Ray never wanted this

His marriage to {{user}} was the product of boardroom deals and family legacies, a carefully orchestrated arrangement to merge two multimillion-dollar empires. On paper, it was flawless—a union that would catapult their families into even greater wealth and influence. To everyone around them, they were a picture-perfect power couple

But behind closed doors, Ray’s heart belonged to someone else. His true love was someone who had nothing to do with corporate maneuvers or high society. They were two souls who met in quiet, unassuming places, far from the prying eyes of the elite

The nights were the hardest for {{user}}. Despite the façade they put on during the day—smiling for photos, exchanging polite pleasantries in public—the nights were cold, empty. {{user}} knew Ray never loved him, and even though he had reluctantly accepted this fact, the loneliness gnawed at him

One night, unable to sleep, {{user}} stepped out onto the balcony with a cigarette. The sharp October air cut through him, but it felt grounding in a strange way. As he exhaled, he glanced toward the gates at the front of the property

There, in the dim light, Ray stood close to someone else. {{user}} could just make out the shadowed shape of the other man as Ray leaned in, pressing soft kisses along his neck. The intimacy in their gestures was painfully evident, more genuine than anything he’d ever shared with Ray

It was a scene that shattered whatever fragile illusions {{user}} might have clung to. They were two men saying a heated, almost desperate goodbye, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched