Martin rushed to explain,：“Babe, just let me explain……”
I cut him off, my voice ice-cold.：“Explain what? That the cake wasn't for Eleanor? Or that the worn-out wife on that card isn't me?”
“Martin, I'm keeping the cake. Thank you. Three years of marriage, and this is the first cake you've ever given me.”
He scrambled for an excuse.：“Eleanor Butler is a new assistant at the company. Just a coworker, nothing more. Everyone in the office chipped in for the cake, and the card was just a group joke.”
I laughed, hollow and sharp.：“That card is in your handwriting. You think I can't recognize it? Since when does the office chip in for a cake and throw in the boss's personal autograph?”
His eyes darted away. He rubbed his nose, playing helpless.：“Babe, don't do this.”
“Fine, I wrote the card. But it was a joke.”
Watching him double down with that stubborn, shameless look on his face, I was so angry I almost laughed.
I pulled out my phone and brought up a screenshot.
It was from a woman's social media. Her face wasn't showing, but around her neck hung a Van Cleef & Arpels clover necklace.
The caption read,：“Thank you to my boss for the early Valentine's Day gift. So spoiled!”
Underneath it, Martin's like.
The second he saw the screenshot, his face changed completely. He raised his voice.：“You went through my phone?”
A couple of days ago, Martin had come home drunk. When I was doing his laundry, his phone slipped out of his pocket.
I'd never thought to go through his phone before. I trusted him completely.
But that night I noticed he'd switched to a new phone at some point, and the case was a little cutesy, nothing like the Martin I knew.
Once I opened it, what I found made my stomach drop.
I stared straight at him, not flinching from his anger.：“Yeah, I went through your phone. Otherwise I'd still have no idea what a wonderful time you've been having behind my back.”
Martin forced down his rage and kept lying.：“That necklace I gave Eleanor was a knockoff. A couple hundred bucks, that's it. Don't overthink this……”
Before he could finish, I held up another screenshot.
Also from Eleanor's social media. A brand-new white Mercedes. The caption read,：“Finally got a car of my own. Thank you, babe!”
Martin's face went dark. He mumbled,：“That's a company car……”
I cut him off and shoved the photo of the purchase contract I'd snapped from his phone right in his face. “A company car? Then why is the invoice under her name?”
Martin went silent.
With all of this laid out in front of him, not even a fool would buy his lies.
I took a long breath.：“Martin, I have been married to you for three years.”
“You said you couldn't afford a house. So we rented.”
“You said you couldn't afford a wedding. So I agreed that signing the marriage certificate was enough.”
“When you started your company, I gave you every last cent of my savings for your seed money.”
“On my birthday, you wouldn't even buy me a thirty-eight-dollar mousse cake. Too expensive, you said.”
“But you turned around and bought another woman a necklace, a luxury car, and a fancy cake.”
“Martin, tell me. What am I to you? A clown you keep around for your own amusement?”
I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and walked into the bedroom, and the tears I'd been fighting finally fell.
