Zoe didn’t move. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her face stained with hurt.

“Don’t yell. Don’t make this a scene,” she said, her voice low but lethal. “You had a thousand chances to tell me the truth. A thousand. And you chose silence. And now you want to scream like you’re the victim? If I had cheated, you would never forgive me. You’d probably throw me out of this house—if not worse.”

Arthur was barely breathing. His chest rose and fell in frantic, uneven waves. He looked at her one last time—rage, pain, wounded pride burning behind his eyes.

Without another word, he stormed out of the bedroom.

The door slammed so violently behind him that the hinges trembled.

The sound echoed through the mansion like a dry thunderclap cutting through silence.

Zoe stayed where she was, standing with a heart split into pieces. She could still hear the echo of the door, but inside, the noise was different—shattered trust, wounded love, and the crushing certainty that nothing would ever be the same.

H