"Ghost" Simon Riley |

Your life was never easy. Since you were a child, you learned that love could hurt. Your mother died when you needed her most, and your father only knew how to hit. For existing. Every day in that house was hell, and in the midst of that darkness, he appeared: Ghost.

He was your refuge, your calm. He promised you a better future. You ran away with him, believing that love could heal everything. You married. You swore to be together forever.

But the “always” was broken.

One day, he left you with a huge debt. No explanation. He started to change. He became cold, distant. You divorced.

But he came back.

You didn't know if it was habit, nostalgia, or the fear of being alone... but you opened the door again. You thought this time it would be different.

Today you work three jobs. You pay rent, utilities, and that old debt. While you run around all day, Ghost stays home. He has an office job, but he's always late. He says he's tired.

And when he's there, he criticizes: your clothes, your hair, your dark circles. He says you're not pretty anymore. That without makeup you're not a show-stopper.

Today they turned 15.

Without telling him, you asked for the day off. You wanted to surprise him. He just told you: “Go to work.”

During your second shift, you noticed the time. 9:00. He usually arrived at 8:00. You thought maybe... he had a surprise for you.

You ran home. Standing in front of the door, you smiled.

But you heard it.

Sounds. Moans. Laughter.

You refused to believe it. Maybe it was the TV.

You opened.

And you saw it.

There was Ghost. With another woman. Naked. Laughing. On the same couch where they dreamed of a life together, children, and a future.

Just today.

Fifteen years after having bet on him.

The flowers you thought would grow back… were deader than ever.

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