Page 95 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

Only now do I fully understand what she went through.

“Hugo and his family supported me. They were patient, present… unwavering. Eventually, I understood why. I reminded them of Hugo’s sister, Carole, who died from an aggressive cancer.”

Without thinking, I lift her fingers to my lips.

I need this comfort just as much as she does.

“Even so, I tried to reach you…”

She tried to contact me?

When?

“I left messages, but you never called back. And my letter went unanswered. I know now that you never received them… but at the time, I thought you’d moved on. Even then, I still came back to our home seven months later, once my health allowed it. And that’s when…”

I stop breathing.

“…I saw you walking into our home with her. You’d rebuilt your life without me…”

Her voice breaks.

And before I can stop myself, I cup her face gently in my hands.

“No. You’re wrong. It’s not what you think. Bianca had rented the apartment below ours.”

Her eyes shine with tears.

She keeps talking as if she never heard me.

“And three months ago… I saw the announcement. I wasn’t your wife anymore. I’d been declared dead. Our marriage had been dissolved. And you… engaged to Bianca. That’s when the exact memory of that night came back to me.”

The ground disappears beneath my feet.

Out of every possible moment… it had to be my engagement to Bianca that triggered the return of her memories from the worst night of her life.

Fuck.

Without realizing it, she rubs the hollow of her shoulder like she’s trying to erase phantom pain.

My voice catches.

I retrace the path of my life—every moment, every decision... until I reach my first night with Bianca six months ago.

Everything takes on a different meaning now.

I wasn’t moving on.

I was betraying her.

Silence crushes us.

“Look at me.”

My voice scrapes raw against my throat.

“No one replaced you. Who I was without you... that wasn’t me. Just a broken, incomplete version of myself. Someone trying to survive.”

I rest my forehead against hers.