hands through his hair. "Sarah, I'm so sorry. I feel terrible. It was in my travel bag, and now it's just... gone." He sa

me. "Everything's under control, honey," he would say when I was stressed about a project. "Let me take care of it."

against the wall and sinking into it. My legs wouldn't hold me up. It was a physica

" Ryan was suddenly beside me, his hand on

to her friend and walked toward the exit, her hips swaying with a c

k, to tell Ryan what I saw, but no words came out. I jus

, the love of his life, his partner in building a future. Now, the ques

a, a revulsion so strong I had to swallow hard to keep

bered the weekends he spent at "tech conferences" in other cities. I remember

eprints late into the night. He'd rub my shoulders and tell me I was brillia

k, his inspiration. "Sarah isn't just the woman I love," he had told our friends and family, his voice thick with emotion

to you, Sarah," my mother would say. "You can see it in his eyes.

ew patent," I transferred him over a hundred thousand dollars from my personal savings without a second

e're building this together, Sarah. This com

a child. A life that I was funding. My hard-earned money, my trust, my love-it was all being used to support them. He wasn't building a future w