On our sixth wedding anniversary, my wife said she had a surprise planned for me.

I waited for over three hours at the mountaintop, even through the pouring rain, but she never showed up.

Instead, her childhood friend, William Thomas, posted a location-tagged photo from a hotel halfway up the mountain.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” read the caption.

In the photo, the two of them were lying on a bed covered with rose petals, fingers intertwined.

The ring finger of the woman’s hand was conspicuously bare.

On her half-exposed chest were a few red scratches and faint bite marks.

A wave of nausea hit me, and I commented under the photo: [Better get that bite checked out – don’t want to catch something nasty.]

——

My first thought when I saw the photo was: Diana is tainted; I don’t want her anymore.

So when Diana Hernandez called uncharacteristically to explain, I said one word: “Divorce.”

There was a moment of silence before Diana spoke again.

“Why are you getting jealous over nothing? William and I grew up together; we’re like siblings. What’s wrong with a little joke? Only someone with a dirty mind would see something dirty in this. Besides, we just ran into each other by chance. It was raining outside, and with his health, I didn’t want anything to happen to him, so I brought him to the room to wait out the rain.”

The more she explained, the more guilty she sounded.

It seemed she had completely forgotten that the only reason I had handed the company over to her was because of my own health problems, enduring people’s jabs that I was living off my wife.

Impatient, I interrupted her, “I’m still at the mountaintop.”

I had waited for her for three hours and stood in the rain for another hour.

There was no shelter up there, and I couldn’t risk going down in the storm.

Hearing that I was in a dangerous situation, Diana sounded worried.

“Wait there. I’ll come get you.”

I waited another hour.

The rain stopped, but Diana still didn’t show up.

The mountain path, made slippery by the rain, was treacherous.

After just a few steps, my clothes were splattered with mud. I sneezed several times, feeling as if my heart had sunk into the mud too – heavy and sickened.

When I got home, I took a hot shower.

Then I saw another post from William: [Others have their Prince Charming; I have my White Horse Princess. No rain is too heavy – my Princess will bring me home.]

Diana, who had never liked or commented on any of my posts, commented under his: “Always protecting my prince.”

When I refreshed the page, her comment had disappeared. Maybe she had blocked me.

My head was pounding. I took a few cold medicine tablets and fell into a deep sleep.

Not long after, Diana yanked the covers off me.

“Why didn’t you wait for me? I’m hungry, get up and cook for me. And make some ginger tea while you’re at it. William got caught in the rain, and I need to bring some over to him.”

I woke up with a start, my head throbbing even more.

My tone grew colder. “William didn’t feed you enough?”

Diana’s face flushed with anger instantly as she stood up and glared at me.

“Grady! Will you stop already? Didn’t I just explain everything to you? I was late because of traffic, and now you’re picking a fight on our anniversary? And to think I went out of my way to prepare a surprise for you.”

With that, Diana threw a small box at me.

The box hit the corner of my eye, causing tears to spring up from the sudden pain.

Diana seemed surprised and rushed over to check the injury, her concern momentarily disarming her.

As she leaned closer, I caught a strong whiff of a familiar scent – William’s shampoo.

I could almost picture her running her fingers through his hair with that soft, tender expression on her face.

Disgusted, I pushed her away and my gaze fell on the box that had fallen to the floor.

The watch inside had tumbled out – one I had admired for a long time, the same one William often wore.

But the cheap sheen of it gave everything away.

In this marriage, William had the genuine article and true love.

All I ever got were lies upon lies.

I didn’t even care enough to ask her who the surprise at the mountain villa was really meant for.

“It’s 1 o’clock now.”

I looked up slowly at Diana. “Our anniversary is over. So is our marriage.”

“Alright, stop talking nonsense. I want to take you to the hospital,” Diana said, her face full of concern as she looked at the blood oozing from the corner of my eye.

Despite my weakened state, she pulled me forcefully out of bed, pretending to be a caring wife, insisting on taking me to the hospital.

I was so out of it that I didn’t even grab a jacket.

The temperature in the car was set too low, so I hugged a stuffed animal to my chest for warmth.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that my favorite teddy bear had a big X drawn across its face, like a blatant act of defiance.

Diana noticed my reaction. “William thought the toy was cute last time I picked him up, so he doodled on it. Don’t take it personally. I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow.

“Come on, don’t give me that attitude. You’re not getting any younger, and instead of earning a living, you waste your time fussing over a silly toy. I don’t even complain about it, so what right do you have to be upset?”

This teddy bear was a gift from my late grandmother. I gently wiped the mark off its face, too tired to argue.

Just then, William called. “Is he asleep yet? Forget about him and come join us for drinks. Emma and Fiona are here too.”

Diana glanced at me awkwardly. “He’s right next to me.”

“Then bring that bumpkin… your husband along. Don’t be such an old fogey.”

Looking at the location William sent, Diana turned the car around.

“I don’t want to go. I want to go home!”

The mention of drinks brought back unpleasant memories.

It was the first time I met Diana’s friends.

Despite my efforts to impress, I ended up being ridiculed.

