In their world, I would always be the outsider who didn’t belong.
My hands trembled, my chest tight. I resisted the urge to smash the phone and instead saved screenshots of their chat.
By the time Daniel walked back in, I had already put his phone down.
He picked it up, hesitated, and muttered,
“Babe, these people act like they’ve never seen the world before, but they insist on tagging along. Just stay home and wait for me.”
I calmly picked up my bag. “Ethan Walker has been my friend for over ten years. This project—I’m coming too.”
Daniel froze, then reached out to block me.
“You don’t get along with them anyway. Better if you don’t come, saves you feeling left out.”
With that, he turned as if to leave.
I grabbed his arm, staring into his eyes. “Today is my birthday.”
I didn’t say more. It was his last chance.
From the doorway came Sophie’s impatient stomp.
Daniel’s face immediately twisted with irritation. He shrugged me off hard.
“Why are you acting like my mom? Always the same old routine. What’s so special about a birthday?”
The back of my hand slammed against the doorframe; the pain seared my chest.
“Tsk!” Sophie tiptoed and playfully tapped Daniel on the head.
“What did your daddy teach you? Treat girls gently. Honestly, I think Anna being dramatic and sensitive makes her cute. Be grateful, son!”
Daniel snorted. “That’s just how she is—always picking fights. If she’s not making drama, she’s not happy.”
Ignoring me, he slipped an arm toward Sophie’s waist. “Who just called me ‘son’? Watch your manners!”
Sophie spun around laughing. “Oh my god, you almost grabbed your dad’s chest. You perv!”
Daniel’s lips curled as he went ahead and groped her. “Really? Looks more like little dinner rolls to me.”
The group burst into laughter as they all filed out together.
I stood frozen, as if the air had been sucked from the room.
Watching them disappear behind the elevator doors, I dialed Ethan.
“I’ll meet you at the Mountain View Campground.”
He didn’t waste words. “Okay.”
Having grown up together, I knew the difference between friendship with boundaries and the opposite.
Two years of dating, three years of marriage.
I needed to see with my own eyes how humiliatingly my marriage to Daniel would end.
The campground was far from the city, the early autumn wind crisp and cool.
Beside the white tents, a group of young men and women cheered.
Ethan found me a spot at the edge of the grounds and pulled over a chair.
Across an artificial lake, I watched as a group of men surrounded Sophie.
Blindfolded, dressed in a camisole and shorts, she groped forward and landed straight in Daniel’s arms.
The crowd roared, “Danny lost! Truth! Truth!”
“Say it—do you like Sophie?”
Sophie looped her arms around Daniel’s neck, laughing as she scolded them.
“Oh, you guys are so annoying!”
Someone shouted louder, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Or better yet, switch to a dare. Sophie, you’ve already bitten Danny’s ass once—do it again and show us!”
Amid the laughter, Sophie threw Daniel a sultry glance.
“I think that sounds fun.”
Before the words faded, she reached for his belt.
“Hey! Stop it!” Daniel laughed as he dodged, but half-heartedly.
Then Sophie slipped. Daniel immediately caught her, and they tumbled together onto the soft grass.
In the chaos, her skirt was pushed up to her waist.
Daniel wrapped one arm tightly around her waist while the other hand possessively shielded her bare thigh.
