At the final meeting before my company’s IPO, my wife, who was supposed to be the keynote speaker, failed to show up. I frantically called her over and over, but every call went unanswered. Because of her absence, we lost the bid, and my company became a laughingstock in the industry. Yet, at that very moment, her so-called “bromeo” posted an update: [I just caught a cold, and this little one is already so worried.] I clicked on it, only to see a photo of my wife, whom I hadn’t seen in days. She crouched down and was feeding him medicine with a look of concern. At that moment, all the love I had for her over the past five years vanished into thin air. “Mr. Harrison, the bidding meeting has already started, and yet the keynote speaker hasn’t shown up. Are you giving us the upper hand? You’re so nice!” The rival company’s CEO gave me a hard pat on the shoulder, his eyes brimming with mockery. I stood frozen, unable to say a word. Today was supposed to be the final bid meeting, and if successful, our company would go public. Dozens of employees were relying on this success for their bonuses, and this project was the culmination of two years of effort. But now, it had all fallen apart. At that moment, Daphne’s bromeo, Matt, posted an update: [I just had some coughs, and someone dropped everything to take care of me.] The accompanying photo showed Matt being fed medicine by my wife, her face full of concern. It hit me then that she had skipped the meeting to take care of Matt’s cold. Just a few coughs, and Daphne was willing to abandon the hopes of dozens of employees and the fruits of our two years of hard work to rush to him. She was always aloof toward me, yet she was so attentive and thoughtful when it came to Matt. Tears I couldn’t suppress began to fall, and I slammed the steering wheel several times in frustration. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a used condom tucked into the crevice of the car seat. Suddenly, it felt as if icy water had poured over me. I began trembling uncontrollably. The car had always been exclusively used by Daphne. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. I shut my eyes in despair. I thought she might have been emotionally unfaithful. But now it was clear—she and Matt had already crossed the line. I thought back to a few weeks ago, when Daphne uncharacteristically cooked for me for the first time ever. She had been unusually gentle and had said it was to celebrate my birthday. I thought I had finally moved her heart and that things could improve between us. Now it was obvious that she had only done that out of guilt after her affair. I opened her social media feed and found post after post documenting every little moment she shared with Matt. Not one post was about me. Even her phone wallpaper was a random selfie Matt casually took. I had brought up my discomfort about this before, but every time, she lashed out at me instead, accusing me of being unreasonable. “We’re just friends. What’s the big deal about using his photo? “If there was anything between us, do you think you’d still be in the picture?” She would glare at me with reddened eyes, leaving me no choice but to swallow my frustration. I kept convincing myself that she had no feelings for Matt, just a lack of boundaries. But now, the last bit of hope I had was shattered. I said: [Daphne, let’s get a divorce.] After sending her the message, I immediately contacted a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement.
When I got home, I started packing my things, intending to move out immediately. As I was tidying up, I stumbled upon a prenatal check-up report tucked into the cabinet. We hadn’t had sex for three months, so there was no way her child could be mine. I thought I had become numb, but seeing that report made my chest ache all over again. It felt like someone was strangling me, leaving me lightheaded and suffocating. I quietly placed the report back where I found it, took a photo of it, and left. Daphne still didn’t respond to my divorce message, as if she had vanished from the world. It wasn’t until two days later, when I forwarded her the divorce agreement, that she finally replied with a single question mark. She texted me: [What do you mean? Just because I’ve been gone for a few days, you want a divorce?] When I didn’t reply, she seemed to grow angrier. [Are you serious? Think this through. If we divorce, you’ll never find someone as good as me.] I replied: [I’ve already sent you the divorce agreement. Do you really think I’m joking?] I let out a cold laugh and urged her. [Sign it, and we can go finalize the divorce. After that, we’ll have nothing to do with each other.] Then, I turned off my phone and headed straight to the office. Although some of my employees had grumbled about the situation, their trust in me kept them from leaving. I couldn’t let my personal problems affect them any further. Thankfully, we still had some funds to keep things running, so I gave everyone a 5000-dollar bonus. I said to them, “This failure isn’t the end. There’s another chance to go public in two months. Let’s give it our all.” The employees were excited and returned to work with renewed energy. I then called HR and instructed them to draft a termination letter for Daphne. “Are you sure about this, boss? Won’t there be… repercussions with Mrs. Harrison?” “Do it. Make sure she gets it today. Whatever happens with this company after, it has nothing to do with her.” I cut her off with a wave and went back to my office. This company had been founded by the two of us, but in reality, I was the one funding it and keeping it afloat. I had always been the one working tirelessly to understand customer needs and secure deals, and back then, I hadn’t thought much of it. But now, thinking it through, I had been shielding Daphne from the storm while she stayed cozy managing internal affairs. She had it too easy. Not long after, Daphne called me, her tone filled with fury. “How dare you fire me from the company? This is my hard work too! “I’ll pretend your talk of divorce never happened. But if you keep pushing, I won’t hold back!” I couldn’t help but laugh at her words. She still thought I was just bluffing to get her to come home. “When I say divorce, I mean it. You’ve done nothing for this company. You didn’t even show up at the most critical meeting. Be glad I’m not suing you for damages. “The divorce agreement is only valid until today. If you don’t sign and send it back by tonight, I’ll file a lawsuit tomorrow.” With that, the line went silent. Perhaps she felt humiliated after having her attempt to reconcile rejected. I didn’t bother guessing what was on her mind and hung up. After work, I returned home to find a table of steaming hot dishes laid out. In the kitchen, Daphne, whom I hadn’t seen in days, was busy cooking with an apron. I raised my eyebrows, wondering what new trick she was playing. After all, in all these years, I had been the one doing all the housework. “You’re back. Let’s eat,” she said as she approached me and took my hand. “I know I messed up. You’re right to be angry, but you don’t have to bring up divorce so lightly. I promise, I’ll never put Matt before you again. Please forgive me this one last time, okay?” Daphne’s pitiful expression and softened voice would have melted anyone’s heart. But I calmly pulled my hand away. “If apologies were enough, who’s going to make up for the company’s losses? You don’t need to try so hard to make it up. I’ve already made up my mind—there’s no going back.”
