"These are my boyfriend's details. Can you tell me where he is?"
Inside a quite corner cafe of Christopher Street, a well-dressed woman stared at Megan, her eyes pleading.
Normally, Megan avoided taking on ordinary fortune-telling requests. But today, something felt different.
Sighing, Megan put aside her doubts and focused on the birth details the woman provided. She closed her eyes, concentrating.
After a brief pause, she opened them.
"Exit here, walk 500 meters to the left. You'll find him in room 211 on the second floor of Zero Degrees Bar."
The women gasped, her face lightening up with hope. "Thank you, Megan!" she cried, gathering her things hurriedly, but she paused at the door looked back at Megan.
"Could you..... come with me?" she asked hesitantly. "He hates it when I check on him, but if you're there, I can say I'm with a friend. I'll pay extra!"
Reluctantly, Megan agreed, following the woman out.
As they walked, Megan texted her husband.
【M: When are you coming home? I made your favorite chicken stew.】
No reply. She was used to that by now.
They reached the bar in just a few minutes. Zero Degrees wasn't new to Megan; she'd come here with friends, but never since. Her husband, Ryan, didn't like her going places like this. Out of respect, she had stopped. They walked past the crowded bar, heading upstairs. Megan kept a measured pace behind, letting her mind wander. She trusted Ryan completely, even though he barely came home these days, rarely brought her to events, and was constantly the subject of rumors. Megan had never used her skills to dig into his whereabouts. Trust, she believed, was the foundation of love. But as they neared room 211, Megan's eyes caught something, a glimpse into room 2009. The door was ajar, and from where she stood, she saw someone familiar.
Her husband—Ryan Thomas.
Megan froze, her hand hovering over the door. Before she could take another step, she saw a young woman slide into Ryan's arms, laughing as they clinked their glasses together in a toast, and they kissed.
It felt like everything exploded.
Her mind went blank. Everything around her seemed to blur.
Why Ryan is here? With her?
He knew how much Megan despised her-- Samantha, her own cousin, who had always been a point of rivalry between them.
Even kissing her?
Megan's heart pounded, her hands trembling as she gripped the doorframe. She tried to take a deep breath, but the weight in her chest made it nearly impossible.
"Samantha, staying this time are you?" came a voice across the room. It was their friend lounging casually with a drink in hand. "You know, it's Megan who should've left not you."
"Exactly" Samantha continued with a smirk. "She might be the real heiress of the Brown family, but spent the first fifteen years of her life in the mountains, and, always been a fish out of the water. I've said it before, Ryan, marrying her was a mistake."
Megan's stomach churned as she heard the cruel words spilling out of their mouth.
That man turned to Ryan with a knowing grin.
"So Ryan, since you went all the way to bring Sam back, are you finally divorcing Megan?"
Ryan didn't immediately respond.
He swirled the wine in his glass before answering, his voice steady and cold "I've already had the divorce papers drafted."
It was as if her entire world shattered.
Divorce?
Megan felt the blood drain from her face. her body wavered, barely keeping herself upright. A cold realization swept over her Ryan had been planning to leave her. He hadn't marry her out of love, but out of convenience. Samantha, her cousin, had always been the one he truly wanted. Her five years of naive infatuation, two years of marriage now seemed like a joke.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The unanswered calls, the endless business trips, the coldness in his eyes whenever he looked at her. He was never hers. She had been living in delusion.
She remembered the day she had gotten sick, so sick she could barely move. She called Ryan dozen of times, hoping he would come home. But it was until the next day that his assistant called to inform her that Mr. Thomas had gone abroad for a business trip, and he didn't know when he would be back.
Looking at it now, Ryan's business trip was clearly a cover for meeting Samantha.
The suffocating pain tightened its grip on her chest.
Everyone else seen the truth. She had been the only one blind to it. Megan had always believed in loyalty, in love. She had given Ryan every ounce of her trust. But now standing outside that room, hearing those words, her heart broke.
No wonder her mentor, upon learning of her marriage, had said marrying Ryan wasn't a good decision.
Enough.
She wasn't going to wait for him to destroy her any longer. Megan swallowed her pain and pushed the door open.
The room went silent as everyone turned to look at her.
"Megan?"
the man stammered, caught of guard. Ryan's eyes narrowed, but he quickly composed himself..
Samantha Brown still in his arms, shifted nervously.
"Meg, it's not what it looks like..."
Samantha's voice was hurried, her face flushed with panic. "We were just_" Megan cut her off, her eyes focused only in Ryan. "Ryan... Do you have anything to say to me?"
She was giving him one last chance.
Ryan's cold gaze met hers, and with no hesitation he said "You followed me here?"
Megan's heart shattered. Her dignity, her trust all of it gone. She forced a bitter laugh, her voice hollow. "Ryan Thomas, let's get a divorce."