I remember the room going silent, the clattering of forks and glasses abruptly halting as everyone processed what Mark had just said. My heart felt like it stopped beating for a moment, suspended in disbelief and shock. Could this be real? I looked at him, searching his eyes for any sign that this was some sort of twisted joke—a misunderstanding. But his eyes were cold, unfamiliar.
He continued to speak, saying that he could not marry a woman who had betrayed him. His words were like daggers, each one slicing through the hopes and dreams we had built together. My family looked at me, bewildered and concerned. I could see the hurt in my mother’s eyes as she tried to comprehend the situation, and my father’s face turned crimson with anger and disbelief. I wanted to scream, to plead, to tell everyone that Mark’s accusations were a lie. I felt paralyzed, unable to defend myself against the onslaught of his words.
