Second Time’s A Charm

Six

As I sat behind the wheel, the soft glow of the sun casting a gentle illumination on my tear-streaked face, I couldn't help but reflect on the choices that had led me to this lonely stretch of road. The weight of regret pressed heavily upon me, each mile marking the distance between the life I had imagined and the reality I now faced.

It had all begun with a decision, one that had defied the wishes of my father and fractured the bonds of my family. I had chosen love over duty, forsaking the expectations that had been placed upon me in favor of following my heart. And yet, as I drove through the quiet streets, the solitude that enveloped me served as a stark reminder of the price I had paid for my defiance.

I just graduated from college as a business major at 22 and he was 24. My father was against the whole thing; he never liked Michael.

I had once been the heir to a successful family business, my future seemingly mapped out before me in a series of carefully laid plans, I was meant to take over my father's company being the only child But when I fell in love with him, everything changed. He was not the kind of man my father had envisioned for me – he was rough around the edges, with a charm that bordered on recklessness, he was funny, kind and only I got to see that side of him which made me feel special. despite my father's protests, I couldn't deny the pull that drew me to him, the magnetic force that seemed to bind our souls together, I knew it, I had no doubt he was my soulmate.

When we were together at that time Michael's father's company was on the verge of default, he always felt he wasn't man enough and couldn't provide for me, so to prove that money meant nothing to me we married secretly and his company and mine signed a contract and merged the two companies. I didn't tell my family and when they found out he disowned me and for the past 10 years since I married Michael, my father, mother, and I haven't spoken or seen eye to eye.

In the end, I had chosen him over everything else, forsaking my family and my inheritance in the name of love. I had handed over my shares in the family company, believing that together, we could build something greater than anything I could have achieved on my own. But now, as I drove through the silent streets, I couldn't help but wonder if it had all been a mistake.

Why didn't I see this coming It had started with small signs after Mia’s birth – secret calls, late nights at the office –I guess there is only so much someone can pretend for, he did so well, that even now I still can't believe it.

But I can feel the realization, creeping slowly into my consciousness like a shadow in the night.

I have never felt so much pain, that if it weren't for the thought of Mason I would have driven my car off a bridge. Why? How? Why did he do this to me?

I felt the betrayal cutting me to the core, leaving me adrift in a sea of confusion and despair. How could he have done this to me? I had given up everything for him – my family, my inheritance, my very identity – and yet he had repaid my loyalty with deceit and betrayal.