I slumped back in the car, my head tilted slightly backward, eyes shut. I must have passed out or so I thought.

A gentle tap on my car window woke me.

“Ma’am… Ma’am?”

The voice was soft, and the knocking came again. Some stranger must’ve seen the whole thing and decided to check on me.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “You just bumped into a streetlight.”

“Oh! Thank God,” I breathed, feeling the relief hit me all at once. Just a streetlight. No real damage.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I told him. “Thanks for checking. I’ll head home.”

I started the car and drove off still feeling relieved.

The second I pulled into the apartment complex I shared with Ryan, dread settled in my chest. Three months ago, he’d talked me into moving in and splitting the rent. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but he assured me marriage was right around the corner, so we can start getting used to living with each other. The excitement of getting married made me agree.

Now, just seeing the apartment made my stomach twist.

I spotted his second car parked in the garage, and my stomach clenched even more. This is because he had changed cars several times and even bought a second one, while I still struggled with my old 80’s model Honda. That was when it hit me, I had been compromising for far too long, in fact I had been foolish but all that was about to change.

I found Ryan on the couch in the sitting room, still dressed in his work clothes, eyes glued to the television. He looked relaxed, his cologne reeked with a mixture of the exclusive arena scent.

I didn't say a word, I watched him stare lostly at the TV while wishing the chandelier fell on him.

“Why are you just standing there?” he asked, not even turning away from the screen or stealing a glance at me. He was so focused on the TV that I felt invisible. “Aren’t you going to freshen up and make us dinner?” he ordered in his usual egocentric tone.

I didn’t move.

“Where were you today?” I asked, My voice shook a little.

“Work,” he said. Eyes still glued to the TV.

“You’re such a liar!” I snapped.

Shock flashed across his face. He immediately lost interest in the show he was watching.

“Tell me what you were doing at the Exclusive restaurant with Sylvia,” I asked, trying not to lose it completely.

Ryan looked at him, his eyes filled with guilt. It was obvious he caught the tension in the air and tried to calm the situation.

“Hey, calm down. What’s going on?” his voice softened as he moved toward me.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I yelled. “Give me an explanation. Now!.”

Ryan threw his hands in the air like he was surrendering to the police. “Baby!” he called gently “anything you heard, it’s not true”.

His strong denial broke something in me. I felt betrayed.

“I saw you, Ryan. I saw you!” I screamed, tears pouring freely as I stood on the edge of a breakdown.

He grabbed me, arms tight around my waist, hugging me close.

“It was just a business meeting,” he said calmly. “Whatever you think you saw wasn’t real.”

I tried to push him away, scratching and biting, but he held me firmly, enduring every attack until I calmed down. Then he guided me to the sofa and began feeding me lies after lies, his voice smooth and reassuring.

I listened.

He even pulled out pictures from the restaurant, him, some coworkers, and Sylvia, but also a bunch of others.

His words sounded so convincing, I started doubting myself. He swore he never kissed Sylvia, never fed her. Said everything I thought I saw was just my imagination, playing tricks.

“But I was right there… I saw you” I tried to say, but he cut me off.

He kissed me, hard. Invading every corner of my mouth.

My thoughts silenced, my protests melted into moans. Ryan always knew how to keep me at his mercy. His touch burned me from the inside.

My hand found his dick, he was already hard, thick as always.

I felt myself ache for him.

He scooped me up with no effort, legs around his waist, carried me straight to the bedroom. Every time he carried me like that, I knew I was about to get pinned to the wall and fucked senseless.

I gripped his shoulders, legs dangling as he pressed me to the wall. He freed his cock and teased my wet pussy.

“Still got something to say?” He teased me even more, his voice was all heat.

“No… no, Daddy. I’m sorry,” I stammered, my body shaking, aching.

One thrust. Two thrust. Three.

Ryan filled my pussy with his cock, then stopped.

I groaned, biting my lip, desperate for more. The pause, the tease, all of it, he knew exactly how to keep me begging.

“Don’t stop,” I pleaded, tugging his collar.

“Okay.” His voice dropped, and he slammed into me.

A moan ripped out of me, a feeling of pain and pleasure captivating me. Suddenly, his phone rang.

“Sylvia!”. the caller tone announced.

In a blink, Ryan pulled out of me and dropped me like paper. My body slammed back, my ass barely missing the wall.

He grabbed his phone, voice low.

“Okay… okay,” he said, over and over.

The call ended. He turned to me. “It’s work. Emergency.” he announced.

“You’re really going to leave me like this?” I said, pissed.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he said, pulling his pants back on. “I’ll be back before dark. Just make dinner and wait for me naked. I will finish this I promise” He appealed.

