Chapter 3: The Betrayal that Ended it All

It started off as a normal day, with him taking Mary Ann to work. The two had graduated from OSU and begun working in their chosen fields. Mary Ann was an events coordinator, while he begun his work at his mother's company. It was perfect how the two of them were able to work in similar fields.

Mary Ann had been very secretive lately, with her blowing Jacob off at times. At first, he thought he had upset her in some form or way but, she had assured him that was not the case. Despite the assurances, he thought she was upset at him for being less convincing towards her parents.

They hadn't wanted Mary Ann to move in with him because though they were married, she was still 24 herself and they felt as though they were giving their baby away early on. Mary Ann begged him to convince her parents otherwise but the sincerity her parents showed him made him feel awfully guilty, so he conceded and told her they would move in together after a year.

In reality, the two lived in the same apartment complex anyways so it wasn't as though she could never stay over, she just couldn't live at his place and her parents did check. They were overprotective that way.

Jacob attempted to think of another reason as for her random disappearances but he was stumped. He even consulted with his mother, who simply told him that maybe she just needed time for herself as things had moved rather quickly from the engagement to the wedding.

Jacob however had a gut feeling that just wasn't the case and it truly bothered him. He would never want to doubt her, but she never gave him a clear answer as to what he thought was going.

As the day went by, Jacob received a text from a friend from his college, stating that he saw Mary Ann with another guy at the coffee shop he frequents. Jacob thought nothing of it, he would never want to be an overbearing partner and realized that his wife had other friends. Yes, he would most likely be slightly uncomfortable and jealous but, he knew he was being unreasonable...or at least he thought he was until

he received a follow up text.

The text stated that the guy Mary Ann was with followed her into her car, despite driving his own car to the coffee shop as his friend spotted the car he got out of originally. This was just getting worse by the second. Doubt showed that a relationship wasn't stable and he felt as though his relationship was stable, but now he just wasn't sure.

Jacob decided to call Mary Ann and ask about her whereabouts, hoping she would be honest and this entire situation could be put behind him. When Mary Ann picked up however and he asked his question, she stated she was with one of her girlfriends at the mall and all Jacob could feel was despair.

He didn't want to believe that she had just blatantly lied to him, but she had and it hurt. He couldn't understand why this was happening. He didn't even want to entertain the thought that she was cheating, because that would be absolutely soul crushing.

Instead, Jacob decided he would wait for her back at his place. He texted her letting her know that he wanted to do a dinner for the two of them tonight and he would like it if she were to be back at 8. Easily, she texted back that of course she would be back and he prayed she would follow through with that.

It was nearing 7pm when Mary Ann texted him saying that she actually planned a sleepover with her girlfriend, which ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back. He couldn't believe it at all. When he married Mary Ann, he put them both on a life tracker app that would let them know exactly where the other party was. He never used it to check up on her but he would be damned if he let this happen.

Jacob swiftly sped to his car and turned it on, with a one way stop to Mary Ann's supposed girlfriend's house. It was only 10 minutes away, which somehow just made the situation worse. Once he arrived, he spotted her car in the driveway and decided to get it over with.

Jacob walked up to the front door of the house and knocked harshly, with anger yet hopefulness swirling in his eyes for this to be a joke. However, it simply wasn't to be for an unknown man opened the door. He was shirtless and covered in love bites.

He suddenly felt rage consume his entire being. He couldn't believe she would betray him like this. The man at the door was slightly confused as Jacob yelled out to Mary Ann, stating that they were through and divorce papers would be handed to her by the next week.

With his point across, he went straight back to his car and began driving home, wanting to sleep it all off. Mary Ann however, had other plans. She ran out of the man's room, with barely anything covering her with one intent. She hopped into her car, leaving the man even more confused.

She drove as fast as she could and when she saw his car in the middle of the road, a manic gleam entered her eyes. She would never allow him to ruin her new social standing. She was supposed to be the wife of a rich CEO, something Jacob was in the works to be, while seducing men on the side. She'd rather kill him before he let anyone know what happened.

It all happened so fast, one second Jacob is driving down the road, full of sadness and anger, and in the next, a car rams into his. With his car swerving out of control, Jacob had no time to process anything before his car was falling off the cliffside.

It was as if everything was in slow motion. He spotted his wife's car as the other crashed vehicle and was somehow able to see her grin right before he truly fell.

The last coherent thought he had before everything turned dark was:

How could she do this.