**Diary Entry**
“He married you, but he loves me,” my friend said, avoiding my gaze.
“Marina, would you like some coffee?” asked Emily, flicking the kettle on and pulling two mugs from the cupboard.
“Please. Make it strongmy heads splitting,” Marina replied, rubbing her temples before slumping into a kitchen chair.
Emily silently measured the coffee, then turned back. Theyd been friends for over a decade, since university, and Emily could always read Marinas moods. Today, she looked exhausteddark circles under her eyes, hair hastily tied back.
“Late night again?” Emily ventured carefully.
Marina nodded, tracing the pattern on the plastic tablecloth.
“Worked till half-one. Reports due tomorrow, and the numbers wouldnt add up. Came home to find Oliver already asleep. Left before I woke up. Its been like this all week.”
Emily set a steaming cup in front of her and sat down. Something flickered in her eyes, but Marina missed it.
“How are things between you two? Since the wedding?” Emily stirred sugar into her coffee.
“Fine, I suppose,” Marina shrugged. “Adjusting. You know the first years the hardest. Mum says its all part of settling in.”
“Settling in,” Emily repeated, bitterness edging her voice.
Marina finally looked up, studying her friend. “Emily, whats wrong? Youre not yourself today.”
“Im fine,” Emily waved her off. “Just tired. Works mad, and weve started redecorating. Its chaos.”
But Marina wasnt fooled. They knew each other too well. That same look Emily had years ago when shed confessed her crush on their philosophy lecturersame glint, same tension.
“Tell me,” Marina demanded. “Were friends.”
Emily stood, walked to the window, and stared into the garden. Then she turned abruptly.
“Marina, I need to tell you something. I dont know how youll take it.”
“What?” Marinas pulse quickened.
“Its about Oliver.”
“Oliver?” Marina set her cup down slowly. “What about him?”
Emily stepped closer but kept her eyes down. “Weve been seeing each other. For six months.”
Marina froze. The words didnt register at first.
“Seeing each other?”
“Yes. After work. Weekends when you visited your parents. Marina, Im sorryI never meant… It just happened.”
“It just happened?” Marinas voice turned icy. “An affair just *happened*?”
“Dont call it that. We just… understand each other. We talk, go for walks, the theatre”
“The theatre,” Marina echoed. “And do you *understand* each other in bed too?”
Emily flushed. The silence was answer enough.
Marina stood, legs shaking but pride keeping her upright. “How long?” Her voice was eerily calm.
“Six months. Started before your wedding. We tried to stop, but after… he called me.”
“During our *honeymoon*, he called you?”
Emilys head dipped lower. “Marina, I know it hurts. But he married youand loves me. We never wanted to hurt you, but”
“He married me but loves you,” Marina repeated, the words a verdict.
The kitchen was silent save for the ticking clock. Marina stood motionless; Emily still wouldnt meet her eyes.
“Why tell me now?” Marina finally asked. “You couldve kept lying.”
“I couldnt. Oliver wanted to confess, but I thought it should come from me. Were friends”
“Friends,” Marina laughed bitterly. “Ten years of friendship, and this is where it ends.”
“Marina, love isnt a choice. It just happens. We didnt plan”
“You didnt *plan* to smile at my wedding? Ask about my marriage? Advise me to be patient with him?”
“I wanted you to work out, honestly. But I cant help how I feel. I love him.”
“Does he love you?”
Emily looked up, and the truth in her eyes shattered Marinas heart.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He says he realised too late. After it was irreversible.”
“*Irreversible*? A weddings not a death sentence. He couldve said no.”
“He didnt want to upset you. Thought hed grow to love you. Everyone said you were perfect together.”
“Perfect,” Marina sank back onto the chair, legs giving way. “So he married me out of pity?”
“Out of respect. He *values* you”
“But doesnt love me.”
“No. Im sorry.”
