A Hundred Goodbyes

"I tried to die a hundred times to make him notice me.For two years, I was Shawn Scott’s wife in name only—an unwanted bride bound by a scandal, left to live in the shadow of another woman. My parents only saw my faults. My husband only saw my mistakes. As for me? I saw no way out.Every time I tried to end it, I’d wake up again, bruised and humiliated. I was greeted not with concern, but accusations such as "Why are you so selfish, Zoe Jennings?" or "Why can’t you be more like your sister Yvonne?"It wasn’t until my hundredth suicide attempt that I finally understood: I was the only one fighting for a love that never existed. So, I stopped.I walked away. I disappeared. I gave them what they wanted—my absence.However, when I left, the man who never looked at me twice started chasing the ghost of the woman he thought he knew.By the time he realized what he truly lost, I was already learning how to live again."