Chapter 1
595words
The man who just last night had sworn his undying love to me had been cheating with another woman for months.
My heart felt crushed under an invisible weight, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
Thousands of photos in the album mocked our decade of marriage.
Her increasingly sculpted face, paired with seductive outfits that left little to the imagination.
Hell, even I couldn't look away—how could Spencer resist?
Yet he'd always claimed to despise plastic surgery, saying those cookie-cutter faces made him physically ill.
He'd stroke my natural features, whispering that my untouched beauty was all he'd ever wanted.
But under his surgical knife, Charlotte Lane had transformed into something irresistible.
Beautiful enough to steal his heart right from under me.
Something inside me shattered like glass, tears streaming down my cheeks unchecked.
As I stumbled out of the office, I crashed right into Spencer.
I shoved him aside and bolted down the stairs.
He caught up in seconds, clutching the damning phone in one hand while pulling me against his chest.
"So you saw everything? Just ask me anything. Damn it, Tina, at least give me a chance to explain!"
I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, staring at him with nothing but disappointment.
"What exactly should I ask? Why you only perform surgery on Charlotte? Or why you're fucking her behind my back?"
A knife-like pain stabbed through my chest as fresh tears spilled down my face.
Spencer pulled me tighter against him, his lips brushing away my tears.
"Baby, please stop crying—it's killing me! This isn't what you think. Why won't you trust me?"
"Charlotte's a celebrity, a household name, and my finest work."
"Every international award I've won is because of her!"
He cupped my face and said passionately:
"I've told you a thousand times—I only love your natural beauty! Even with every line and wrinkle, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"
"She's nothing but a stepping stone to make me the world's top cosmetic surgeon. Once I get that final award, I'll quit and spend every waking moment with you!"
"Remember our agreement? A baby after I reach the top. You've wanted a child for so long, haven't you? We're almost there, sweetheart!"
In the past, this same excuse had worked like magic, melting my anger away within minutes.
But this time was different. The man before me wasn't the Spencer who once had eyes only for me.
I looked up at him, my voice steady despite the storm inside:
"Is Charlotte really just a 'tool' to you? That's not what you said in those texts I found!"
Spencer's face darkened like a thundercloud, his voice suddenly strained.
"You know how women are—especially celebrities like Charlotte. She needs constant emotional validation to keep working with me!"
I let out a cold laugh. Charlotte wasn't just any woman—she was Spencer's first love, his college sweetheart. Their relationship had been white-hot when she was discovered by that talent scout.
She'd dumped him without a second thought, jetting off to pursue her dreams abroad.
Spencer had been a wreck until we met. He'd called me his salvation, his second chance.
On our wedding day, he'd looked into my eyes and sworn to love only me until his dying breath.
But I'd underestimated the power of first love. The moment Charlotte sashayed back into town and batted those surgically-enhanced eyelashes, he fell right back under her spell.
Watching Spencer scramble for excuses, all I felt was bone-deep disappointment.
