Ivory fell asleep holding my hand.

At some point, I gently turned over and slid my hand out of hers, careful not to wake her.

I don’t know how much time passed before her phone buzzed sharply in the dark.

The ringtone barely lasted a second before she silenced it.

“Usher…” she whispered.

I kept my eyes closed and didn’t answer, so she gave me a gentle nudge.

“Something urgent came up at work. I need to head over for a bit. If everything goes well, I’ll be back by morning.”

I opened my eyes halfway, feigning grogginess. “I’ll drive you.”

She smiled and brushed me off. “No need. I’m picking up Shawna from Product Dev on the way. I’ll text you when I get there.”

She kissed me quickly, then slipped out of the room.

A minute later, I heard the front door close.

I got dressed in the dark, grabbed a hoodie, and called a cab.

When the driver asked where to, I gave him the address I’d memorized from her Amazon account.

“North Gate of Longview Park Apartments, Building 6.”

In the backseat, I opened TikTok and searched the guy’s handle.

[@SorryForCrashingIntoYourHeart]

Ivory had changed hers not long ago to [@AllIWantIsU].

She told me the “U” was for me—Usher.

Another lie.

This guy posted constantly—nights out, gaming clips, new sneakers, gym selfies. Multiple times a day.

But he never showed his face. Every selfie had his phone covering it.

I tapped into one of his clips—a match summary from League.

His username popped up. [BurnBoy]

Suddenly it clicked.

A while back, I asked Ivory if I could join her game one night. She reluctantly agreed.

BurnOne was on our team. I played support; he was ADC.

Right at the start, he typed in all caps:

[SUPPORT STAY OUT OF MY LANE. YOU’RE ANNOYING!]

Minutes later, he was almost dead. I rushed in, stunned the enemy, and healed him.

He didn’t say thanks.

Instead, he ran into the opponent’s tower and let himself die. On purpose.

[You got a tumor on your brain or something?] he typed. [I told you not to fucking heal me! The fuck’s so hard to understand ‘bout that?!]

I was completely lost. I asked Ivory if the guy was seriously unhinged.

She laughed it off. “That’s just how he is. He’s got a bad temper and talks like that to everyone, not just you. Don’t take it personally. If it bothers you, I won’t pull you guys into the same match again.”

So I was just a prop in their little game.

The driver sped through the streets. By the time it pulled up, Ivory’s car hadn’t shown up yet.

The sky was thick with storm clouds. Thunder rumbled, and soon, huge raindrops came crashing down.

I ducked into the vestibule of a 24-hour ATM to wait.

Just then, my phone lit up. It was her.

“Usher, are you awake?”

“How’d you know?”

“The thunder was so loud. I figured you’d be up.” Her voice was soft and comforting. “I checked the weather before I left and unplugged everything except the fridge. Don’t worry. Just try to get some sleep.”

When I was a kid, lightning struck our house and started a fire. My mom and my stepdad managed to save my little brother—and his favorite toy. But they forgot about me. Since then, thunderstorms have messed with my head.

Over the years, Ivory climbed her way from an entry-level employee to tech director. But every time it stormed, she tried to be there for me.

She even once ditched a business dinner halfway just to come home and stay with me.

‘Maybe I’m overthinking things,’ I began to think. ‘Maybe she really is going to the office.’

But then I saw a familiar SUV pulled up, its hazard lights blinking.

A guy stepped out of the building’s entrance, one hand holding an umbrella, the other carrying something in a paper bag, and walked out through the gate of the complex.

He stopped for a second by Ivory’s car, near the front passenger window. But instead of opening that door, he got into the back seat.

A few moments later, Ivory got out of the driver’s seat, opened the rear door, and got in too.

The storm raged. The windows fogged. Neither of them got back out.

The SUV stayed there, unmoving, shrouded in rain.

And I stood in the glow of the ATM screen, just… watching.

Her car’s tail lights finally disappeared into the night, and the guy never once got out.

Ivory came home just after dawn.

“Belated Valentine’s,” she said.

I stared at the water droplets on the petals, then at the card tucked between them. A memory flashed—the guy I saw walking out of the apartment complex yesterday. He was holding flowers.

Roses.

“Didn’t sleep all night?” I asked.

