Page 18 of Unfaithful

"Peaches, honey," Archie's voice was suddenly at my ear. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, steadying me just as my knees threatened to give out. "You need to breathe."

"Archie," I croaked, my hands trembling as they moved to my throat. "That's Cole, isn't it? That's really him."

"I wish I could say it wasn't." His exhale was shaky.

"Oh my God, Archie..." My whole body shook as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. My sanity felt like it was slipping, unraveling thread by thread. My thoughts were a chaotic mess, tangled between rage, fear, and heartbreak. It was too much. It was suffocating. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.

Cole was cheating on me.

With Elsa.

And she was pregnant.

Fucking pregnant.

Pregnant!

"Stay cool, Sara. You're stronger than you think. You can get through this. I'm right here with you."

I nodded. The movement felt involuntary as if some other force had taken control of my body.

Then I lost it.

I broke down right there on the sidewalk, watching my husband walk into a house he shared with another woman.

A silent, gut-wrenching sob wracked through me as I bent forward, clutching my stomach. It felt like a knife was slicing me apart from the inside, twisting cruelly, mercilessly.

But no sound came out.

The agony was suffocating, so overwhelming that it stole my voice completely.

It hurt. It hurt more than anything ever had.

"Sara," Archie's voice reached me, distant and faint, like he was calling from miles away. "Tell me what to do."

God, it hurt so much.

I shut my eyes tightly, desperate for the pain to fade, to soften into something bearable. But it refused. Instead, it swelled, constricting around me like an unrelenting vice.

"Be strong, Sara."

Archie's voice seeped into my ears—distant, faint—but powerful enough to shake me from the depths of my grief.

I straightened my posture and wiped the tears from my face, a sudden surge of determination taking hold. I wouldn't let him do this to me. I wouldn't bend. I wouldn't break. And I sure as hell wouldn't shatter.

I took a deep breath and let out a slow, steady exhale, ignoring the tears that refused to stop falling. My gaze locked onto the house. The door was closed now.

"Archie," I said. My voice was steadier than I felt.

"Yes, Peaches?"

"You stay here," I told him, my jaw tightening. "I'm going to deal with him."

"Like hell I'm staying here!" he exclaimed, but I was already marching toward the house.

"Sara, slow down!" he yelled after me, but I didn't stop until I stood in front of the door, their voices murmuring from inside. My heart pounded, my fists clenching at my sides.

Then I banged on the door—hard. There was probably a doorbell somewhere, but my fists were itching to hit something.

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