I was shocked when I saw that Nathan Cross's spending for the month had reached twenty thousand dollars. Without hesitation, I stormed into the bedroom and called him away from his game.

"What the hell did you do this month? Twenty thousand? Are you forgetting that we're trying to save up for a baby?"

I was beyond angry. Twenty thousand was the total of both our salaries for the month.

Ever since we got married, his mother had been constantly hinting at me to have a baby soon. I want to, too, but how are we supposed to afford it?

I had finally saved over a hundred thousand, and if it weren’t for checking the bill today, I couldn’t even imagine him being so reckless with money.

Nathan was absorbed in his game, and when I called him, his face was full of irritation. "What now? Can it wait? I'm in the middle of a game. I’ll push the tower in a minute."

I was furious. I snatched his phone right out of his hand. "We’re solving this first. Tell me where you spent this eight thousand."

Nathan had two phones. I pulled up his billing records for the month. It was clear—one week ago, at midnight, there was an eight-thousand-dollar transaction.

And at that time, I had been visiting my parents.

Nathan was still trying to brush me off. "It’s nothing. I just took some colleagues out for dinner. The bill was a little high, but I won’t go there again next time."

I raised my voice, my patience thinning. "Do you really think I’m stupid? This transfer was to an individual, and I saw the records—after the money was received, you and the person were no longer friends. If you were really just treating a friend to dinner, wouldn't you have paid through the merchant’s code? Why would you need to add their Facebook to send them money?"

I couldn’t believe he would try to lie to me with such a flimsy excuse.

Was he really so sure I was foolish enough to believe his lies?

Nathan went silent, avoiding eye contact.

"If you don’t explain this today, this won’t be over. You know our plans. We need every penny, and yet you’re throwing it around like it’s nothing. You’re an adult—could you at least think before acting?"

Nathan was getting impatient. He stood up suddenly, his face darkened like he’d just been dipped in ink.

"What’s the big deal? I just spent some money. I won’t next time, okay? You’re always nagging about these trivial things. Doesn’t that annoy you?"

His attitude shifted abruptly, and the words he said only made me want to laugh.

I wasn’t about to let him off easy.

"Annoying? Then maybe you should stop doing shady things like this!"

Before we got married, my mom had pulled me aside and told me time and time again: there’s no such thing as a cat that doesn’t stray. Marriage, in the end, is just about turning a blind eye and tolerating each other to make it work.

I’m no fool. Even if Nathan won’t admit it, I can already guess where that money went.

A large transfer at midnight? It’s either to a mistress or a prostitute.

He sleeps beside me every night. I know all his passwords, and no matter when he finishes work, he’s always home first. So, it can’t be a mistress. That only leaves one possibility.

The moment Nathan heard my words, he reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly exploding with anger. He pointed at me, gritting his teeth, and spat, “Stop slandering me. What disgusting thing have I done?”

I slapped his hand away. “Don’t treat everyone like a fool. You know exactly what disgusting things you’ve done. This is your last chance—tell me the truth. If you don’t, there’s no way we’re going to make this work.”

Nathan scoffed, brushing off my question. “I haven’t done anything. Believe it or not, but who has a wife as paranoid as you, constantly worrying about her husband cheating?”

His evasion, the way he dodged the question, was an answer in itself.

I stared at the man who had been my husband for three years and the one I had loved for five. Suddenly, I felt completely blind.

Love is like candy wrapped in frost, but once that sugar coating melts, it becomes poison that could kill you.

I looked closely at Nathan, the man I had once adored, and at that moment, it felt as if he had already died.

He was weak, spineless, uninspired—always following his parents’ commands, drowning in lies.

The five years felt like a stone skipped across water—without a single ripple. And in an instant, I felt so tired.

Before I could say anything else, his phone suddenly rang urgently.

Nathan glanced at me and immediately reached for the phone. Although I hadn’t seen who was calling, the look in his eyes told me something was wrong. I was faster, grabbing the phone from his hand and pressing the answer button.

