You Can Keep Your Brought—I’ll Take My Life Back

On our wedding anniversary, I took the day off early to decorate the house, eagerly awaiting Vernon Slater's return. Instead, I received news that he had gone to the airport to pick up his FirstLove, Flora Vance. Her husband had passed away, leaving her unemployed with a child. Vernon decided to take them in, asking me to show them kindness and understanding. My disappointment in him grew, and my once passionate heart slowly froze over. Ultimately, he realized too late how much he had wronged me, but by then, I had already decided to leave.

"Zoe, I won't be coming home tonight. I ordered takeout for you. Remember to answer the door," Vernon texted me.

I looked at his message, then glanced at the takeout bags in front of me. I had no appetite. Frustrated, I sent a voice message to my best friend, Daisy Rook.

"Daisy, come over and have dinner with me."

She replied quickly, "I don't want to be a third wheel."

"No, Vernon isn't home tonight. We're having takeout."

I can't cook, and I usually get home late from work. Vernon usually cooks for us. If he has to work late, we go out to eat. I only eat takeout at home when he's not around. But tonight, I couldn't stomach it.

Vernon and I have been married for three years. In those three years, he has never stayed out overnight. Even when he was on business trips, he would always video call me. We were like inseparable lovers, envied by many.

Then, a month ago, on our third wedding anniversary, everything changed.

I believe that anniversaries are important, and I wanted to surprise Vernon. I spent a week preparing and even finished my work ahead of schedule to decorate the house on our special day. I wanted to give him a memorable anniversary he would never forget.

And indeed, he gave me an unforgettable anniversary.

Because Vernon didn't come home that day.

Someone who had never stayed out, vanished without a word. His phone was unreachable. At first, I thought he was working late on something important and couldn't contact me. Then, I feared something had happened to him, and contacted many of our mutual friends to find him.

Finally, at dawn, I received his reply:

"I'm sorry, Zoe. A friend came back from abroad, and I went to pick her up. I accidentally put my phone on silent."

A flimsy excuse.

After waiting all night in exhaustion and frustration, I had no patience left. I packed my things and stayed with a friend, waiting for Vernon to apologize and make amends. Vernon always knew how to make things right. After making a mistake, he would often recognize his fault, though sometimes pride made it difficult to admit. But Vernon had the virtue of owning up to his mistakes. Every time he messed up, he would make up for it, and I expected nothing less that day.

How naive I was.

Not only did he not come to apologize, but he called me the next day to question why I had left the house in disarray and gone to stay elsewhere. We had a rare argument, and it was then that I learned his "friend" was actually his long-time FirstLove, Flora. He had spent the night helping her and her child move their belongings and settle in.

Our third wedding anniversary, and he didn't even remember it.