I didn’t even question him further, not even with my clothes half-off and our unfinished business. I watched him take his leave.

Suddenly, he stopped for a second and turned to me.

“Hey, can I get some cash? Need gas for the second car,” he asked, not even embarrassed.

“What happened to the other car”, I asked, digging into my purse for some cash. I made a face as I handed him the cash.

“It's a long story, will fill you in when you return”. He took off, practically running out the door.

I stretched out on the bed, listening as his engine started and faded away down the street.

That emptiness his absence caused only made me hornier. I wished he appeared and fucked me crazy.

Suddenly, I remembered I used to own a vibrator but Ryan angrily seized it. All I had to do was look for it, use it to satisfy my insane urge and return it before he was back.

I rummaged through his bag until I found it.

“This’ll do for now,” I whispered as I flicked it on and pushed it inside my pussy, already greasy and horny. My eyes squeezed shut as I let out a soft moan. Heat flooded through me as I achieved climax.

Afterwards, I lay there, totally exhausted, hoping Ryan would get back before I slept off.

But sleep caught me first.

I dozed off, half-naked on the sheets.

I woke to the treacherous sound of my morning alarm. I never intended to sleep till dawn, I thought Ryan would come home and wake me to his sensational touch but I was wrong.

I checked my phone for a call or text message but I didn’t receive any. I tried calling him. Straight to voicemail, every time.

“You didn’t come home last night?” I texted him

Maybe he had a good excuse, I told myself as I dragged myself through my morning routine. As hurt as I felt, I didn’t want to ruin whatever moments Ryan and I might still have. The way he treated me the previous night, so gentle, so calm, gave me butterflies. He had never been that soft with me before, especially during an argument.

I caught myself smiling as I put on my makeup, imagining how different things could’ve been if his phone hadn’t rung. I even thought about making him dinner tonight, something intimate, something to set the mood.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

Edna!.

I’d promised myself I wouldn’t let her get between me and Ryan again. I was tired of her drama, tired of her warnings. But still, I opened her message.

“Summer, what is going on? I just received a message from Ryan this morning. I’ve been fired”.

My stomach dropped.

“Wait”…what? Why would Ryan fire Edna? I never even mentioned her to him”.

I called her right away.

“I’m really sorry, Edna,” I blurted as soon as she picked up. “I have no idea why Ryan would do that. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

“Actually, Summer, fuck the job,” Edna snapped, her voice sharp. “I don’t care if he fires me. He needs to be held accountable for his actions. Frolicking with that philanderer, Sylvia!. The other day, she even had the nerve to tell Ryan that you planted me in the office to monitor him and…”

She stopped abruptly.

“Summer? Are you there?”

I had been silent all through her rant, waiting for her to finish so I could calmly ask her to stay out of my relationship.

“I’m here,” I replied, almost whispering.

She hesitated, like she could sense something wasn’t right. “Please tell me you left him. Or is he crawling back to you, begging for forgiveness?”

“No, Edna,” I said, quietly. “Ryan isn’t crawling.”

A pause.

“Then you broke up with him?” she asked, almost hopeful.

“No. It’s not that,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Then what, Summer? What did you do to that jerk?”

I took a deep breath, choosing my words. “Edna, I wish you’d stop calling Ryan names. Our relationship’s complicated. I think you’re seeing things wrong.”

Even as I said it, I knew how pathetic I sounded. Defending him when I shouldn’t.

She let out a heavy sigh. “So you’re just letting Ryan off the hook after you caught him cheating?” Her words sunk in but I still had to say something.

“What I’m saying is that Ryan and I are adults, We should be allowed to handle our differences our own way.” My voice cracked, unsure of what would follow.

“Fine, Suit yourself.” she snapped and hung up.

She was mad, I could tell, I felt bad for being the cause, Edna was family, we both grew up in the same foster home and moved to New York together for greener pastures. But honestly, I was done letting anyone else interfere in my relationship.

I was already running late so I grabbed my bag and rushed out. All day at work, I couldn’t focus. I kept replaying everything, trying to see Ryan in a good light, trying to drown out Edna’s voice in my head.

Determined to keep our romance alive, I left work earlier than usual. I stopped by the grocery store and picked out the freshest ingredients I could find. The plan was simple: I’d cook Ryan’s favorite meal and wait for him at home in sexy lingerie. I wanted to set the mood properly, so when he walked in, he’d be hungry in every sense.

I pictured his reaction and smiled to myself. He could decide what to enjoy first… or maybe both at the same time, the way he liked. You know like eating the cream from my butt or sucking the juice off my nipples. Just thinking about it made my pussy warm and my mood lifted.

This felt like my chance to reconnect with him, to remind him of what we used to have. Since his promotion, Ryan had been distant, distracted. Tonight, I wanted to pull him back to us.

