On Our Fifth Wedding Anniversary, I Caught My Husband Lying

1

On our fifth wedding anniversary, Maurice postponed all his schedules just to accompany me to see the golden glow over the mountain at sunrise.

He always indulged me.

It was gloomy before we went up the mountain that day.

The chance of seeing the sunrise was much lower than usual.

Maurice insisted on going up the mountain and said we would probably encounter surprises.

He stood by me and strengthened my thoughts all the time.

Before going up, his phone kept ringing, and I saw him reject the call several times.

Halfway up the mountain, his phone rang again.

"Just answer it. It won't take up any time."

There was still some distance to go before reaching the summit. We still had several hours left before the sun rose.

I was worried that the call was for an emergency at work.

But from the moment he answered the call to the point he hung up, my intuition told me that the call must be a private one.

Maurice had always been gentle and patient. Even if his subordinates made blunders, I had never seen him frowning with impatience like this because of a phone call.

The caller kept talking, but after Maurice listened quietly, he only replied coldly, "Don't call me again."

After hanging up, he met my puzzled look and explained that the caller had dialed the wrong number.

Despite this, I was still suspicious.

He took my hand again and continued climbing up with me.

We reached the summit as scheduled.

We just needed to wait for the rising sun to shine on the mountain when dawn came.

During this time, he kept fiddling with the mobile phone in his pocket.

From his subtle movements, I could tell that it might not be a wrong number. Instead, it was very likely that the caller had caused his emotions to change.

I had been married to him for five years, and although we had only known each other for a short time before our wedding, there had never been any gossip about him that caused a rift between us.

2

He kept knitting his brows tightly. It didn't seem like anything serious, but it did make doubt and fear rise in my heart.

The phone rang again.

Three hours had passed since the last it rang.

He took out his phone and stared at its screen for a few seconds before he looked up at me.

My good eyesight allowed me to see it was still that unfamiliar number on his phone screen.

I supposed he wanted to answer this call but hesitated because of his consideration for me. I nodded, indicating that he should answer it.

"Maurice Shannon, you don't care whether I live or die, do you?"

A female voice came from the phone, rendering me stunned for a moment.

At this time, my hearing became way better than ever.

But as he stepped aside, I couldn't hear the conversation between him and the woman anymore.

After he hung up the phone, Maurice turned to look at me with complicated feelings in his eyes that I couldn't understand.

His silence during the call continued for a long time.

When he finally broke the silence, the first thing he said was an apology. "I'm sorry, I..."

The fear in his heart instantly turned into anxiety in his tone as soon as he uttered.

I was right. That person was important to him.

He was eager to see her.

"If you want to see her, just leave first."

He stared at me in disbelief, seemingly dumbfounded.

I couldn't stand the probing look in his eyes, so I turned around with my back against him.

Eventually, he hurried down the mountain and almost tripped on his way several times after his hasty departure.

However, I couldn't deny that I panicked.

3

All alone, instead of seeing the golden glow over the mountain at sunrise, I only encountered a storm.

The rain in the gust splashed on my naked skin, hurting me.

He had already run down the hill to look for her, but I was still expecting him to come back to me.

However, he never returned, even when the rain blurred my vision.

In the heavy rain, I stared blankly at the mountain. The cold rain mixed with my hot tears streamed down my face.

"I'll take another gamble, Maurice.

"Don't make me lose so miserably," I said to myself inwardly.

"The number you dialed is currently unanswered. Please try again later..."

I lost.

4

Maurice and I had known each other for several years. We weren't childhood sweethearts.

Our families had been in touch since our grandparents' generation and had collaborated on both sides' family businesses.

With the matchmaking of his and my parents, Maurice, who was five years older than me, could not resist pressure from the elders and married me.

He gave me a sense of security, making me believe that he was worthy of trust.

To tell the truth, he was indeed an earnest and perfect husband.

Therefore, our affection for each other gradually developed after we got married.

Day after day, I fell deeply in love with him.

Unexpectedly, there was a thorn hidden in his tenderness.

I struggled down the mountain, trembling. I felt very uncomfortable, both hot and chilled at the same time.

My stomach was churning, my head spinning. The rain stopped, but the gust didn't.

Maurice drove the car away, so I could only take a cab to the hospital.

At the busy hospital in the early morning, I didn't get a bed, so I was temporarily arranged to receive an infusion in the lobby.

I took off my wet and cold clothes and changed into a hospital gown.

Looking at people come and go, bitterness arose in my heart.

Tears welled up in my eyes, unwilling to fall, blurring my vision.

Suddenly, a figure flashed past the door of the emergency room. It looked familiar.

It was Maurice.

He couldn't know I was in the hospital, so who was he accompanying to the hospital?

5

Catching up with him, I called out to him. "Maurice, why are you here?"

He turned around, looked at me, and glanced at my hand, which had been put on an IV.

"Ree, what happened to you?"

He asked, raising his hand to hold mine.

But I dodged.

I didn't reply to him and only glanced down at the medical record in his hand.

"Patient: Tina Roberts, 23 years old.

"Reason for admission: Knife cut on wrist."

...

Unconcealable panic flickered in his eyes.

"Ree, listen to me. I can explain it..."

He intended to grab my shoulders, but before he could touch me, he was interrupted by a female voice.

"Maury, are you going to leave me alone?"

She looked vulnerable standing there.

Maurice should have explained the relationship between them.

But he just stood before me, neither moving nor speaking.

I was sensible enough to understand.

I could guess what was going on between them when he left in a hurry after that call.

"There's nothing between me and Maury. He's just worried about me.

"Are you Maury's girlfriend?"

Girlfriend? He and I had been married for five years. I couldn't believe he told this girl in front of us that I was his girlfriend instead of his wife. So, what I suspected was an undeniable fact.

Her pitiful expression and her tactful strategy told me that she seemed to be well prepared.

"Ree, don't blame her. It's all my fault..."

"Who is she?"

Maurice did not respond to me, nor did he answer the girl's question about who I was.

I gritted my teeth to hold back the anger in my heart.

I turned around and left without saying anything.

Maurice wanted to stop me and called me from behind, but Tina's voice was louder, drowning out his.

"Maury, please don't leave me behind again."

This was the second time that Maurice didn't come back for me.

6

I returned to my maternal family. My father was still so kind.

"Why did you come back at this time? Why didn't Maurice come with you?"

I walked straight toward my father and threw myself into his arms.

I would always do this when I suffered injustice in childhood.

"He's busy."

I couldn't hide my dejection at all with my heavy nasal voice, but I still intended to pretend that nothing had happened.

I didn't know why, but I could always regain warmth in my father's arms.

My father stroked my hair and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

With that, he got up and went to the kitchen.

After a while, my father brought out my favorite scrambled eggs and pork ribs in sweet sauce.

I stuffed food into my mouth and responded to my father vaguely.

"My little girl, if you can't stand it anymore, just leave him. I'll always be here for you."

It turned out that Dad knew everything.

I froze for a moment before I frantically put a few ribs into my bowl.

At this moment, the doorbell kept ringing, accompanied by knocks on the door at intervals.

"Dad, sorry to bother you. I'm here to take Ree home."

Maurice was standing at the door with disheveled hair, panting. Obviously, he came in a rush.

7

My father left space for me and Maurice to talk.

Maurice spoke first, "Ree, I shouldn't have left you on the mountain.

"But Tina suffers from depression. I was afraid she'd take it too hard, so..."

I knew it. Once the ex cried, the current partner would lose.

But we had been married for five years.

"On your wrist, instead of a scar, it was a mark left by a tattoo you got rid of. It was her name, wasn't it?"

I asked tentatively.

After a long silence, he finally sighed and answered with an "Mm".

I didn't understand his emotions at the moment. I had originally been prepared for his answer, but I didn't expect that my heart would still hurt as if it had been struck.

In this gloomy atmosphere, no one uttered again.

In the end, it was me who broke the dead silence.

"Let's... break up, Maurice."

8

Nothing had changed between him and me, but we couldn't go back to the way our relationship was at the beginning.

