In Another Life
___
I walked down the hallway to my boss's office, the weight of the work piled on my shoulders like a boulder. The constant pressure to perform and exceed expectations had drained every ounce of joy from my life. As I approached the door, my heart raced—not from anxiety but from an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
When I pushed the door open, the scene before me shattered my world. There they were—my fiancée, Emily, tangled in an embrace with my boss, a man I had once looked up to. My breath caught in my throat as the reality sank in. They were kissing, oblivious to the door swinging wide open, oblivious to me standing there, heartbroken and furious.
A surge of anger coursed through me. I couldn't process the betrayal; all I could feel was the heat rising in my chest. My hands trembled as I dropped the stack of papers I had been carrying. They fluttered to the floor like fallen leaves, and my voice erupted from my throat, sharp and unforgiving. "What the hell is going on here?"
Emily froze, her eyes wide with shock. My boss smirked, clearly unfazed. "Seth, I can explain—"
"Explain what? That you've been screwing my fiancée behind my back?" I interrupted, my voice rising with each word. The fury bubbling inside me was overwhelming. "I'm done. I quit!"
I turned on my heel, storming out of the office as the echoes of their confusion followed me. I could hear Emily calling after me, begging me to stay, but I didn't want to hear another word from her. The pain was too fresh, too raw. The image of them together seared into my mind, and I couldn't bear to face her again.
The walk home felt like a blur. My heart raced with the weight of betrayal and heartbreak, drowning out the sounds around me. I needed to escape the chaos of my emotions, but it felt impossible. I stumbled through the front door, only to be met with an even harsher reality.
The sight before me turned my blood to ice. My mother and stepfather lay motionless on the floor, their faces devoid of life. Panic surged through me as I rushed to their side, my voice shaking as I called out, "Mom! Dad!"
There was no response. I shook them, desperate for a sign of life, but it was clear—my world was unraveling before my eyes. A scream tore from my throat, raw and primal, echoing through the empty house.
Neighbors rushed over, drawn by the sound of my anguish, their concerned faces blurring in my vision. Someone called the police, and others begged for an ambulance, but all I could think about was how my life had crumbled in an instant.
Seth Carver, a man who had once been full of hope and dreams, was now broken beyond repair. I sank to the floor, my heart heavy with loss, betrayal, and the crushing weight of a world I could no longer recognize.