I drove home, juggling heavy grocery bags as I fumbled with the keys. Everything felt awkward, clumsy. But I managed.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard a woman’s voice coming from the bedroom. Husky. Low.

“Yes, Daddy… like that. Please don’t stop.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

What?

I dropped the groceries and ran to the bedroom. I pushed the door open and there it was, my worst nightmare, right in front of me.

Ryan had Sylvia pinned to the wall.

Same position as mine, Same grips.

Same everything.

He was so lost in her that he didn’t even notice me.

I stood there, frozen, my chest tight, my body numb.

Sylvia looked right at me and smiled. She wanted me to see this. She pulled Ryan closer, moaning, biting her lip, putting on a show just for me.

Every move, every sound, was deliberate, all aimed to hurt me.

I stood there watching, Rage burned through me hot, impossible to contain.

This time, I saw everything for what it was. No more gaslighting.

“Ryan!” I screamed, my voice breaking the silence. For a moment, nobody moved.

He spun around with speed. The shock on his face, he had no idea I was there. He’d had his back to me the whole time.

“Why are you back so early?” he stammered, scrambling to put on his clothes. Sweat dripped down his forehead.

“Oh, the hag returns,” Sylvia blurted, rolling her eyes like I was just an annoying fly. She grabbed her clothes, hissing as she dressed reluctantly.

My anger boiled over just watching her, I felt like setting her on fire. And Ryan just stood there and let her call me a hag, like I was nothing.

“Get out!” I shouted at her, my chest heaving.

Ryan stared at me, clearly shocked by my boldness. “Summer, can we just talk about this?”

“Talk about what?” I tried to sound authoritative

But Sylvia snorted, like she found the whole thing funny. She slipped closer to Ryan and hooked her arm through his.

“Ryan, sweetheart,” she purred, “just get rid of the hag so we can finish what we were doing.” she said, mocking my ego.

That was it. I have had enough of the humiliation.

“If she doesn’t get out of this house right now, I’ll make her,” I snapped, stepping toward Sylvia, ready to drag her out myself.

Ryan jumped in front of me. “Summer, what are you doing?”

“I want her gone. Now,” I said, breathless.

He laughed, cold, dismissive. “You don’t get to decide that. She’s my guest.”

Sylvia grinned, still clinging to his arm, satisfaction written all over her face.

I felt sick.

“So you’re sleeping with her in our apartment,” I spat, “and you call her a guest?”

Ryan’s face tightened as he spoke. “That’s the problem with you, Summer. You’re always overreacting over little things.”

There he goes. Again.

Gaslighting. Like always.

“I’m overreacting?” I laughed, the sound sour and sharp. “Fine. If she stays, I go.”

I grabbed my keys and walked out. Tired. Wrecked. Empty.

This time, I was done.

Ryan didn’t stop me, I thought he would. He just watched me leave.

“This hag just interrupted our video,” I heard Sylvia grudge.

“Don’t let it bother you, we will make another one” Ryan said in the most cringy tone ever.

I hated myself for being with him in the first place.

“Now it’s a sex tape? How could he consent to such” I asked as I stepped out the house, my thoughts banging in my head.

Well! Nothing mattered anymore.

I’m done and that’s it.

I got in my car. For a second, I waited, just hoping Ryan would run after me, call my name, anything.

He didn’t.

All I heard was Sylvia’s ugly laugh echoing across the house, mocking me like she had waited for this moment.

Anger took over.

I zoomed off with no destination in mind, just tears and a storm of thoughts clouding my head.

I hated to admit it, but Edna was right. I had been foolish, blindly trusting Ryan, ignoring all the red flags from the beginning.

Tears blurred my vision. My thoughts crashed into each other, I thought of Ryan and Sylvia, the lies, the humiliation and everything I had been through.

How much of myself did I give away? I sobbed harder.

My chest hurt as I gripped the wheel tighter. The speedometer climbed without my notice.

“Breathe, Summer,” I whispered. “Just breathe.” I tried to calm down but I couldn’t. My body just wouldn’t listen.

I switched lanes quickly without looking.

Then, everything hit at once. Screeching horns. Blinding lights.

Bang!.

A car slammed into mine.

Metals crashed. Glass shattered. My body jerked forward, pain exploded through my head and chest. The car spun aggressively, then crashed to a stop.

Smoke filled the air.

Everything faded. My breath slowed.

And then, I saw her.

A woman, the same woman from my dreams. Warm, kind, familiar. She just stood there.

“Mariah,” she called, her voice soft.

“Huh?” I tried to speak, but she stepped backward, slowly fading into the air before I could move.

Darkness closed in.

I blacked out.

This time, it was real. I died.