Now that he could ignore my safety, there was no way I could continue to wait for him.

He was unwilling to get a divorce, so we didn't reach an agreement.

My father said I needed to talk it through with Maurice.

Thus, I returned with Maurice first.

I started to give him the silent treatment for the first time.

That night, he returned home drunk.

Even so, his eyes were sparkling like stars, full of gentleness.

As he looked at me without blinking, I couldn't stand such deep affection.

I was reluctant to look at him, but he didn't allow it and held my face, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"I miss you so much, Ree."

"But I don't."

I replied nonchalantly.

He instantly revealed a delighted smile, cuddled me, and kissed me on the forehead and the cheek.

"My dear Ree, Please don't be angry with me anymore!"

...

9

In the early morning, his phone rang again.

I was certain the call that could come to him at this time was not for business.

He rejected it over and over again. Several times later, he got impatient. He put his phone down and went straight to the bathroom.

I had to admit that my intuition was sensitive as a woman.

The phone began vibrating again.

I picked it up.

"Hello, I'm Irene Quinn, Maurice Shannon's wife."

I spoke into the microphone in a frigid and distant tone in an attempt to make the caller understand that she had crossed the line.

However, the person on the other end of the line seemed not to hear and spoke merrily, "Maury, come and pick me up. I'm drunk...

"Maury, why did you disappear halfway through our drinking..."

I didn't hear what she said afterward.

It was because the owner of the phone got it back.

Maurice hung up without hesitation and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense."

I didn't know how to respond, but what I learned from Tina was that they drank together tonight.

Reluctant to argue with him, I lay down, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I didn't fall asleep until dawn.

Another day of sleeping in the same bed with him but dreaming different dreams.

10

Maurice got up before me. "Good morning, Ree."

Still immersed in thought, I couldn't be bothered to talk to him and just walked past him straight into the bathroom.

"Are you still mad at me, Ree?

"It's impossible for me to be with her. I just care about her as a friend. As you know, she is sick."

He held my hand, squeezing it gently. I knew I couldn't break free from his grip, so I didn't resist.

"So, please don't leave me, okay?"

He whispered in my ear and buried his head in my neck.

His surrender shook my resolve to break up with him.

Indeed, she was just a stalker, so why should I be afraid of her?

Why should I be afraid that she would steal Maurice from me?

I shouldn't dwell on it.

Maurice made my favorite breakfast and repeatedly coaxed me to eat more.

He seemed to be willing to get busy in the kitchen as usual just to make me eat a few more bites.

11

Tina didn't show up for the next few days. I thought she had given up.

But that night, when it was pouring rain outside, she turned up on our doorstep.

She got drenched, pale. She seemed miserable, but there was nothing miserable about her.

"Is Maury here? He is here, isn't he? Maury, why didn't you answer my call?

"It's raining heavily outside. Maury, can I stay at your place for a while?"

Every word she said was about Maurice, but she never even spared a glance at me standing in front of her.

She even attempted to barge past me and enter uninvited.

From her confident provocation, I could tell that she must have been well-prepared before she came.

I grabbed her hand and pushed her outward, saying, "I'm the owner here, but you are not welcome.

"Please leave."

"Maury, you are here!"

Maurice arrived behind me and said, "Ree, it's raining non-stop outside. Let her in."

I looked back at him, incredulous.

The rain was not as heavy as the day I was on the mountain. I couldn't even hear the sound of the wind outside.

Tina walked past me triumphantly, bumping her shoulder against mine.

"Maurice Shannon, you let me down."

I uttered in a choked and quivering voice.

"She is sick, Ree.

"She can't get wet in the rain."

In the warm light in the hallway, I couldn't see Maurice's expression clearly.

He stood in front of me without moving, but his words showed that he opposed me.

I recovered from the shock. By constantly saying that she was sick, he only intended to indulge her.

"Fine. I'm not sick. I can go out to get wet in the rain."

I rushed out into the rain.

I ran aimlessly outside, but Maurice didn't even come out to stop me.

This was the third time. This girl's interference made the five years of harmony and love in our marriage seem like a dream.