The Darkest Hour.

In a disheveled appearance, Noel trudged through the bustling city streets of new Orleans with an absent mind, his heart heavy with despair.

The sun had barely begun its descent, the sky above bathed in hues of orange and pink, but for him, the darkness had already settled in, clouting the light that once shone in his life.

The weight of betrayal bore down heavy on his shoulders like an unbearable burden making his every step feel sluggish and eminently threatening to ruin his already broken life and crush him completely.

Why did the life of one man alone seem so sad? Well the answer to that question was a long and heartbreaking one.

It had all started as every other ordinary day of the week; the promise of a fresh start upon his return home after a failed business deal. But fate, it seemed, had other plans for Noel. His footsteps quickened as he approached the front door of his once-beloved home, an uninformed dread seizing his every thought yet he was eager to see the beloved face of his wife.

More than ever, after the set down he had been through-his business having experienced a mighty downfall to the point of bankruptcy, he wanted to hold his wife in his arms and smell her comforting perfume while lying on her laps and listening to the sound of her angelic voice speaking encouraging words.

Pushing open the door, Noel was met with a sight that would forever be etched into his memory. He froze, eyes narrowing in confusion as they stared at the pair of torn apart clothes on the floor of his living room.

His mind raced at first, thinking that something awful had happened to his wife. With hurried steps, he Matched into his once humble abode, wanting to make sure that his wife, his beautiful and innocent wife, was okay.

His worries however, had proven to be incorrect and of the wrong speculation.

As he approached the door of his room, lewd voices reached his ears followed by the sound of skin slapping against skin.

Noel couldn’t believe his ears and moreover, his eyes, as he stared into the cracked opening of his matrimonial room.

In the very heart of his sanctuary, his wife’s infidelity lay bare before him. The room, once filled with love and laughter, now seemed tainted with betrayal. Noel’s heart shattered as he beheld the scene—watching as his own brother ravished his wife like she belonged to him.

Was this what happened when he was away on week long trips? Noel thought to himself. The thought alone made the scene playing out in front of him seem all the more painful.

Without thinking, Noel allowed his legs to move forward. He pushed the door open fully and stepped in, interrupting the session of intimate infidelity going on.

The two figures on the bed seemed utterly spooked by his appearance. They quickly separated and stared at him with wide disbelieving eyes while he stared back with tears filled ones.

“Noel?” Celine, his cherished wife of five years, looked dumbfounded.

Wasn’t he meant to be on a business trip? How come he was here? She thought and grimaced at the fact that she had been caught.

Her true colors had finally been exposed after five years of pretense and three of extra marital affairs.

‘Well, no use playing coy anymore.’ She told herself and without any shame, cuddled closer to Mark.

Noel’s eyes widened after seeing this. He looked between the two and his voice trembled as he mustered the strength to speak. “Celine? Mark? What is this?”

His beloved wife and brother glanced at each other, smiles of their own on their lips as they turned back to face Noel.

“Don’t look so shocked Noel,” Mark began, placing his hand around Celine’s shoulder and pulling her closer. “What did you expect would happen when all you do is focus on your work. Celine is a woman and a rather beautiful one at that.” He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulder as if seeing nothing wrong with what they were doing and placed the blame on Noel. “This is all your fault, you brought it upon yourself.”

Noel was flabbergasted by his brother’s words. For a second, anger surged to the surface of his expression, but the reality of the betrayal he had never expected crushed his raging cell in seconds.

“Celine, how could you…? Why did you do this to me? What have I done to deserve this? We love each other, so why would you degrade to such a act?” Noel rapidly asked, trying to find his breath in between the squeeze of betrayal on his throat.

Celine didn’t answer his question, rather, she slipped out of Mark’s hold and off the bed. Her petite and nude body features were exposed as the blanket slid off her body and landed on the floor and she elegantly walked towards Noel.

Each step carrying the amount of grace and elegance that she conducted herself with. Noel had momentarily been mesmerized by the sighting that his brain did not fully register when she stopped in front of him.

