Emma had loved Ethan since they were kids, back when they passed notes in math class and shared stolen moments beneath the bleachers. He was everything—the handsome, charming boy that every girl in school dreamed about. But it was Emma who had his heart. She wore that victory like a crown, marrying him just a few years after graduation. Their future seemed bright, even inevitable.

Ethan quickly rose in the world of business, taking risks that paid off handsomely. Their home was a picture of success, filled with the luxuries that others only wished for. And Emma, though she had everything, still harbored a question she couldn’t seem to let go.

“Do you still love me?” she asked, often enough that it became like a habit.

Ethan would smile, assuring her with words she needed to hear. But it was never enough. There was always a lingering shadow in her eyes.

“And promise me,” she would demand in quieter moments, “that if something ever happens to me, you’ll never marry anyone else.”

He would laugh, teasing away her worries. “Nothing’s going to happen, Emma.”

But life has a way of turning gold into dust.

The market crashed, and with it, Ethan’s empire crumbled overnight. They lost everything—the house, the cars, the world they had built. For Ethan, it was a devastating blow, but he believed they could survive it, rebuild together. Emma, however, had other plans.

One evening, as the last of their things were packed into boxes, Emma stood by the door, suitcase in hand.

“I’m leaving,” she said quietly.

Ethan looked at her, bewildered. “We can fix this. I just need time.”

But she didn’t meet his eyes. “I’ve been seeing someone... for a long time.” Her words were cold, practiced. “I’m sorry.”

In that moment, Ethan’s world shattered. He stood there, unable to comprehend how the woman who once clung to him for promises could so easily break her own.

Years passed. Ethan clawed his way back from ruin, building a new business from the ground up. To the outside world, he was a success story, a man who had faced defeat and emerged victorious. But inside, he was hollow. No fortune could heal the emptiness left behind by betrayal.

He never asked the question Emma used to ask, because he already knew the answer.

Some wounds never heal.