At a friend's wedding, I accidentally noticed that the new male assistant my wife had hired was wearing a ring, the very one I personally designed and custom-ordered just two days ago.
The ring, which was meant to appear on our wedding anniversary, was now adorning another man's ring finger.
I asked Kate what was going on, but she mumbled evasively, "Maybe it's just a coincidence?"
The male assistant looked at me with a playful smile.
I tugged at the corner of my lips and smirked mockingly, "That's quite the coincidence."
When we got back, I prepared the divorce papers. Later, I told her, "If you like him so much, then marry him."
Her eyes turned slightly red and her voice trembled, "You're my man."
Not anymore. The moment you gave him that ring, you stopped being mine.
***
At the wedding, as I was chatting and laughing with the groomsmen, a commotion stirred in the crowd.
"Isn't that Kate Bogart, the CEO of her own company? She's so beautiful. I wonder who's lucky enough to marry such a woman."
"I heard she's a staunch advocate of not getting married. Apparently, she's still single."
Kate made a dramatic entrance, followed by her new assistant, Kieran Cooper. Midway through, she affectionately adjusted Kieran's tie.
Then, she casually took his half-finished orange juice and sipped it. The two exchanged a knowing smile, perfectly in sync.
At that moment, whatever lingering affection I had for her completely vanished. After being married for ten years, Kate had told me she wanted to establish her own business. I funded her company to help her start.
Because she didn't want to be accused of relying on Brolin Group, we kept our marriage hidden. Only a handful of people knew, including her new assistant.
That morning, before I left home, she still kissed me goodbye. At that time, I thought such sweet love was the happiness I'd always sought.
For this reason, when passing a Dior counter, I even bought her a pair of earrings as a surprise for that evening. But now, it seemed entirely unnecessary.
When Kieran saw me, his expression turned uneasy. He whispered a few words to Kate before the two approached me, "Hello, Mr. Brolin. I'm Miss Bogart's new assistant, you can call me Kieran."
He reached out for a handshake, but I directly ignored him, my eyes fixed on the ring on his hand and said, "I ordered a custom ring but haven't picked it up yet. It looks remarkably similar to the one you're wearing, funny how our tastes align."
Hearing my sarcastic remark, Kieran forced an awkward smile.
Kate subtly stepped between us, her voice slightly shaky, "Kieran thought the ring looked nice, so I let him wear it for fun. When I received it, I didn't think too much. I'll have him take it off right now."
I let out a mocking laugh and then applauded, "Well done. A ring I spent a month designing, I didn't even get to wear it and you've already given it away."
Seeing my grim expression, Kieran fumbled nervously and kept apologizing in a submissive tone, "Mr. Brolin, please don't be upset. This isn't Kate's fault. It's my fault for being playful. I'll take it off right now and return it to you."
The more nervous he got, the harder it became to remove the ring. He was so desperate that he was nearly in tears. Under the gaze of the crowd, I ended up looking like a bully picking on someone weaker.
I asked him, "Do you not understand what a ring symbolizes? When you put that ring on, didn't you notice the engraving and read what it says?"
Under my string of questions, Kieran's face flushed red as he struggled to take off the ring. His frantic attempts only drew more attention.
Kate glanced around and, with no other choice, pulled me aside to a secluded spot.
