I Let Them Think They Won - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Max slumped on the edge of the bed, the divorce papers limp in his hands. His thoughts spun in useless circles—Cassie was gone, and he had absolutely no clue where to even begin searching.
His first impulse was to call someone—anyone who might know where she'd gone. But as he grabbed his phone, his hand froze mid-air. Who the hell could he call? Her friends?
Then it hit him like a punch to the gut: He didn't even know who her friends were.
They'd had some mutual acquaintances from social events, sure, but none close enough to Cassie to have a real lead. And the tight-knit group she'd had before their marriage? Gone. Faded away over the years until it was just the two of them—and now, just him.
Max clenched his jaw until it ached. Cassie worked remotely—he knew that much. But what exactly did she do? Which company? He couldn't answer. When she'd talked about her day, he'd tuned her out with half-hearted nods, too wrapped up in his own world to care.
His fist smashed into the wall beside him. "Goddammit!" The curse bounced off the empty room.
"This is all my fault." He shot to his feet, pacing like a caged animal, fingers raking through his hair. Fragments of past conversations flickered through his mind—Cassie's animated laughter as she described a work project, the spark in her eyes when she vented about office politics or celebrated a win. And him? He'd brushed it all aside, too self-absorbed to engage. Now those neglected details might've been his only lifeline to find her.
Max stopped dead, chest heaving. He thumped his forehead against the wall—once, twice, then harder. How could he have been this oblivious? This selfish? He'd built this impenetrable divide between their lives, preaching about "keeping work separate," but all he'd really done was shut her out completely.
His legs gave out. Sliding down the wall, Max buried his face in his hands. The weight of his mistakes pressed down, suffocating. For the first time in years, he felt utterly powerless.
The divorce papers trembled in his grip. Then he saw it—Cassie's handwritten reason: "Because he cheated."
His stomach dropped. She knew? This whole time?
A small slip of paper peeked from beneath the envelope. His breath hitched as he unfolded it:
"You forgot the wedding vows."
Five words that shattered him. Their wedding day flashed before him—Cassie's glowing face, the way her hands had shook with happy nerves as they exchanged promises. Vows he'd obliterated without hesitation.
Tears blurred the note as he crushed it in his fist. He hadn't just cheated. He'd betrayed her trust, lied to her face, and trampled every sacred memory they'd built.
Max sagged against the wall. How long had she known? Weeks? Months? Her distance hadn't been indifference—it had been quiet devastation while he'd been too obsessed with Violet to notice. He'd wrecked their marriage with both hands.
He dragged a shaky hand across his face, his skin ghostly pale. The bitter truth settled in his bones:
He'd ruined everything.