Chapter 1

Layla's POV

I will never forget that night—the moment my husband completely humiliated me in front of everyone.

The luxurious banquet hall glittered under crystal chandeliers, glasses clinking as guests mingled. Tonight was the astronomy department's annual academic gala, and Brent had just received his tenure nomination. I had carefully chosen this deep blue silk dress, wanting to make him proud on such an important evening.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Brent stood at the podium, champagne flute raised, his face beaming with a brilliant smile. "Tonight, I want to introduce someone very special."

I smoothed my dress expectantly, thinking he would call me to the stage.

"She's not only an outstanding scholar but also the most important collaborator in my academic career." Brent's gaze swept past me, landing somewhere behind. "Mia, please come forward."

What?

A young, beautiful blonde gracefully walked toward the podium. She couldn't have been more than twenty-four or twenty-five, with a slender figure and porcelain skin—the kind of youthful glow I could never possess again.

Applause erupted below as I heard colleagues whispering:

"Isn't that his wife over there?"

"Mia is his graduate student..."

My face began to burn, but I forced a smile. As his wife, I should appear graceful and composed, shouldn't I?

Mia approached Brent's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Blushing, she said shyly, "Professor, you're too kind."

"Without your assistance, I never could have completed this research." Brent looked at her tenderly. "You're the most gifted student I've ever encountered."

I stood up, wanting to approach the stage. Since Brent was introducing his capable assistant, as his wife, I should show my support, right?

"Let's all applaud Mia's outstanding contributions!" Brent raised his glass high.

I hurried toward the podium, wanting to stand beside Brent and applaud Mia, demonstrating the grace of a professor's wife.

But fate chose that exact moment to play a cruel joke on me.

My heels caught in my dress hem, I lost my balance, and crashed straight into the elaborately arranged champagne tower beside me.

CRASH—

Crystal glasses tumbled down, champagne splashing everywhere, glass shards scattering across the floor. I fell awkwardly, my dress soaked with champagne, hair disheveled.

The entire banquet hall fell dead silent.

Every eye focused on me—some shocked, some sympathetic, but most filled with malicious glee.

"Oh my God, how embarrassing."

"What's wrong with the professor's wife?"

"Is she drunk?"

I struggled to stand, but the slippery floor sent me sliding down again. I lost an earring, my makeup smeared, completely disheveled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I apologized through trembling lips, tears betraying me as they welled up.

But the most devastating blow was yet to come.

"Layla!" Brent rushed down from the stage, but his face was dark with fury. "What the hell are you doing? Do you know how important tonight is for me?"

He didn't help me up—instead, he was scolding me.

"I... I just wanted to..."

"You wanted what? To embarrass me in front of all my colleagues?" Brent lowered his voice, but everyone nearby could still hear. "Look at yourself right now. What a mess!"

Mia approached softly saying, "Professor, don't be so hard on Layla. She was just trying to help."

"Mia, you're too kind." Brent's expression instantly softened when he looked at her, then turned back to me. "You should go home. Stop making a scene here."

Making a scene? I had become the one making a scene?

Colleagues around us were watching the show—some taking photos with their phones, others covering their mouths to hide their laughter. I knew that by tomorrow, the entire university would know—Professor Brent's wife had made a fool of herself at the gala and been publicly reprimanded.

"I can call a car to take Layla home," Mia suggested thoughtfully. "It's so late, it's not safe for her to go alone."

Every word she spoke was like a gentle blade, cutting me to shreds. They were caring words, but spoken in this context, they only made me appear more pitiful.

"No need." I stood up trembling, trying to maintain what little dignity I had left. "I can get home myself."

I stumbled toward the exit, hearing Brent's warm voice behind me: "Sorry about that, everyone. Let's continue the celebration..."

Celebration? Celebration without me?

In the rainy night, I stood alone in the empty parking lot, soaked to the bone, makeup ruined. The man who once promised to love me forever had chosen the young, beautiful her in front of everyone, while grinding me into the dirt.

I arrived home after midnight. This mansion that we'd shared for five years, purchased with my mother's inheritance, now felt cold as an icehouse, devoid of any warmth.

Brent texted: "You were completely out of line tonight. I'm very disappointed. We need to have a serious talk tomorrow."

Disappointed? He was disappointed in ME?

I entered the master bedroom and opened the bottom drawer of my vanity. Three yellowed love letters lay quietly inside.

There used to be fifty-two.

Seven years ago, I was the youngest librarian at the University of Vermont, and Brent was just a poor doctoral student surviving on a meager teaching assistant's salary. Back then, he wrote me a love letter every day for fifty-two consecutive days, saying he would use the fifty-two weeks of a year to prove his love for me.

"My starlight, meeting you is the greatest miracle of my life..."

"Without your support, I am nothing..."

"Layla, marry me, and let me spend the rest of my life cherishing you..."

I had used my mother's $200,000 inheritance to support him through graduate school, stayed up countless nights with him in the lab, even gave up my opportunity to pursue advanced studies at Harvard. I thought that man who always smelled of coffee in the laboratory would love me forever.

And now, forty-nine love letters had already turned to ash.

Every time he hurt me, I would burn one of the letters he had written me by hand. The first time was when he publicly criticized me for not understanding academia; the tenth time was when he started staying out all night for "academic discussions" with Mia; the twentieth time was when he forgot my birthday because of Mia's thesis defense...

Forty-nine betrayals, forty-nine forgivenesses.

Tonight was the fiftieth time.

I picked up the fiftieth love letter with trembling hands:

"My dearest Layla, if someday you think I've changed, please remember how much I love you in this moment. I swear, no matter what happens, you will always be the most important woman in my heart. —Forever yours, Brent."

Forever mine, Brent?

I held the lighter, my hand shaking violently. The rain outside grew heavier, beating against the windows like my shattered heart.

Tonight's scenes replayed in my mind: my humiliating fall, champagne splashing everywhere, the crowd's laughter, Mia's gentle "concern," and Brent's cold rebuke...

Tears blurred my vision, but this time, I didn't hesitate.

Flames danced as the fiftieth love letter slowly curled, blackened, and finally turned to ash.

Seven years of love, as fragile as this piece of paper.

I looked at the last two letters remaining in the drawer and closed my eyes in despair, letting tears fall freely.

Only two letters left.

How many more betrayals could I endure?