1 Memorial Day weekend. Brody, the frat bro who stole my wife years ago, posted a photo of an oceanfront villa in Cabo. The caption read: "Holiday getaway. Testing out the older woman flavor." I took a screenshot and sent it to his current wife, who happened to be my ex-wife, Sissi. I added a sarcastic text. "Getting cheated on over the holidays. Feels familiar, doesn't it?" Minutes later, Sissi didn't curse me out. Instead, she sent a live location in Cabo and a video. The video showed a luxury sedan with its windshield smashed to pieces. She sent one follow-up message. "Why don't you check the plates and see who this belongs to." My blood turned to ice. I took the red-eye flight. When I walked into the local precinct in Cabo, the first thing I saw was my fiancée, Jenny. The woman who was supposed to be working overtime at her corporate firm was currently wielding a plastic waiting room chair, screaming like a lunatic as she tried to swing it at Sissi. Hearing my footsteps, Jenny froze. This was the woman who had pulled me out of severe clinical depression. The woman who once put Sissi in the hospital just so I wouldn't suffer. Yet right now, her first instinct was to pull a man behind her back, shielding him. I walked up to her, step by step. Looking at a face I knew down to the bone, I felt nothing but a terrifying strangeness. "You told me yesterday morning there was an emergency project," I said. "You said you had to work through the weekend." "Is this your new office, Jess?" "Of all the people you could protect, you chose Brody?" "You know exactly what he did to me five years ago. You swore you would make him pay!" Jenny slowly lowered the chair. She brushed the dust off her palms, refusing to meet my eyes. Instead, she stared at the blank precinct wall. "Paul, we're all adults here. Things happen naturally," she said. "There's no need to make this so ugly." I stood there, stung by her absolute indifference. "Ugly?" I echoed. "You booked a hotel room behind my back with the man who ruined the first half of my life, and you're annoyed that I'm making things ugly?" Jenny tugged at her collar, dripping with impatience. "All you do is work and stare off into space. You're completely lifeless," she snapped. "You don't have Brody's spark. Any woman would feel suffocated around you." Those words smashed into my face. Every illusion I ever held about her shattered into dust. Brody peeked out from behind her shoulder. "Artie, man, don't blame Jess." "It's my fault. I got drunk and cried to her about how Sissi gives me the cold shoulder. You can hit me or yell at me, but please don't fight with her over this." Memories from five years ago crashed into my skull. The day I pushed open the master bedroom door, Brody had hidden behind Sissi the exact same way. Sissi had shoved me hard to protect him. I fell, cracking my head open on the nightstand, leaving a permanent scar. That was the day I sank into the swamp of severe depression. A suffocating weight crushed my chest. I gasped for air. Sissi leaned against the wall, wiping a trickle of blood from her forehead. She let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Jenny, you kept preaching about how much you loved Paul. In the end, you still climbed into my husband's bed." Jenny glared at Sissi, her face twisted with pure disdain. "Oh, save the victim act, Sissi," Jenny spat. "You slept with Paul for years and tortured him until he was a ghost of a man. I just wanted a taste of your husband. I wanted you to know what it feels like to wear the horns. This is called karma." I stared at Jenny, completely numb. The woman who pulled me back from the edge of the roof, who stayed up countless nights holding me through panic attacks, was utterly unrecognizable. Her closeness, her fierce protection, it was all tainted with a sick, twisted sense of possession and revenge. With a terrifying calm, I pulled the engagement ring off my finger and set it quietly on the officer's metal desk. "The wedding is off, Jenny." I turned and walked out the glass doors. Behind me, Brody's voice echoed. "Jess, he left the ring! Go after him!" Jenny's voice followed, dripping with arrogance. "Chase him? Why? Once he cools off, he'll come crawling back." "Besides, I need to comfort you right now." I hailed a cab straight to the airport and bought the next ticket back to Seattle. Sitting in the departure lounge, my phone lit up. It was a photo from Brody. Jenny was fast asleep on crisp, white hotel sheets, looking completely at peace. A text followed. "Artie, your girl only plays the saint when you're around. Deep down, she loves the thrill. I'll give her back when I'm done with her." My fingers flew across the keyboard. "Trash belongs in the dumpster. Only you would be thrilled to dig through my garbage." I hit send and immediately blocked his number. Back at our shared downtown condo, I pulled out a box of heavy-duty