No Way Back from Regret

My parents have invited all of their relatives and friends to our villa for a nice gathering to celebrate their golden anniversary.

Isabel Atkinson, my wife who works as a model, suddenly calls me on the phone and claims that she needs to attend an urgent meeting hosted by her client.

Before it's my turn to give a speech on the stage, my assistant suddenly hands my phone over to me.

"Mr. Marsh, you might want to take a look at this…"

The screen shows a social media post made by Miles Horton, an intern designer at our company.

"At this moment, she belongs to me and me only."

In the photo, Isabel can be seen sitting in a dimly-lit room. A few plain-looking dishes decorate the table. Her hair is slightly messy, but she continues to smile at the elder next to her.

A cold, mocking smile appears on my face. It turns out that her so-called emergency meeting is a family gathering with Miles.

I leave a comment in the comments section. "The food looks pretty tasty. I'd like to visit you next time."

Chaos erupts on the social media feed instantly.

Isabel calls me immediately. "Why are you being such a phony? You'd better delete the comment right now!"

I just chuckle coldly as I end the call. Then, I send her a copy of the divorce papers I've drafted.

Since Miles' matters are clearly more important to her, then she can forget about coming home forever.

The next second, a voice message from Isabel Atkinson, my wife, came through.

She sounded impatient. "Colin Marsh, are you crazy? Are you really threatening to divorce me over a social media post?"

After listening to her voice message, I calmly blocked her number.

My parents, Greg Marsh and Penny Ford, came over after entertaining their friends. Seeing my expression, Mom asked worriedly, "What's wrong, Colin? Did something happen to Izzy?"

I shook my head. "She's fine. Let's start eating. We don't have to wait for her."

Glancing at the empty spot beside me, Dad patted my shoulders with concern. "Okay, but make sure you tell us right away if anything comes up."

I forced out a smile. "Got it."

Not long after the event began, a message popped up in the company's design department group chat.

"Sorry, everyone. Isabel only looked out for me since she knew I had a tough start in life. I had no idea it would upset the boss."

"I've already taken down the post…"

A teary emoji was attached with these messages.

Isabel immediately spoke up to back the man, Miles Horton. "You did nothing wrong, Miles. Some people are just too petty and can't stand seeing you succeed."

As soon as she spoke, those close to her jumped in to support her. "Yes, Miles. There's no need to apologize. People like that find everything disgusting."

"The one apologizing shouldn't be you. Everyone knows who I mean."

With Isabel backing them up, they grew bolder, even openly saying my name without hesitation.

Isabel's pampering had really gone to their heads. They had already forgotten who was in charge of the design department.

I didn't let it slide either. Anyone who joined in the bashing was kicked out of the group, including Miles.

He was just an intern, yet he liked to stir up trouble.

The company chat group went quiet all of a sudden. I added, "Go on, keep chatting. Don't let a few irrelevant people spoil the mood."

After the celebration ended, my parents and I saw off the guests.

Dad looked a little uneasy, so he was probably aware of what had happened with Isabel. He patted my shoulder and said, "Colin, sort out your own business quietly. Don't give others a reason to mock you."

I lowered my head and flashed him a bitter smile. "I know."

I soon arrived home and switched on the lights to find Isabel sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed.

Upon seeing me, she frowned and snapped, "Colin, what's gotten into you? Do you even realize how much effort Miles has put in to get where he is now, given his rural background? You kicked him out of the group chat like it's nothing. Have you thought about how that makes him look in front of the others?"

She continued, "I can't believe you're this petty even though we've been married for years. I just looked out for him a little. Was that really necessary?"

I rubbed my brow and looked at her mockingly. "How many 50th anniversaries do you think my parents will have? You kept saying you'd be late because of a client. Why didn't you just say you couldn't make it? You made everyone wait and turned it into such a mess."

Throughout all our years of marriage, I'd always tolerated Isabel.

I never raised my voice at her and would quietly clean up after her whenever she left a mess behind.

It was the first time I had ever been this angry.

Isabel went silent, clearly shocked by my outburst. She looked at me and said, "Fine, I admit I wasn't thinking and messed up this time. Now add Miles back to the group chat and apologize to him. We'll celebrate your parents' 50th anniversary together another day, okay?"

I crossed my arms. "Isabel, have you seen anyone who has a redo for a 50th wedding anniversary?"

Isabel's expression went cold as she shot back, "What more do you want? I'm letting you take the easy way out. Can you stop acting up? You talked about divorce papers and kicked Miles out of the group chat when I even got you a gift! That's ungrateful of you."

Isabel pulled out two shirts, but I could tell at a glance that they weren't my size.

I snorted icily and glared at her. "Are you sure they're my size? Can't believe you're saying you bought them for me."

Miles wasn't muscular and was on the lean side, so they were obviously his size.

Isabel stomped her foot, but I was too tired to reason with her. I simply pulled the divorce papers out of my bag and said, "That's enough, Isabel. Let's get a divorce."