“Too much stuff to revise, no time for sleep.” She rubbed her temples and gave me a tired smile.

“Pack up, we’ve got to head to the train station. After breakfast, you should get some rest too—those dark circles are showing.”

“Put the roses in a glass vase or something, I don’t have time to do that.”

She ordered a rideshare, and when she left, I went downstairs to pick up my voice recorder—and tossed the roses in the trash on the way.

A cleaning lady fished them out and called after me, “They’re still so fresh. You sure you don’t want them?”

I turned and saw her holding the bouquet in one hand, the card in the other.

It read [I’ll love you forever].

I smiled faintly. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

Back upstairs, I clicked play.

Ivory’s voice filled the room; she called her other guy.

“Wait for me at the front entrance.”

Later, she asked, “You miss me?”

She had it on speaker. I heard the guy chuckle softly.

“What, you don’t miss me?” she teased. “Should I just go back and keep Usher company instead?”

“Don’t you dare,” the man warned quickly.

Ivory let out a playful huff.

“I thought we weren’t seeing each other today?” he asked. “Why the sudden change?”

“It’s Valentine’s. I couldn’t stand the idea of you spending it alone.”

The guy sounded touched.

“Baby, drive safe. I’m coming down now—I’ll bring you the flowers I got.”

“You got me flowers? I didn’t even tell you I was coming.”

“I was betting you wouldn’t be able to resist coming. Guess I was right, huh?”

Ivory laughed, clearly happy.

“I’m almost there. It’s raining. Grab an umbrella.”

A few minutes later, there was the sound of knocking on a car window.

“Get in from the back,” Ivory said.

The guy got in.

“Man, I still don’t get to sit up front, huh?” he joked, chuckling at himself.

“Usher’s got friends in traffic enforcement. Better safe than sorry,” she explained.

“So we’re still keeping secrets from him.”

“Oh, come on, Dimon, you’re not a kid. Don’t act so jealous.”

My mind went blank.

I knew that guy.

When Ivory and I first started dating, she’d casually told me she had an old flame—some doomed, mismatched relationship from back in the day.

A notorious rich-kid troublemaker from college.

Dimon Cavanagh.

Reckless, arrogant, immature. He broke her heart.

Later, his family went bankrupt, and he came crawling back. But by then, she said, she was already over him.

‘So when did Dimon show up again? How long has Ivory been lying to me?’

My head was a mess, but the recorder kept playing.

Dimon’s voice came through again, low and suggestive.

“You owe me for tonight.”

“Oh god, what now?”

Then—soft rustling. Hands brushing against fabric.

“Come here.”

“Are you crazy? We’re parked right outside the building!” Ivory whispered.

“Come on.”

“Fine! God… You’re impossible.”

She sighed and climbed into the backseat.

In the middle of it all, I heard him ask, “Do you love me, Ivory?”

“If I didn’t, why would I sneak out in the middle of the night to see you?”

“I love you too. Have a baby with me. Then nothing else will matter.”

“You always say that, but it never happens.”

“You know I can.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I sat in the living room, listening to that recording over and over.

The recorder had run out of battery a long time ago, but I kept pressing the button anyway.

The soft, mechanical tick, barely louder than my breath, sounded again and again… all the way until night fell.

I took a week off work and went back to my hometown.

“Divorce? Are you out of your damn mind?”

Mom didn’t even let me finish explaining before she started yelling.

“Didn’t you always oppose me marrying Ivory?”

“That was back then! That girl’s different now! What, did a donkey kick you in the head?”

“Mom, Ivory cheated on me.” I said it with difficulty.

She scoffed, angry beyond belief. “And what, you’re just gonna cry about it? I told you—if your wife steps out of line, you make her scared to leave. You’re a grown-ass man man, for god’s sake!

“If you don’t lay down the law, then don’t act surprised when she makes a fool outta you!”

She looked at me like I was the biggest disappointment.

“You’re not even ugly. Been in Utah all these years, and you couldn’t find a proper girl, bring your mom to the capital and let me enjoy life? No—you had to play this whole ‘start-from-nothing’ crap with Ivory.

“And now that she’s finally made a name for herself, you wanna back out? You really are your father’s son. Spineless!

