alive one by one.
Security guards continued their patrols beyond the gates.
The house remained perfectly safe.
Yet...
I had never felt less secure.
One of the maids knocked gently on the living room door.
"Young Master... dinner is ready."
"I'm not hungry."
A brief pause.
"Should I leave something for later?"
"...No."
She hesitated before quietly leaving again.
I stayed exactly where I was.
Hours passed.
I didn't notice.
I replayed the video again.
Each time hoping I had imagined it.
Each time finding the same ending.
The same kiss.
The same suit.
The same woman.
Sometime after midnight, I finally climbed the stairs.
Our bedroom greeted me with familiar stillness.
His side of the bed remained perfectly made.
Untouched.
I sat on the edge of it.
My eyes drifted toward his pillow.
Without thinking...
I reached for it.
Held it against my chest.
It still carried the faint scent of his pheromones.
Warm.
Comforting.
Painful.
A sob escaped before I could stop it.
I buried my face into the pillow.
Trying to muffle the sound.
Trying to stop crying.
I couldn't.
Every memory from the past few months came rushing back.
The way he'd looked at me.
The way he'd smiled.
The way he'd whispered,
"You don't carry things alone in silence."
The irony was almost unbearable.
Because here I was.
Completely alone.
Carrying something I didn't know how to survive.
"I trusted you..."
The words broke apart as they left my lips.
"I really trusted you..."
No answer came.
Only silence.
And somewhere far away...
In another country...
The man I loved had no idea that someone had just shattered everything we'd managed to rebuild.
I cried until my eyes burned.
Until exhaustion became stronger than heartbreak.
And even then...
Sleep never truly came.