We’d often spoken about going there together, Victor and I, but we’d never done it. Victor said we already lived in a beautiful country, and with the Caribbean a short flight away, we’d gone there regularly.
I closed my eyes and remembered lying on a white sandy beach beside my gorgeous husband, his olive colouring deepening beneath the hot sun. We’d gazed at each other, and he’d lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it, whispering how I was his world. How he’d stared at me each night like he wanted to eat me, often devouring me instead of any meal we’d had planned.
And not once did he look at another woman. Notonce.
So, what changed?
Me.
I knew it was because I’d gone off sex. It wasn’t just that though; I was tired and stressed. I had zero tolerance for Victor, or his libido. I barely spoke to him unless I had to, because he irritated me so fucking much.
My cheeks flushed.
Okay, so maybe we had become…distant. And maybe I did push him away, but I didn’t mean to. That past year was hard for me. My body had changed too: painful breasts, period pains when there wasn’t any period, feeling sick and bloated.
It wasn’t fair.
He’d cheated on me becausewewere struggling. Because we’d become distant. AndIhad to pay the price forourproblems.
What about our fucking vows?
Greece.
The word kept popping up like a solution to all my problems, and maybe it was. I grabbed my laptop and curled up on the sofa, tucking my legs beneath me. My heart thudded in my chest as I began searching for Greek holidays, and when the little whitewashed buildings showed up on my screen, something shifted within me.
Thatwas where I needed to be, lost in the olive groves of Greece, instead of sitting here in the hell of my reality.
Because why not? I had some time off work owed to me, and to be honest, I worked in a store. It wasn’t the end of the world if I took a week or two off.
Maybe three.
I bit my lip and drank in the vision of my possible future, and before I could second guess it, I’d booked a flight to Rhodes, a Greek Island, along with a cute little hotel in the centre of a small town. It had a layover of three hours in Athens, too.
My stomach fluttered when my credit card was approved, and my flight was confirmed.
I would fly in three days for three glorious weeks.
“Well, you’ve done it now,” I whispered to myself as my teeth sunk into my lower lip.
The thought of jetting away from all this bullshit was just… beautiful. I knew Vanessa would’ve come with me—hell, even my mom would have if I’d asked her. But this was something I wanted to do on my own. I’d spent my entire adult life being with someone—with Victor—and now I wanted to fly solo.
Literally.
I called work and told them I’d be taking some time off, and I had to take one week unpaid as I didn’t havethatmuch time off. I didn’t care—I felt liberated. Soon I wouldn’t have a mortgage hanging over my head—maybe I’d make enough money to buy a new place! Who knew?
Suddenly, the dark clouds seemed to fade away, showing me a path of sunshine and possibilities.
And Greek food. And wine.
Maybe this was how it was meant to be.
I needed to pack.
20
VICTOR
Istared at Lila’s Instagram page, unable to believe what I was seeing. It was a selfie of her looking absolutely stunning, her cheeks flushed with excitement and a wide smile on her face, accompanied with the caption: Greece, here I come! The navy airplane seat with the little white slip over it beside an airplane window was unmistakable.
