The Remains of Us Novel – There, on the kitchen counter, was my husband Adrian with his mistress Laura. Her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands gripping her hips. Their bodies moving together in a way that used to belong to us. Time stretched and warped, trapping me in this moment, forcing me to absorb every painful detail. I pressed play on the video, so I recorded Adrian cheating on me with Laura. Adrian had made his choice. And now, he was going to regret it.
Carmen’s POV I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped through the door of our penthouse. I had spent three months in Europe, hoping that distance would make things clearer, that maybe I’d return to find my husband waiting for me, realizing what he was about to lose. But as I rolled my suitcase into the entryway, a familiar emptiness greeted me. The place was too quiet. No “Welcome home.” No footsteps rushing toward me. Nothing. Adrian Matthews, my husband used to rush to meet me at the doorway, pulling me into a hug before pressing a smooch to my lips, telling me how much he missed having me home. Now? Those memories feel like a lifetime ago. I let out a slow breath, rolling my suitcase inside and setting my purse down on the wooden table near the door. My fingers lingered on the polished wood.
This place had never really felt like mine, had it? Even after all these years, it was still his. Adrian’s penthouse. Adrian’s empire. Adrian’s decisions. And I had been the dutiful wife, molding myself to fit into his world because I loved him, I have loved him for the past four years we have been married. The moment I first saw him at the coffee shop, he asked for my number, and I agreed, charmed by him. We were in our mid-twenties when we got married, and next year, as we turn thirty, we’ll be celebrating five years of marriage. I thought our marriage was good or at least, It had been until she came back last year. Laura. The name alone made something cold settle in my stomach. She was his first love, the woman he was meant to marry and build a life with. But as they stood at the altar in their early twenties, ready to say their vows, Laura panicked.
She felt too young to be married, so she ran away from him. Laura had been gone for the past nine years. She had been only a ghost from Adrian’s past until last year, when she resurfaced like some tragic love story come back to life. I saw the way he looked at her, the way his walls crumbled whenever she was near. He was a man torn in two, caught between the life he had built with me and the past he had never let go of. But honestly? Ever since she came back, I’ve felt myself fading into the background. I had left for Europe hoping that maybe, just maybe, he’d miss me? That he’d realize he was losing me and fight for me the way I had fought for him? But deep down, I already knew the truth. Adrian had already made his choice. I just hadn’t seen it yet. Until now. I cleared my throat, pushing the thoughts aside as I took a step deeper into the penthouse. “Adrian? Are you home?” My voice echoed slightly in the open space, but there was no response.
I exhaled, brushing my fingers through my dark hair as I walked toward the kitchen. Maybe he was in his office, since he owned a multimillion-dollar company? Maybe he was asleep? Maybe— I stopped. My breath caught in my throat, my heart slamming against my ribs. There, on the kitchen counter, was Adrian with Laura. My vision blurred at the edges, my brain struggling to process the sight in front of me. Her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands gripping her hips. Their bodies moving together in a way that used to belong to us. I forgot how to breathe. Time stretched and warped, trapping me in this moment, forcing me to absorb every painful detail. The way his mouth traced the curve of her neck. The way she moaned his name, the name that once belonged to me. The way neither of them even noticed me standing there, frozen in the doorway, while my entire world burned down around me. I should have screamed. I should have made a sound, anything to shatter this nightmare. But all I could do was stare as the pieces of my marriage crumbled at my feet.
I didn’t realize I was shaking until my hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms. My skin felt too tight, my chest constricted as if an iron band had wrapped around my ribs. I wanted to move, to run, to confront them, to throw something at them, to hurt him the way he had just gutted me. But I didn’t. Instead, I took a step back. Then another and another. They still didn’t notice me. I turned and walked away, each step slow, measured, silent. My entire body was numb, yet my mind was sharper than it had ever been. Adrian had betrayed me. Humiliated me. If he thought he would get away with it, he was wrong. Because I wasn’t leaving quietly. I wasn’t going to cry in some dark room, waiting for him to come up with an excuse, to feed me some pathetic lie about how it was a mistake, how it didn’t mean anything or wait for him to divorce me. No. If Adrian thought he could discard me, if he thought he could replace me like I was nothing, then he had no idea who he was dealing with. I reached the front door and grabbed my purse, my fingers shaking slightly as I pulled out my phone.
I stared at my reflection in the glass window for a brief moment, my face eerily calm despite the fire raging inside me. I inhaled sharply before I tiptoed back into the kitchen. I pressed play on the video, so I recorded Adrian cheating on me with Laura. Adrian had made his choice. And now, he was going to regret it. – Carmen’s POV The tears have been falling for days. My eyes are swollen, and my chest aches in a way I never thought possible. I can’t stop the flood of emotions crashing inside me, but at least in this car, it doesn’t matter. I turn my head and stare at the dashboard. The dim lights are the only company I have left.
