She Choose Her Ex Over Me

CHAPTER 6 CRACKS IN THE HEART

By the time Daniella realized Fred had left the banquet, he was already gone.

The ballroom had started thinning out, the music softer now, conversations fading into drunken laughter and exhausted networking, yet her eyes kept scanning the crowd anxiously.

Fred was nowhere.

An uncomfortable feeling settled inside her chest.

She spotted Chris near the bar finishing a glass of whiskey and immediately walked toward him. “Have you seen Fred?”

Chris looked at her without expression, then he laughed softly, not kindly. “You should be responsible for your husband,” he said coldly, “not me.”

The words hit harder than Daniella expected; her brows furrowed instantly. “Excuse me?”

Chris set his glass down slowly. “You heard me.”

“Why are you talking to me like that?”

His jaw tightened. “Because I’m tired of watching him destroy himself trying to love you.”

Daniella stiffened immediately. “That’s not fair.”

Chris gave her a sharp look. “No. What’s not fair is watching a man spend years worshipping someone who barely notices when he’s bleeding.”

The accusation stung because part of her knew there was truth in it. “I didn’t ask him to worship me.”

“And he never asked you to humiliate him either.”

Daniella opened her mouth to respond, but stopped.

Suddenly, she remembered Fred standing alone near the balcony while she danced with Tony. The memory unsettled her instantly.

Chris grabbed his coat. “Go home, Daniella.”

His voice lowered dangerously. “And for once, pay attention to your husband before someone else does.”

Then he walked away.

Leaving Daniella standing there alone beneath the ballroom lights with something unfamiliar crawling through her chest.  Guilt.

Fred did not come home that night. That had never happened before. Not once in eight years. No matter how angry he was, no matter how exhausted work became, Fred always came home to her. Always.

Yet Daniella sat alone in the penthouse at 1:43 AM, staring at the empty side of the bed, waiting.

The silence around her felt wrong.

She picked up her phone twice to call him. Both times, she stopped herself because another stubborn part of her remained angry, too.

Why should she be the one chasing him?

Nothing even happened with Tony.

At least… not technically.

Still, uneasiness refused to leave her. She finally fell asleep near dawn. When she woke up the next morning, Fred was already home.

But something about him had changed.

He stood near the kitchen, dressed sharply in a dark suit, while reading documents from his tablet. His coffee sat untouched beside him.

Normally, he would have kissed her forehead by now.

Normally, he would have asked if she slept well.

Normally, he would have noticed she looked tired.

Today— Nothing. 

“You came home late,” Daniella said carefully.

Fred didn’t look up. “I had work.”

That was it. No explanation, no softness, no effort, and strangely, that bothered her more than anger would have. “You could’ve called.”

“I didn’t think it mattered.”

The sentence landed quietly between them.

Daniella frowned. “Why are you acting like this?”

Fred finally lifted his eyes toward her, and for the first time in years, she could not read them. “Like what?”

“Cold.”

Fred stared at her for several seconds before answering calmly. “I’m just tired.”

Then he walked past her.

Daniella stood there motionless because she suddenly realized something terrifying: Fred had stopped trying to fix things.

The change became impossible to ignore over the next few days. No more waiting for her at dinner. No more good morning texts, no more reminders to eat during stressful meetings, no more asking about her day.

The quiet, devoted husband who revolved around her so naturally had begun pulling away piece by piece, and the absence of that love felt louder than she expected.

Daniella noticed it everywhere.

The untouched seat beside her at night, the missing warmth in his eyes, the silence in the apartment.

Even the flowers he used to leave on her office desk every Monday stopped arriving. It unsettled her deeply, but instead of admitting it, she became defensive.

“You’re punishing me,” she snapped one evening after Fred ignored her third call that day.

Fred loosened his tie calmly. “I was busy.”

“You’re never too busy for me.”

Something flickered across his face briefly, pain, but it disappeared too quickly. “Maybe I should’ve been.”

The answer stunned her.

Fred walked toward the study without another word.

And Daniella suddenly realized she missed the version of him who chased her relentlessly.

Meanwhile, Tony watched everything unfold. The emotional distance between husband and wife was growing exactly as he intended. Now he simply needed to widen the cracks further.