“Jerry Harrison! What do you mean by that? If you keep this up, I’m really going to get angry.” Having her first attempt at reconciliation rejected, Daphne’s face darkened. I had completely run out of patience and decided to lay everything on the table. “Do you think I don’t know what disgusting things you and Matt did in the car? I’ve been trying to leave you some dignity. Are you forcing me to spell it all out?” She was my first love, someone I had genuinely loved for five years. Even now, despite her infidelity, I wanted a peaceful breakup. But Daphne showed no remorse. Instead, she flew into a rage upon hearing my words, grabbing the freshly prepared dishes on the table and smashing them to the ground. “So, divorce, huh? Fine! Let’s get divorced! Just don’t come crying back to me later and beg for my forgiveness!” I calmly pulled her hand and said, “This house is mine. You may not care about it, but I do. Since you’ve made up your mind, sign the papers, take your things, and leave.” Daphne glared at me, panting with rage. After signing the divorce agreement, she immediately called Matt. “Come pick me up. I’m divorcing Jerry. He’s making me pack my things and leave.” Standing nearby, I couldn’t help but sneered. The way Daphne phrased it sounded as if I was the one betraying her. Thankfully, she signed the agreement in the end, and I was finally free. After five years together, this marriage had left me utterly drained. When Daphne finished packing and stood at the door, she realized that most of what she had taken was clothes—almost the entire house was filled with her belongings. Meanwhile, my belongings were sparse. One of my shirts, in fact, had been wearing for five or six years. For a moment, she lowered her head without saying a word, and a complicated look flashed across her eyes. “Daphie! I’m here! He didn’t hurt you, did he?” When Matt arrived in a rush, I was already seated on the couch eating takeout. Hearing the commotion outside, I put on my headphones. But Matt seemed intent on humiliating me. He raised his voice to ensure I could hear him. “If I’d known he was like this, I never would have stepped aside for him back then. “Come on, man. It’s just a house. You just kicked her out after the divorce? Are you even a man?” Hearing the noise, neighbors came out to watch and gossiped among themselves. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I walked out and punched Matt directly in the face. “When you were cheating with her, were you even a man? You got her pregnant and still have the audacity to judge me?” For a moment, Daphne stared at me in disbelief, her lips trembling uncontrollably. “What nonsense are you spouting? Matt, let’s go.” She hadn’t expected me to find out about her pregnancy, let alone expose it so bluntly in public. Her face turned pale, and all she could think about was fleeing the scene. I didn’t stop her but turned to the property manager to instruct them to remove Daphne’s facial recognition data. From now on, she would no longer be allowed to enter the building. “We can finalize the divorce next week at the Courthouse. After that, we’ll have nothing to do with each other.” I sent her this message before shutting off my phone and resuming my dinner. I thought that when the day came, I would feel a void in my heart. But to my surprise, I felt nothing but relief.
Over the next few days, I was busy with work. I ran around and finally secured an investor. “Mr. Harrison, let’s sign the contract,” the investor said. Just as we were about to finalize everything, his assistant rushed in with a grim expression, handing him something to look at. “I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison, but we’ll have to put this collaboration on hold for now,” the investor said after a glance before turning and walking away. I stood there, stunned, not understanding what had just happened. It wasn’t until I saw the trending video online that I realized I had been set up. The footage showed me angrily confronting Daphne and Matt, but it had been edited to look like I was the villain. Matt, being a content creator, had set up a camera in his car the day he came to pick Daphne up. He edited the footage, cutting it to make me look unhinged, and uploaded it with the caption: [Picking up my best friend after she was kicked out by her scumbag ex. That scumbag deserves the worst.] Matt’s usual persona online was that of a feminist ally, and the fabricated story quickly garnered tens of thousands of likes. Fuming, I called Daphne. “Defamation is a crime. How dare you slander me like this?” But Daphne remained indifferent. “Then go ahead and sue us. Let’s see if the police take your side. The public is on our side now. What are you going to do about it?”
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