A sickeningly sweet voice immediately came through the speaker.

“Nathan, after we last talked, why did you delete me? I’ve been waiting for you.”

That voice oozed sweetness, and I could almost picture the beautiful face on the other end of the line.

Not hearing us respond, she kept talking.

“Your wife is probably still at home, huh? Nathan, how about we meet up again? These past few days, I’ve been dreaming about you, and it’s driving me crazy.”

I gripped the phone so tightly, I thought I might crush it. I wanted nothing more than to storm over and slap this pathetic excuse for a man across the face.

Before, I had merely suspected, but what this woman just said had become the most damning evidence.

Nathan’s face drained of color as he stared at me.

“Nathan, why aren’t you saying anything? You haven’t forgotten me after just a few days, have you?”

“He hasn’t forgotten you. He’s been dreaming about you. We’re getting a divorce, and then you two can be together openly.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the woman immediately hung up. When I called back, it was already in a rejected state—clearly, she had blocked me.

Nathan stammered, “Rachel, listen to me, it’s not what you think. I don’t even know this woman. She must’ve called the wrong number. If you want, I’ll meet with her, and we can confront her together.”

I could see that he was genuinely panicked.

“We’ve been married for so many years. How could I ever betray you, Rachel?”

His voice grew more and more pleading with each passing second, completely losing the arrogance he had earlier.

If it hadn’t been for that phone call, I’m sure he would’ve continued to scold me, accusing me of making a fuss, and then find some way to change the subject.

"Did you ever feel the slightest bit guilty when you were screwing another woman behind my back?"

I stared at him coldly, watching him still looking at me like he was pleading for mercy. Without a second thought, I slapped him across the face.

"We’ve been married for three years. You know better than anyone the pressure your parents put on me. You spent the little money we had saved up, the money you worked so hard for, to go find yourself a mistress. You tossed around 8,000 bucks like it was nothing. No wonder she can’t get over you. Of course, when she finds a fool like you, she’s going to squeeze every last bit out of you."

The slap I gave him took every ounce of strength I had. After hitting Nathan, my palm was numb from the force of it.

But it didn’t make me feel better. If I had a knife right now, I swear I would’ve driven it straight into him without a second thought.

He hadn’t just betrayed me. He’d betrayed our marriage, our five years together.

“There’s nothing more to say. Let’s just get a divorce. We’ll split the assets, and then you can go back to your sweet little sister.”

With those words, I turned to leave, but to my surprise, Nathan grabbed my leg and knelt down in front of me.

He still had the mark of my slap on his face, tears and snot streaming down as he cried.

"Rachel, I know I’ve messed up, please give me another chance. I made a mistake, the kind of mistake all men make, and I swear, this is the first time, and it will never happen again. If I do it again, you can kill me, I won’t even fight it."

The mistake that all men make.

That line almost made me laugh.

I was genuinely curious, when did Nathan become such an expert in excuses? He was shameless enough to mess up and then try to cover it up with some lofty reasoning.

"Now you cry, now you beg. It’s too late."

I shoved him away, not satisfied, and kicked him hard in the chest.

Since I found out what he’d done, every time I looked at him, all I felt was pure physical disgust, like I could vomit up the leftover food I’d eaten this morning.

Nathan crumpled to the ground after my kick, unable to get back up. I didn’t waste another second on him. I grabbed a couple of clothes and headed straight for my parents' house.

The new marriage laws had been amended. Now, getting a divorce required online booking and a mandatory one-month cooling-off period.

I was completely confused by this new rule. Why wasn’t there a one-month cooling-off period when we got married?

My parents looked at me with confusion as I returned just two days after leaving.

“What happened? Didn’t you just come back a few days ago?”

I threw my bags on the couch, not caring if they were ready for what I was about to say. I spoke bluntly, “I’m getting a divorce. I can’t live with Nathan anymore. He spent 8,000 dollars to hire a prostitute.”

“What did you say?”

My parents stared at me, their eyes wide in disbelief.