Inside a private restaurant suite downtown, Tony sat across from a middle-aged accountant reviewing falsified financial documents. “These are convincing?” Tony asked.

The man nodded nervously. “Very convincing.”

Tony smirked slightly while flipping through the forged records, Bank debts, Secret loans, Financial instability, all under Fred Morgan’s name. Exactly what he wanted, it looked Perfect.

“Excellent,” Tony murmured.

The accountant hesitated before speaking carefully. “But if these records are investigated deeply.”

“They won’t be.” Tony slid an envelope full of cash across the table.

“I only need Daniella to believe them.”

Because once doubt enters a marriage, Love begins destroying itself from the inside.

Three days later, Daniella sat inside Tony’s office reviewing expansion proposals when he sighed heavily. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Tony hesitated deliberately, then slowly pushed a file toward her. “I wasn’t sure if I should show you this.”

Daniella frowned. “Show me what?”

Tony leaned back with visible reluctance. “I heard rumors about Fred recently.”

Her expression hardened immediately. “What rumors?”

Tony looked uncomfortable. “Apparently, he’s been struggling financially.”

Daniella’s eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible.”

Tony slid the documents closer. “These came through a private investor contact.”

Daniella opened the file slowly. The moment she saw the debt reports, her stomach tightened. Several overdue loans.

Frozen investment accounts.

Massive liabilities. Everything appeared authentic. “That can’t be right,” she whispered.

Tony sighed softly. “I didn’t want to believe it either.”

Daniella stared at the paperwork in disbelief. Then, suddenly, several recent moments started replaying in her mind: Fred refusing expensive outings, Fred staying home more often, Fred always avoiding conversations about work.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Had he been hiding financial problems this entire time?

Tony lowered his voice carefully. “A man’s pride can make him hide dangerous things.”

Daniella looked disturbed now. “And if he’s using your company to survive financially…”

He let the sentence hang intentionally unfinished; that was enough, the fear had already entered her mind.

That night, Daniella confronted Fred the moment he entered the penthouse. The tension exploded instantly. “Are you in debt?”

Fred paused mid-step. “What?”

She marched toward him, holding the documents. “These.”

Fred glanced down briefly. Then his expression hardened almost imperceptibly. “Where did you get them?”

“So they’re real?”

“No.”

“Then explain them.”

Fred remained silent for a moment too long.

Daniella’s frustration rose immediately. “Why won’t you answer me directly?”

“Because I want to know who gave you this.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

“Fred!” she snapped. “Stop avoiding the question!”

Something dark flickered behind his eyes, then not anger, just exhaustion, Pure emotional exhaustion. “I’m not using your company if that’s what you’re asking.”

“But are you hiding financial problems?”

Fred stared at her quietly and suddenly realized something painful. She believed it. After eight years together, she genuinely believed he could become a burden, clinging to her success.

The realization hollowed him out. “You think I’d use you?” he asked softly.

Daniella hesitated. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

That answer hurt more than the accusation, because love should have created certainty, not this.

Fred removed his watch slowly before speaking in a low voice. “Do you know what’s exhausting?”

Daniella crossed her arms defensively. “What?”

“Constantly proving your worth to someone who already decided you’re not enough.”

The words struck her harder than expected, but before she could respond, Fred walked past her toward the bedroom, ending the conversation completely.

And somehow, that felt worse than fighting.

Later that night, across the city, Chris sat inside a private investigation office reviewing confidential files with growing anger.

The deeper he dug into Tony’s finances, the uglier things became: hidden debt, failed offshore investments, Lawsuits quietly buried through bribes, and multiple banks preparing legal action.

Chris leaned back slowly. “Oh, this bastard…”

Tony wasn’t successful; he was desperate, and desperate men became dangerous.

Chris immediately grabbed the file and headed straight toward Fred.

An hour later, he entered Fred’s private office suite overlooking the city skyline.

Fred barely looked up from the documents in front of him. “You’re here late.”

Chris tossed the thick confidential file onto the desk. “You need to read that.”

Fred frowned slightly. “What is it?”

Chris’s expression darkened. “Tony isn’t here for love.”

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Fred slowly opened the file.

Chris leaned forward carefully.  “And what’s inside that file…”

His voice lowered. “…could destroy your marriage completely.”