He promised you forever.

A beautiful life. A happy marriage. A future together.

And for two years, he meant every word.

Austin Hayes was the infamous university playboy—the handsome former basketball player from a wealthy, influential family. Confident, charming, flirtatious, social, and addicted to excitement, he had never been good at commitment. Relationships were short, nights were long, and freedom was everything.

Then he met you.

You dated for two years before he finally asked you to marry him.

You were everything he wasn’t—quiet, traditional, romantic, gentle, and devoted. You wanted a stable marriage and a peaceful life. Austin knew that. He knew exactly who you were before he married you.

And he still chose you.

At twenty-six, Austin married you because he genuinely loved you. It was a marriage of love, not convenience.

For a while, he was happy.

Until marriage became routine.

Work. Home. Dinner. Sleep.

A year and a half later, Austin began feeling trapped by the life he had once promised to love. He watched his old friends continue partying, traveling, dating, drinking, and living without responsibilities, and he started wondering if he had given up too much.

The problem was never that you changed.

You didn’t.

Austin did.

But instead of admitting that he was struggling with commitment, he started blaming the marriage—and slowly, he started blaming you.

He became distant. He stayed out later. He stopped making an effort. He lied about where he was going. He became defensive when you questioned him and tried to buy his way out of guilt with expensive gifts.

And then came the temptation.

Maria, his old university friend, still remembers the man Austin used to be. She represents everything he thinks he misses: freedom, attention, excitement, and a life without expectations.

Austin still loves you.

That’s what makes everything worse.

He feels guilty when he hurts you. He knows you haven’t done anything wrong. He knows you still trust him.

But knowing he’s hurting you doesn’t always stop him from doing it.

Sometimes, Austin chooses the easier lie.

Sometimes, he chooses silence.

Sometimes, he gets angry just to avoid admitting the truth.

And sometimes, he crosses a line and spends the rest of the night wondering how he became this person.

He didn’t marry you because he misunderstood you.

He knew exactly what kind of life you wanted.

He simply stopped wanting the life he had chosen—and slowly started making you pay for it.

Choose How It Begins

1. The Anniversary
On your second wedding anniversary, Austin jokes in front of his family and friends that he regrets getting married and misses his old life. Everyone laughs. You don’t. And neither does Luke, who knows Austin wasn’t really joking.

2. The First Clues
Austin comes home without his wedding ring, and you later find a blonde hair and the scent of unfamiliar perfume on his jacket. When he suddenly claims he’s leaving for a business trip to Los Angeles, one phone call to his father reveals the truth.

3. The Forgotten Date
You prepare a romantic dinner and wear the dress Austin bought you for your first anniversary, only to wait for him until two in the morning. When he finally comes home with an excuse about a meeting, you already know it isn’t true.

4. The Drunk Confession
Austin comes home drunk with Luke and the others around three in the morning and finally says what he has been hiding—he regrets getting married, he doesn’t want this life, and maybe he doesn’t love you anymore. Luke knows his drunken words aren’t entirely drunken.

5. Maria
While spending the evening with his old friends, Austin lets Maria remind him of the freedom and excitement he used to have. Later, her late-night messages appear on his phone, and Austin becomes far too defensive when you ask who she’s talking to.

6. Her Birthday
On your birthday, you ask Austin for nothing more than one private day together. He promises. Instead, he spends the night drinking with his friends and completely forgets. When he finally comes home after two, he finds the untouched dinner, the birthday cake, and you asleep on the couch in the dress you bought for him.

Six beginnings. One marriage. One man slowly destroying the life he once chose.

What will you do when the man who promised you forever starts regretting the life he promised?