- 3.
Ethan didn’t come home that night. At dawn,
Olivia posted a picture on social media of their
hands intertwined. His hand, with its distinctive
birthmark, was unmistakable. The caption read:
“You said you’d never hold another’s hand
again.” Ten minutes later, it was trending. My
haters flooded Olivia’s comments: “You go, girl!
You and Ethan are meant to be! Get back
together!” “I’m throwing my morals out the
window! I support Ethan’s ‘infidelity‘! Anything
to see that manipulative witch Sophia Hale
suffer!” Everyone was waiting for my reaction,
reveling in my supposed humiliation. Some of
Ethan’s fans left messages for him: “Dude,
that’s not you, right? I’ve been a fan for years,
and I know how good Sophia is to you. Don’t
<
screw this up!” We had numerous joint
endorsements, with exorbitant penalties for
scandals. Ethan’s agent, unable to reach him,
called me, begging me to concoct a story for
the fans, to pretend everything was fine. I
scrolled through my photos, realizing how few
pictures I had with Ethan. In those few, only I
was smiling. Finally, I posted an old photo of
Ethan reading under a lamp, the soft light giving
him an uncanny resemblance to someone who
haunted my dreams, someone who made me
cry. Almost immediately, fans commented:
“See? Ethan’s at home with his wife! Anyone
who says he’s cheating, I’ll rip their head off!”
The tide turned against Olivia, accusations of
attention–seeking filling her feed. Then, Ethan
retweeted Olivia’s post. Below the picture of
their joined hands, he wrote: “It’s me.” He
confirmed their reunion, exposing my feeble
attempt at damage control. He’d chosen Olivia
over me again. Olivia’s fans swarmed my social
media, mocking me: “Busted! Serves you right,
Sophia, you liar!” “Olivia gave you three years,
く
and you still couldn’t win Ethan’s heart.
Pathetic.” Who said I wanted his heart? I
deleted every trace of Ethan from my phone. I
wanted a divorce.
