Open Marriage, Broken Promises: When Love Turns to Ashes novel Chapter 59

Messages kept coming in—some from classmates I hadn't heard from in years, others from mutual friends of mine and Sean.

"Happy New Year! Congratulations, Emily, you have such a deeply devoted husband!"

"Congrats, congrats! You survived the worst. Every marriage has its ups and downs. Stop causing trouble, just make up!"

"Emily, I just don't get it. Another husband who loves you so much. What more do you want? Reconcile already, stop making a scene!"

They even sent me a video interview.

The headline read. "In a plane crash, a passionate man's dying wish to his wife. please remarry!"

In the video, Sean held up a photo of me, his eyes red from crying.

"I know I was wrong, and I will change. I really can't live without Emily. I love her."

"It's just a misunderstanding between us, we never stopped loving each other."

He went on to talk about how he saved me from drowning when we were kids, how we swore eternal love at our wedding, and the joy we felt when we had a child...

But he didn't mention his infidelity.

Frowning, I opened the social media app, and as expected, I was trending.

The unfaithful Sean was suddenly portrayed as a deep, devoted lover willing to sacrifice his life for love, while I was painted as a promiscuous woman.

As I read, my stomach turned, and I almost vomited.

Suddenly, a phone call came through.

I answered in a daze, and immediately, a barrage of insults erupted.

"You shameless bitch! You ungrateful whore! You deserve to swallow a thousand silver needles!"

"Sean is your savior, as long as you're alive, you're his dog. How dare you talk about divorce! You filthy thing! Go die!"

"Lucky the baby inside you didn't survive. Otherwise, you're just a gold-digging, heartless bitch!"

...

I was stunned, unsure of how to respond.

Suddenly, the car stopped at the side of the road. A pair of hands took my phone.

Alex's face was cold as he harshly scolded.

"You're feeling sorry for him again? You don't even know the whole story, and yet you're passing judgment. Who do you think you are?"

"Shut your filthy mouth! Do you even realize that what you're doing is illegal?"

The person on the other end of the line, someone who only picks on the weak, hastily hung up.

I looked at Alex in gratitude, but my mind was still a tangled mess.

Seeing my state, Alex comforted me.

"The internet has no memory. This will blow over in a few days."

I managed a forced smile, but for some reason, I had an ominous feeling in my heart.

As it turned out, my intuition was right.

With Alex's gradual encouragement and help, I started improving.

I once asked him, since he liked me, why didn't he try to stop me from leaving, saying things like "I can't live without you?"

I wasn't stupid, I could sense his feelings, which made me even more confused.

Back then, when I wanted to learn swimming, Sean had rejected me in the same way.

Hearing this, Alex froze for a moment before gently hugging me.

"Because I wanted to respect you, and I didn't want you to get hurt when I wasn't around. I didn't want you to become a fragile bird that couldn't survive without me."

"Emily, I'm afraid the incident from ten years ago will repeat. I can't lose you again."

"That day, when I came back from school, they told me you had drowned. For ten years, I've regretted not teaching you how to swim."

"I've already endured the pain of losing you once. I can't bear it a second time, Emily. I'll die without you."

I looked into his eyes, filled with deep affection, and my heart seemed to skip a beat.

At that moment, fireworks suddenly lit up the sky in the distance. The brilliant colors reflected in Alex's pupils, and the intense love in his gaze was unmistakable.

I wanted to look away in embarrassment, but he cupped my face with his hands.

"Emily, can you give me a chance to pursue you?"

I blushed and was about to say something when a voice interrupted.

"Let go of my wife!"