Chapter 5

Tears welled up in my eyes, utterly shattering the tough-girl image I’d always kept—and that made Cameron’s heart twitch involuntarily.

He was used to me being fierce and decisive, always charging headfirst into any situation. But seeing me like this—crushed, exposed—he couldn’t bear it. He wanted to say it was for my own good, that divorce might be a blessing in disguise… but in the end, he was my best friend, and he just couldn’t walk away.

“Fine. Tell me what to do. I’ll help you,” he said at last.

I released my grip on his shirt. The overwhelming grief that had wrapped itself around me was suffocating. I was someone who demanded to be seen, to be known, to exist brightly—but now that dazzling sense of presence was buried beneath sorrow. Even Cameron looked like he was about to spiral into depression just by standing near me.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” he said gently. “Act like you don’t know anything for now. Watch Jim. See what he does next.”

He reached for my hand to pull me toward the back door, but I suddenly pulled out my phone. My fingers trembled as I swiped to Jim’s contact. My stomach turned just imagining his voice, but I couldn’t stop myself, I needed to hear it. I needed to confirm it wasn’t all a nightmare.

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong? You get up early today,” came Jim’s voice, warm and affectionate as ever.

And yet… it made my skin crawl.

I stood in front of the French windows, staring down at the scene below—Jim and Claire, standing side by side with smiles and intimacy between them. It felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

At that moment, Cameron handed me a glass of cold water. I took it and downed it in one go.

“Sweetheart? What are you doing?” Jim’s voice rose slightly, probably because he heard the gulping.

“Nothing. I was just thirsty,” I replied, forcing my voice to sound light and natural. “Jim, I miss you… I think I’ll come by the hospital to see you.”

My hand gripping the phone turned ghostly white. My smile was more like a grimace, but I pushed the fury down and tried to sound like the sweet, loving wife I’d always been.

God knows, I wanted to scream and curse him into another dimension.

Jim sounded confused. “Are you okay? You’re… kind of weird today.”

Downstairs, I saw him awkwardly push away a spoonful of food Claire offered him. His thick brows furrowed in discomfort.

My gaze could’ve set them both on fire.

Just then, Cameron stepped in front of me, blocking my line of sight. He pointed at the phone in my hand with a look that said Don’t blow the plan now. Swallow it.

I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and swallowed the rage burning in my throat.

“No, I just read a sad novel,” I said flatly. “Made me emotional. You go ahead—I’m going back to sleep.”

“…Alright. I’ll head to work now. Talk later, babe.”

To hell with your work.

I watched as Jim hung up, then calmly walked to the front desk to check out. Claire followed behind, all gentle and helpful, packing things up like a perfect little housewife.

“Ugh. How can a cheating couple be this disgusting?” I hissed.

The phone in my hand nearly cracked from how tightly I gripped it. My eyes narrowed when I saw Jim casually pull out his wallet.

“Cameron, how much was that breakfast?”

“Not much. Maybe a hundred bucks, give or take.”

Without waiting for my reply, Cameron dragged me into his office and shut the door. He knew that if I was going to explode, it had better not be in public.

No one saw what happened next.

I slumped into his leather chair like a puppet with cut strings, staring blankly into space. Silent tears trickled down my cheeks, one after another.

“Linda… seriously?” Cameron muttered. “Crying? You? What the hell…”

For the first time, maybe ever, Cameron saw me as a woman. Not a fierce buddy, not a firestorm with lipstick—but a woman broken by betrayal.

He always knew I was a woman, of course. But my bluntness, my temper, my no-nonsense way of living had made him forget. Yet now, in this quiet moment, as I cried silently in his chair, he looked at me and felt… something. A loss? A shift? Even he couldn’t name it.

“Why can’t I cry?” I finally snapped, voice cracking. “He is my husband! I’ve loved him for seven years. Seven years, Cameron! After graduation, I didn’t even look for a job—I used my dad’s connections to help him rise in the medical world! I gave up everything for that man because he promised me forever. He said we’d grow old together. That he’d treat me like a queen.”

My voice trembled, then broke completely. “And now? He’s got another woman on the side like I’m some fool who won’t notice. You tell me—why the hell shouldn’t I cry?”

The more I spoke, the more pathetic I felt. All those years I thought I had a perfect marriage, I was just dancing in a glass cage, unaware the cracks had already begun. I was the fool pretending to be in a fantasy, while reality crept in like a snake.

And the woman he cheated with? My best friend. My confidante.

God. It was all so absurd.

I felt like I’d swallowed a live fly—disgusting, invasive, and no way to get it out. I wanted to scream, to rip my skin off, to do something…

But I just sat there.

Tears falling. Hear Burning.