They Celebrated ‘Freedom’ — So Did I

I had been married to Natasha Bates for ten years, and not once did she ever join me for our family's Independence Day cookout.

This year, on the night before the celebration, I finally gathered the courage to ask if she wanted to come.

She scoffed and said, "What are you, stuck in the past? Who even celebrates the Fourth with a family dinner anymore?"

Yet that very evening, I saw a social media post of Natasha with her male best friend, Stanley Rogers. They were quite intimate in the picture, and the caption read: [True happiness is celebrating Independence Day with your bestie!]

I commented back: [Hope you two lovebirds make it official soon.]

Stanley did not hold back. He messaged me a bunch of intimate photos of the two of them. Then, he added, [You're just a leech living off his wife. What right do you have to question anything about Nattie?]

Everyone always thought I was a gold-digger living off Natasha's success. However, they all forgot that I was the sole major shareholder of the company.

This time, I’m done staying silent.

Natasha Bates did not get home until two in the morning, and the dinner I had made had gone completely cold. She had just finished meeting up with her guy best friend, Stanley Rogers, and even posted on social media.

[True happiness is celebrating Independence Day with your bestie!]

She did it on purpose. She knew I had her notifications turned on, so I got the notification the moment she uploaded something.

She watched me silently clear away the cold food and said indifferently, "I already told you I wasn't coming home. What's with that expression?"

I stayed quiet. She used to say she did not want anything fancy for the holidays, just a homemade meal from me. Nonetheless, that was a long time ago. People would change, and clearly, she had forgotten everything she once said.

As the heiress of the Bates family, Natasha had men constantly pursuing her even after our marriage. She had always ruthlessly rejected them all.

Yet, Stanley was different. He was her childhood friend and male best friend, a few years younger than her, with youthful energy that effortlessly drew her attention.

She did not even realize it herself, but the way she looked at Stanley was incredibly affectionate.

Later, after checking in on our son, Ollie Grant, she walked over and stood in front of me while I sat on the couch watching the news.

Her tone was cold as she said, "Stanley is just my best friend. There's nothing between us. You're making it sound so dirty."

I looked up at Natasha, my gaze calm. "Is that so? He's still a man. Even if he's your best friend, you should maintain proper boundaries. Do you think it's appropriate for him to be hugging and holding you like that?"

Natasha frowned, obviously annoyed. She snapped, "I've told you so many times, he doesn't even like women! Aren't you too old for acting this unreasonable?"

I fell silent.

I was the one being unreasonable?

Stanley had openly flaunted their relationship and shamelessly insulted me at every turn. Yet, I was supposed to just swallow my pride and tolerate it?

A bitter feeling welled up in my chest. Of course, without Natasha's indulgence, Stanley would not have dared to act so arrogantly.

Natasha waved impatiently and said, "You're going to call him right now and apologize!"

With that, she threw her phone onto the couch. The phone was just like my shattered dignity, trampled on carelessly by her.

Maybe that was exactly what she wanted.