Each step she took felt heavier, her chest tightening with the weight of emotions she had tried so hard to suppress. Betrayal, anger, sadness—it all swirled inside her like a storm ready to break loose. Charles’s pleas echoed in her ears, but they only fueled the fire burning inside her. How could he even dare to ask for forgiveness after what he had done?

As she reached her car, she paused. Her hands shook as she fumbled for the keys in her bag. She pressed her palms against the car’s cool surface, trying to regain her composure, but the tears continued to spill. “I loved him,” she whispered to herself,...