In a blink of an eye, before even Noel himself could react, Celine brutally slapped his across the face. The sound echoed within the walls of their apartment, lingering ghostly for a few seconds before disappearing with the wind.

Both Mark and Noel were stunned. The former’s mouth hung open, never expecting that his mistress had a fierce side to her meek persona.

Noel on the other hand remained still and unresponsive for a few seconds as the slap registered in his brain. It was the first time Celine had ever slapped him since they never really had argument that needed one to get physical and God did it hurt like hell.

Celine regarded Noel with cold eyes, void of any remorse or regret. Her hand, still lingering from the slap she had delivered moments ago, rested disdainfully on her hip. “You, Noel,” she sneered, scorn dripping from her every word. “You are what I have done to deserve this.”

Her words cut through him like a sharp blade, each syllable carving deeper into his wounded heart. In his wildest nightmares, he had never imagined such a heart-wrenching betrayal.

“Noel,” Mark, his own brother, spoke up from the comfort of their matrimonial bed, his voice laced with smugness, berating the wounded man. “You were never worthy of her. It’s about time she opened her eyes and realized that.”

Noel’s mind reeled with disbelief. He had always believed in the goodness of his loved ones; the thought that they could turn against him so callously was unfathomable.

Tears trickled down his face as he desperately pleaded with Celine, his voice quivering. “Please, Celine, forgive me. I will change, I will become the man you desire. Just don’t leave me.”

Celine’s face contorted into a grotesque mask of disdain, her words like venom dripping from her lips. “You? Change? It’s laughable, Noel. You are nothing more than a useless, incompetent man. I deserve so much better, and now I have found it in Mark.”

“But…but we love each other…don’t we?”

“Love?” Celine laughed loudly at this, tapping her exposed laps as she double over from the funniness of his words. When she was done laughing, she wiped away imaginary tears from the corner of her eyes all the while Noel watched, broken.

“Oh darling, the only reason why ‘I', Celine Hangreve, chose to marry a lackluster loser like you in the first place was because I thought that the Barrette family business was going to be yours, but damn I predicted wrong, because as of next week, the family business belongs to your wonderful brother.” Celine pronounced the words ‘Wonderful’ and ‘brother’ in a slurry and suggestive way.

Rage and anguish coursed through Noel’s veins, intertwining in a lethal cocktail of emotions he could barely contain. How had his life crumbled so rapidly? How could he have been so blind to the true nature of those he held closest?

In the end, despite all his pleas, begging and future promises he was left standing alone, bruised and broken, forced to the edges of his own existence. With a final insult flung at him through the doorway and promise to send him the divorce documents, Celine banished him from the life they had built together, leaving Noel to walk barefooted into the darkness of the night. His dreams reduced to ashes, his heart left in ruins.

As the night swallowed him whole, chilly cold winter breeze blowing against his skin, Noel found himself drawn to the edge of a solitary bridge. The cold steel railing pressed against his trembling fingertips. The shimmering water below whispered promises of escape from the pain that gripped his soul. The city lights blurred in his tear-filled eyes as he contemplated accepting the uncertain promise of the cold water and taking the ultimate release.

With a final surge of determination, Noel climbed the railing, his heart heavy yet resolute. The world he had known had betrayed him; it no longer held any purpose. The fall into the water would not take his life instantly, but after seconds, perhaps minutes of struggled and pain, perhaps it would allow his battered spirit to soar free.

As he took the final step, prepared to leap into the unknown depts of the dark liquid monster, a rush of thoughts flooded his mind. The memories of laughter, of companionship, and most importantly, the indomitable spirit that had fueled him in his darkest hours. The memory of his once beloved wife.

Noel, now standing on the edge of the railing, looked up to the dark clouds and closed his eyes, sending out silent prayers that one day, his brother and wife be judged for the evil they have committed.

With his resolve steeled once more and nothing to lose, Noel took the final step and leaped off.