“Your brother’s got more brains than you! He hasn’t even married yet, and he already talked his fiancée’s family into buying them a condo in Austin. No prenup, no ring, and they’re still handing over the keys! They’ve only got one daughter, so the whole business will be his someday.”

Then, without a second thought, she threw the gifts I brought home right out the front door.

“Loser! Just like your broke-ass dad!

“Either make that bitch leave with nothing and give you all the money, or suck it up, play the loser for a few more years, knock her up again—and when the kid’s older, divorce her and demand alimony—ten grand a month, minimum!”

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I walked out onto the street, completely numb.

The sun was blazing, but I couldn’t feel the heat. I was cold, inside out.

Money. Every word out of my mom’s mouth was about money. Not once did she say, “Son, if you’re hurting, just stay home and rest a few days.”

My phone buzzed.

It was Ivory.

[Why aren’t you home?] she messaged.

I didn’t reply.

She called a minute later.

“Usher, why didn’t you reply to my text?”

“I was at my mom’s. Didn’t see it.”

“Everything okay over there?”

“Yeah, just tired from work. Needed a break.”

She could tell something was off. Her voice softened.

“Did your mom give you crap again?”

“Y… Yeah. A bit.”

“Come back here. I’ll pick you up from the station,” she said without hesitation. “Let’s go out for steaks tonight—there’s that spot near downtown you’ve been wanting to try.”

That spot—I’d talked about wanting to go there for months. Just never had the time.

“Don’t take anything your mom said to heart. You’ve still got me. As long as we’re okay, nothing else matters.”

It sounded so familiar.

She’d said the same thing back when we had nothing, when life was at its hardest.

“Usher, stop overthinking. Just come home. I’ll be waiting at the station.”

“Okay.”

Before I even exited the station, I saw her in the crowd.

She was standing tall in a light blue dress, elegant, graceful, scanning the crowd with focused eyes.

“Usher!”

The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up. She clicked toward me in her heels and threw herself into my arms.

“Next time you go home, bring me. I’ll fight your mom myself—no way I’m letting her talk down to you ever again!”

I looked down. She was looking up. That look in her eyes—it didn’t feel fake. It was full of real, raw concern.

And right then, my emotions twisted in every direction.

I even thought, ‘Maybe, if she never brings it up, I can pretend none of her betrayals ever happened.’

She used to love me. We went through hell together. There was real history there. Even if she cheated, she never wanted to end things with me.

She didn’t want me to touch her anymore, but she said we could do IVF. Have a cute little kid.

‘And maybe after that… maybe she’d let go of Dimon quietly. Come back to us. Be the wife, the mom.’

But on the way to the restaurant, she got a call.

I watched her face change as she picked up.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She hesitated.

“Something… at work. But forget it. I promised to take you out, so I told them I’m not coming.”

And right then, everything clicked into place.

I heard myself reply with a dry voice, “It’s fine. Work’s important. My stomach’s been acting up anyway—let’s save it for another time.”

“But…”

“No buts. Just drop me off at the plaza ahead. I wanna check out the new machines at the authorized store.”

“Alright. Call me if you feel down or need anything.”

“Mm.”

I got out at the intersection and watched her drive away.

I knew today was Dimon’s birthday.

I’d heard them talk about it before.

Ivory said she couldn’t be with him on Valentine’s Day, but she’d make it up to him on his birthday.

An hour later, she texted me.

[At the office! Time to grind! These idiots under me are always messing things up!]

I stared at her message for a while before replying.

[Don’t overwork yourself.]

That night, I opened Dimon’s profile.

He’d posted something new.

In the photo, he and Ivory were both holding up a hand in front of the camera, forming a heart together.

My eyes landed on her delicate fingers.

She forgot to take off her wedding ring.

Dimon would probably love punishing her for that.

My blood boiled in my chest as I swiped to the next photo.

The lighting was dim and romantic. The round bed was covered in rose petals.

Location was tagged. They were at Sunview Heights, a couple’s hotel near Salt Lake City.

I took a cab there.

Standing outside the hotel, I pulled out my phone and called 911.

“Hello? Uh, yeah, I need to report something—there’s some creep out here trying to... pay a woman for sex.”