They knew I couldn’t hold my liquor but still pressured me to drink, then took pictures of me in a drunken state and posted them online.

Diana, instead of staying with me, left me at the bar to take William home.

I woke up surrounded by a group of unsavory characters.

Though the manager intervened, the fear from that night still haunts me.

But Diana had long forgotten all about it.

“Don’t be so selfish, alright? What’s wrong with me catching up with old friends? I never interfere with your social life.”

“Then let me out. I’ll go home on my own.”

My head was spinning, and I just wanted to rest.

I didn’t have the energy to argue with her.

“No way. If you don’t show up, it’ll embarrass me in front of my friends. You have to come!”

Her stubbornness flared up again.

Seeing my displeasure, she added, “Come on, just say hello, and we’ll leave. Don’t make this harder for me.”

By the time we arrived, it was already past 2 a.m.

William greeted Diana with a warm hug, then looked me up and down. “What’s with the attitude, huh? Still mad at me? Don’t be so petty. Diana and I have been close for years. If we wanted something to happen, do you think you would’ve had the chance to marry her?”

With that, the group welcomed Diana warmly to sit with them. There were only four seats, and I was left standing.

“Hey, we’ve all been friends forever, so we’re used to this setup. There’s no extra seat…” William glanced around the room and smirked at me.

“How about you head back home? You wouldn’t understand what we’re talking about anyway.”

The four of them had been friends since childhood, and William, the youngest, was always their favorite.

During the years I loved Diana deeply, I tried my best to accept her friends and fit into her life.

But at every gathering, William would lead the conversation back to their shared past, mock my background, and discuss things I couldn’t participate in, leaving me out.

Sensing the awkwardness, Emma stood up to offer me her seat. “You can sit here, Grady.”

Looking at her, I suddenly recalled how she once asked Diana, “What does Grady have that William doesn’t? Why did you marry him?”

And what did Diana say? “I was just upset with William at the time and acted on impulse. I’ve regretted it ever since, but I felt sorry for him because he’s been trailing after me for so long.”

Remembering that, I let out a soft sigh.

“There’s no need. If we get divorced, there’ll be enough seats.”

In a marriage, there’s no room for a third person.

Diana stared at me in shock.

In all the years we’d been married, this was the first time I embarrassed her in front of her friends.

Usually, no matter how late she stayed out drinking, I would go pick her up without complaint after just one call.

But now, I wasn’t willing to keep sacrificing myself for her anymore.

Emma and Fiona stepped in quickly to diffuse the tension.

William sneered, pulling Diana closer as he remarked sarcastically, “Only the most useless men use divorce as a threat.”

Diana, embarrassed, turned to me with a stern look. “Grady, have I spoiled you too much? You’re just a live-in son-in-law, living off me. Have you forgotten those days when you begged me in tears not to leave you?”

I grabbed my phone and left without a word.

I wasn’t going to beg her anymore.

When William first returned from abroad, I had many arguments with Diana about their overly close “sibling-like” relationship.

Each time, Diana would say, “If you can’t handle it, then let’s divorce!”

Back then, I was still caught up in the illusion of love, apologizing to Diana again and again, begging for her forgiveness.

I had knelt at our doorstep, cried in the dead of night when no one was around, but Diana had turned my patience and love into reasons to trample all over me.

This time, I wasn’t going to back down.

I went home, packed my things, and moved into a small apartment I had bought before our marriage.

I had used my own money to buy it, and I remembered how Diana had argued with me when she found out about the purchase.

“Only an idiot would buy an apartment that small and out of the way. It’s embarrassing. You should’ve used that money to buy a car instead. It’d give me way more face.”

Later, my parents bought a top-of-the-line luxury car for her, and she was finally satisfied.

I was grateful that I didn’t listen to her back then.

This small apartment was my sanctuary, while the luxury car had become William’s exclusive ride.

By the time I finished moving, the sun had already risen.

Unable to sleep, I decided to get the divorce papers.

When I returned home, I was surprised to see Diana standing at the door. It was the first time she had ever come to find me on her own.

“Last night, I might have said some things that were too harsh, but you shouldn’t have treated my friends like that. Just go and apologize to William, and we can forget about this.”

As I was leaving last night, I heard William say, “A spoiled rich kid with more attitude than skill. Marrying a guy like that must be the worst luck ever.”

To outsiders, Diana painted me as a paranoid, jealous husband, but the truth was that she was the only one throwing tantrums in our marriage.

She would only show a polite and gentle side to others, but at home, she was impossible to please.

Adding a sprinkle of garlic to a dish could set her off, leading to a full-blown tirade about how useless I was, followed by her storming out.

“The one who needs to apologize is not me,” I said, handing Diana the divorce papers before opening the door to head inside.

Diana followed, hugging me tightly from behind. “Don’t be like this. I’ll apologize, alright?”

Her hands began to roam over my body. “I know I’ve neglected you lately, and you’re upset. Let’s have a baby, okay?”

I pushed her away and slapped her hard. “Don’t touch me! You disgust me!”

Her face turned red instantly, anger flashing in her eyes.

But before she could respond, I passed out.