~ warnings: cheating,swearing and the n word
You know he’s cheating. You don’t need proof your intuition’s been too loud to ignore. One night, he stumbles in late again, barely looks at you, drops a half-assed “I’m tired,” and turns away, he comes home late past 12 damn near every night and he always comes up with an excuse to not touch you and to run from confrontation but you’re done playing games with him.
The clock hits 2:47AM. You’ve been staring at it so long your eyes hurt.
The key in the door hits like a jump scare.
Riki walks in, hoodie half-zipped, hair messy in a way you know isn’t from dance practice. He doesn’t even look at you when he mumbles, “I’m home.”
Your whole body screams liar.
“Where were you?” you ask. Calm. Too calm.
“Practice ran late,” he says, brushing past you.
That’s when you smell it. A soft, floral perfume that isn’t yours.
Your heartbeat beats faster by the second. “Riki,” you say, voice shaking, “look at me.”
He sits on the couch instead, scrolling, pretending everything’s normal.
That’s when inside you rips.
The plate in your hand hits the wall before you even realize you threw it. It shatters like a gunshot.
Riki jumps, eyes flying to you. “What the hell—?!”
“Oh NOW you wanna look at me?” you scream, grabbing another dish.
“STOP? YOU WANT ME TO STOP? HOW ABOUT YOU STOP FUCKIN’ LYING TO ME!”
“You think I’m stupid?” You’re crying now, stepping toward him, hitting his chest with your fists. “You come home late every night, you won’t touch me, you won’t even look at me and then you come home smelling like some other bitch?!, and you wanna tell me I’m crazy? REALLY?”
And the silence is everything you needed to know.
Riki’s shoulders tense, eyes glued to the floor. And that’s it. That’s all you need. No denial. No excuses. Not even a soft “baby, it’s not what you think.”
He’s guilty, and he’s too much of a coward to even dress it up.
Your laugh comes out almost manic. “Oh my god,” you whisper, wiping your tears with your shaking hand. “You really did it.”
“No. No, don’t ‘please’ me now.” You point at him with trembling fingers. “Every time I said you was acting weird? That something was off? That I didn’t feel like you was mine anymore? You made me feel delusional as hell.”
Riki finally looks up. His eyes are red like he’s been crying somewhere else, for someone else, before even coming home.
That sends a fresh burst of rage through you.
“You couldn’t even give me the fuckin’ respect to LIE properly,” you spit, grabbing another plate off the counter. “You cheated and came home smelling like her. Like I wasn’t gon’ notice.”
He stands now, hands up but not coming closer. “Y/N, stop throwing things—”
You chuck the plate so hard it cracks the cabinet door. “NO FUCK YOU!”
“Say something!” you scream. “SAY IT! SAY YOU CHEATED!”
You shove him, palms hitting his chest. Hard. Over and over. “Say it, Riki! Stop looking at me like— like I’m some problem you’re scared of! You weren’t scared when you were out fucking another bitch, right?”
“Y/N, I—” His voice breaks. “I messed up.”
Just long enough for those three words to slice through you.
Your knees go weak but anger catches you before grief can. “How many times?” you whisper, but your whisper carries more danger than all your yelling. “Was it one time? Was it multiple? Was it someone you know? Someone who knows about us?”
“Oh my god,” you whisper again. “It’s someone you KNOW.”
Riki’s voice is tiny. “It wasn’t supposed to happen—”
“DON’T,” you snap, stepping closer, “don’t give me that bullshit.”
He’s crying now, silent, embarrassed, shaking.
The tears piss you off even more.
“Oh, YOU’RE crying? Fuck is you crying for?” you yell. “You’re crying like I didn’t spend WEEKS thinking I was the problem. Thinking I was unlovable. Thinking you were bored with me.”
You shove him again and he lets you cuz he knows he’s wrong.
“You made me feel like I was crazy,” you choke out. “And the whole time? You really was cheating.”
“No. Do not say you’re sorry unless you mean it. Or unless you’re ready to tell the truth. All of it.”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “It happened last month. And then again a few nights ago.”
Everything in you just stops.
When you move again, it’s instinct — pure heartbreak dressed in rage.
You grab the entire stack of plates and throw them to the floor. They explode like fireworks, pieces skittering across the tile.
Riki jumps back, but he doesn’t leave. He just watches you break everything because he knows he caused this.
“I hate you,” you whisper, clutching the counter so hard. “I hate what you did to me. I hate that I still love you. I hate that you made me feel like I wasn’t enough.”
Riki steps forward slowly, voice barely there. “Please… don’t say that.”
You look up at him, tears streaming, chest heaving. “Why? Why shouldn’t I? Give me one reason.”
He’s destroyed — mascara from your earlier crying smudged on his hoodie, red eyes, trembling hands.
“Because I love you,” he whispers.
Your laugh is hollow. “You love me?! Nigga No you don’t. Not the way I love you. If you did, you wouldn’t have fucked her.”
He breaks down fully. Shoulders shaking, breath hitching, tears falling messy and fast. He reaches toward you, but you step back.
“Don’t,” you whisper. “You don’t get to hold me. You don’t get comfort.”
“Then what do I do?” he chokes out. “Tell me. Tell me how to fix this.”
“You don’t” you say, voice steady for the first time. “You live with it, ain’t no fixing this.”
He crumples at your words. literally sinks down to the floor, hand over his mouth, crying harder than you’ve ever seen.
And you stand there, surrounded by shattered dishes, shattered trust, and a shattered heart. breathing like someone learning how to breathe again.
Finally you turn toward the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” Riki asks, panicked.