Marina covered her face. Six months of marriage, and all along, her husband and best friend had been betraying her. The late nights, the distanceit all made sense now.
“Where did you meet?” she asked hollowly.
“My flat. Sometimes cafés across town.”
“Here? In this kitchen?”
Emilys silence spoke volumes.
Marina grabbed her bag.
“Where are you going?” Emily panicked.
“Home. To talk to my *husband*.”
“Wait! Lets talk this through”
“Talk *what* through? Should I *share* him? Or gracefully hand him over?”
“I dont know. But I dont want to lose you.”
“You lost me the moment you slept with him.”
“Marina!”
But Marina was already gone.
On the bus home, she stared blankly out the window. The words looped in her mind: *He married you but loves me*.
The flat was empty when she arrived. Oliver wouldnt be back for hours. She sat on their bed, replaying every sign shed missedhis distraction, the lack of intimacy. Shed blamed stress, adjustment.
Then his key turned in the lock.
“Marina? You home?”
“In here.”
He kissed her cheek, same as always. An ordinary man, now a stranger.
“How was work?” he asked, shrugging off his jacket.
“Fine. Yours?”
“Same old. Exhausted.”
Over dinner, he chatted about projects, complained about his boss. Marina watched, wondering who this performance was for.
“Oliver,” she interrupted. “Emily told me something today.”
He froze. “What?”
“That youre seeing her.”
He set his fork down slowly. “She told you?”
“Six months. Right under my nose.”
“I was going to tell you. Ive been trying to find the words.”
“Six months of lies. Was our honeymoon a lie too?”
He sighed. “It started before the wedding. We tried to stop, but”
“But love conquered all,” she finished flatly.
Oliver stood, pacing to the window. “I never wanted this. But I love her.”
“And me?”
A pause. Then: “I dont. I thought I would, in time. Youre kind, steady”
“Like a *savings account*,” she spat.
“I didnt mean to hurt you.”
“And yet you did. Six months of pretending.”
He turned, shame flickering in his eyes. “I know. Ill move out. Well divorce.”
“To marry Emily?”
“If shell have me.”
“She will.” Marina stood, stacking plates with trembling hands.
“Marina”
“Save it. You couldve said no. Couldve told the truth. Couldve *not lied*.”
That night, they slept back-to-back. Marina listened to his breathing, realising the man shed loved was gone. One sentence had unmade her life.
By morning, Oliver left without a word. Marina called in sick, pacing the flat. The pain was sharp, but beneath itrelief. No more pretending.
Emily called at noon.
“Can we talk?”
“About what?”
“Please. I need to explain.”
Marina almost hung up. Curiosity won.
“It started at your birthday,” Emily rushed. “You ran out for cake, and Oliver confessed his doubts. Said he wasnt sure about marrying you. We just… *connected*.”
“And you *connected* in bed.”
“I tried to stay away after the wedding. But he came back.”
“And you couldnt resist.”
“Marina, I *love* him. What was I supposed to do?”
“Walk away. But you got what you wanted. Why ask for my forgiveness?”
“Because you matter to me.”
“You stopped mattering the moment you betrayed me.”
She hung up, switched off her phone.
That evening, she met Oliver with a packed suitcase.
“Divorce papers tomorrow,” she said.
He nodded. “Do you need help with”
“Ill manage.”
“Forgive me.”
“Youre forgiven,” she said, closing the door.
Then she criedhard, until there were no tears left. And in the emptiness, she felt something new: freedom.
The divorce was swift. Oliver didnt fight for the flat her parents had given her; she didnt ask for alimony. A month later, she heard hed moved in with Emily. It stung less than shed expected.
Then, one Sunday in the park, a man with a dog helped her pick up dropped groceries. They talked. Laughed. And when he asked her for coffee, she said yes.
For the first time in months, Marina smiled. Life wasnt ending. It was just beginning.
**Lesson learned:** Love built on lies crumbles. But from the rubble, something truer can grow.