I haven’t moved from this spot in two days. I haven’t returned home. I haven’t wanted to see him. Adrian. The man I thought I could trust. The man I thought would choose me. But no, he chose her. And now, I’m left to pick up the pieces of something that feels like it’s shattered beyond repair. My phone buzzes in my lap, snapping me out of my spiral. I wipe my face, clearing my throat, trying to act like everything’s fine even though everything is so far from it. It’s Lacy, my sister. I swipe the screen and answer, forcing a tight smile I know she can’t see. “Hey, Lacy. What’s up?” There’s a pause on the other end. Her voice is frantic, “Thank god you answered! Adrian called me. He said you haven’t come home and he’s worried about you. What’s going on, Carmen?” Worried? Adrian is worried about me? I let out a bitter laugh that sounds more like a choke. He’s not worried about me, he’s worried about himself. I swallow the lump in my throat and clear my voice, trying to keep the facade up. “Oh, I decided to stay an extra week in Europe. Totally forgot to call him.”
It sounds like a weak excuse, but I can’t bring myself to tell Lacy the truth. Lacy doesn’t buy it. I can hear the concern in her voice. “Please, just call him. He’s been texting me non-stop about you. I can’t put the babies to sleep with him harassing me about you.” I nod, even though she can’t see me. “I will. Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to him. Thanks, Lacy. Bye.” Before she can say anything else, I hang up. The silence presses down on me, heavier than before. Adrian is worried about me? That makes me want to laugh, but instead, I feel rage bubble up from my chest. A week. A week is perfect. I have time to think. Time to plan. Time to plan revenge that’s as cold and calculated as the man who’s broken my heart. Adrian thinks I’m on a vacation? But I’m not. I’m here, planning to destroy his life. – Carmen’s POV The next day, I sit at the edge of the small table in the private investigator’s office, my fingers drumming nervously on the table. I have hired a private investigator who has gathered evidence on Adrian’s and Laura’s affair. The man is sitting across from me as he pulls out the stack of photos from his briefcase. I can already feel the weight of them in my chest before I even see them.
He doesn’t say anything at first, just slides the first photo across the table, and I almost don’t want to look. But I do. There they are. Adrian. My husband. My Adrian. And Laura. His first love. The woman who left him years ago. The woman I thought was just a distant memory. But there they are, locked in an embrace, their faces close, the same warmth I used to see in his eyes when he looked at me now directed at her. The image hits me like a punch to the stomach. I look up at the investigator, my heart racing. “How long?” My voice cracks, barely more than a whisper. “How long has this been going on? He clears his throat, flipping through the stack. “It started one month ago, but they became very serious two weeks, based on the surveillance. They’ve been meeting almost daily now. I’ve got more photos, if you want them.” A month. I was in Europe for three months. All that time, I had no idea. I thought I was just giving him space, letting him breathe. I thought maybe I’d come back to good news, to a clean slate since all we did was fight one another.
But all this time, he was with her. The investigator slides more photos across the table. There’s one of Adrian and Laura at a park, laughing, their hands intertwined. It looks like nothing more than a couple enjoying a lazy afternoon, like the world doesn’t even exist beyond the bubble they’ve created. In the next photo, they’re sitting at a café, leaning in close, whispering in each other’s ears, completely oblivious to the world around them. It’s all so… casual. So effortless. Like they’ve been doing this for ages. The investigator flips through more pictures, Adrian and Laura in the grocery store, both of them picking out wine together, so at ease with one another. Adrian, laughing, leaning down to smooch her cheek in a streetlight. And the worst one of all, Adrian’s hand resting on the small of Laura’s back as they walk into a hotel.
The one that shatters whatever hope I had left. They’re not even trying to hide it. “Are you sure?” I ask, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. “This isn’t just… a coincidence?” The investigator meets my gaze, his eyes cold but kind, almost as if he’s seen this too many times. “They’ve been meeting at various places, and this has been going on for a while. They’re not making any effort to keep their relationship under wraps.” I swallow hard, a lump forming in my throat. The pictures are undeniable. There’s no hiding it now. Adrian has been with her. He’s been with her, the one who walked away from him all those years ago. And now she’s back. And I’ve been nothing more than a fool, thinking that we were working toward something, thinking that we were building a future together. I look at the last photo again, the one with them entering the hotel. I should feel angry, hurt, disgusted. But instead, all I feel is numb. It’s like I’ve been punched so many times I’ve lost the ability to feel the blows anymore.