trash bags. I ripped open the closet doors, yanked all of Jenny's designer clothes off the hangers, and stuffed them in. I didn't hesitate for a single second. I dragged every bag containing a trace of her existence out into the hallway. Just as I threw the last bag out, the elevator chimed. The doors slid open. My mother and my sister, Zoe, stepped out. Seeing the mountain of luggage, my mother's face darkened instantly. "Paul, what kind of tantrum is this?" she scolded. "Jess is so good to you. You're almost thirty, stop acting like a dramatic teenager! Are you trying to tear this family apart?" Zoe chimed in right on cue. "Seriously, Paul. Jess runs a massive company. Don't be ungrateful. I graduate next month, and I'm counting on her to get me a management job!" Looking at the people who shared my blood, I felt a wave of profound sorrow. Years ago, when Sissi betrayed me, my depression was so severe I couldn't sleep for days. My mother just watched me with cold eyes, calling me an ugly burden. She even tried to force me to give up my high-paying job so Zoe could have my salary for her college allowance. I survived those pitch-black days by waiting tables during the day and spending my meager tips on therapy at night. I crawled out of hell completely alone. From that moment on, I considered myself an orphan. I looked at my mother with eyes as cold as dead ash. "Jenny cheated on me," I said flatly. "With Brody." I thought hearing that name would trigger at least a fraction of shock. Instead, my mother blinked, then gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "People stray. It's just a fling," she said. "If you can't keep your woman satisfied, who else is there to blame?" "Besides, Brody is highly connected now. He knows big investors. If he introduces your sister to the right people, her whole career is set." "Just swallow your pride. Why do you have to make a scene and embarrass everyone?" The last fragile thread tying me to my family snapped entirely. I was about to shut the door when the elevator dinged again. Jenny practically tumbled out, gasping for air. She couldn't get a flight, so she must have bought an overpriced train ticket and traveled all night. Seeing her belongings piled up like garbage, her face turned thunderous. I leaned against the doorframe, offering a merciless smirk. "Why the rush? Couldn't bear to leave your boy toy in Cabo? Or did Sissi beat you so badly you had to run?" Seeing Jenny arrive, my mother and sister looked awkward. They muttered a quick excuse and scurried back into the elevator, fleeing the scene. The hallway was dead silent. Just the two of us. I stepped back inside, grabbed the divorce papers I had printed weeks ago for a prenup update, and crossed out a few lines. We had just signed our marriage certificate last month. The grand wedding was scheduled for next month. Now, there was no need. I slapped the papers against her chest. "Sign it." Jenny didn't even look at the document. She let it flutter to the floor. She refused to acknowledge the hotel room in Cabo, choosing instead to flip the script. "Can you stop being so irrational, Paul?" she demanded. "Throwing my stuff out in front of your mother and sister? Do you know how humiliating that is for me?" "Sissi kicked Brody out. He has nowhere to sleep. What's wrong with me helping out a friend?" Listening to her righteous defense, I felt like I was losing my mind. Brody was the guy who stabbed me in the back our entire lives. He stole my homework in high school to win awards. He cut the brakes on my bike, breaking my leg. Because I had better grades, he secretly hacked the school portal to alter my college applications, costing me my university spot. I only found out about his sabotage when he showed up to sleep with Sissi. He ruined my life, and then he stole my wife. Jenny used to hold me in her arms, looking me in the eyes, swearing her loyalty. "I'm here now, Artie. Nobody will ever hurt you again. Whatever Brody took from you, I'll make him pay back in blood." Those promises were now nothing but a sick joke. Suppressing the fire in my chest, I pointed a finger squarely at her face. "Help him? You helped him into your bed!" "Brody is a pathetic little..." I never finished the sentence. A sharp, stinging slap echoed in the hallway. My head snapped to the side. My ears rang a high-pitched pitch. Jenny pulled her hand back, glaring at me with absolute fury. "Do not insult him like that!" The burning pain on my cheek was nothing compared to the bottomless, freezing abyss opening in my heart. Jenny stared at her own trembling hand. A flash of panic crossed her face. She took a step forward, instinctively reaching out to steady me. "Artie, I didn't mean to. Just stop provoking me..." I slapped her hand away. With every ounce of strength I had, I swung my arm back and delivered a brutal, stinging backhand across her face. "You make me physically sick, Jenny!" I roared. "How good is Brody in bed that you women line up to pick up each other's trash?" I lunged forward, completely unhinged. The sheer weight of years of repressed trauma erupted. Jenny didn't fight back, taking the impact against her shoulders. The violent movement was too much. Black spots danced across my vision. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the hardwood floor, slipping into total darkness. When I opened my eyes again, the sharp scent of clinical bleach filled my lungs. I was lying in a hospital bed, an IV dripping fluids into my vein. Jenny stood at the foot of the bed. Her expression was darker than a thundercloud. Seeing me wake up, she offered zero comfort. Her voice was colder than liquid nitrogen. "You cheated on me." My eyes went wide. "What kind of insane garbage are you talking about? When did I ever cheat on you?" Jenny let out a humorless scoff and tossed her phone onto my blanket. "Still denying it?" "Brody told me everything! You went to Seattle on a business trip last month. Sissi was in Seattle at the exact same time! Are you seriously going to tell me nothing happened?" My whole body shook with rage. "That was a corporate summit! Hundreds of tech companies were in that city! I didn't even see her face!" Jenny wasn't listening. Her mind was already made up. "How long were you going to play me?" she sneered. "You kept crying about how Brody framed you, but he showed me the medical records. He proved you were having psychotic episodes, hallucinating and attacking people like a rabid dog!" "I must have been blind to fall for your pathetic victim act for three years." My breathing turned ragged. My chest ached with a suffocating pressure. Once trust collapses, every explanation sounds like a cover-up. She would rather believe the man who lied through his teeth than the husband who had slept beside her for three years. Looking down at me like I was a stranger, Jenny delivered her ultimatum. "I'm giving you one week to think about this." "Clean up your mess. In six months, I'll consider coming back to this marriage. Otherwise, I'll see you in court." She spun around, slammed the hospital door shut, and walked away. The room fell back into a dead, hollow silence. Two days later, I forced myself out of bed and dragged my aching body into the office. The second I stepped into the bullpen, I noticed my desk was entirely cleared out. My framed photos, my mugs, my notes, everything was shoved carelessly into a cardboard box on the floor. My coworkers shot me looks filled with pity and twisted amusement. I didn't yell. I didn't make a scene. I walked calmly toward HR to demand my termination paperwork. As I passed the executive suites, my department director walked out, laughing and fawning over a man in a tailored suit. It was Brody. The director caught sight of me and immediately put on a nasty sneer. "Paul, you actually have the nerve to show your face?" he mocked. "I reported your unexcused absences. Corporate decided to terminate you effectively immediately. Grab your trash and get out. You're blocking our new Regional Manager." Brody strolled up to me, adjusting his cuffs. "Sorry about this, Artie. Took your spot," he said smoothly. "But what can I say? Jess is the majority shareholder of this firm." "I casually mentioned I was bored and needed a gig, and she handed me your department." I snapped my head up, staring at her empty office in pure shock. Jenny was the majority shareholder? For three years, I bled for this company. I worked overnight pulling together pitch decks. Every time a promotion came up, the director gave me some corporate excuse and handed the title to someone else. I used to come home exhausted, crying to Jenny about the unfairness of the corporate ladder. She would rub my back so gently, telling me to be patient, promising that hard work always pays off. She had the power all along. She held the leash. My heart turned into a block of ice. My eyes drifted down. I suddenly noticed a braided red string wrapped around Brody's wrist. It was a handmade bracelet. I had woven it myself for our three-year anniversary, placing it on Jenny's wrist. She swore on her life she would never take it off. Pure, unadulterated fury snapped the last wire in my brain. I lunged forward, grabbing the bracelet and ripping it downward. "Take that off! You don't have the right to touch it!" Brody immediately let out an exaggerated, theatrical yelp. "Ah! Jesus, Artie! What is wrong with you!" He threw his weight backward, pretending to fall. Out of nowhere, a figure rushed past me. Jenny threw her arms around Brody to catch him, simultaneously shoving me hard in the chest. "Paul! Are you completely insane!" The brutal force of her push threw me off balance. I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the carpet. I went down hard. The sharp corner of a mahogany desk caught me right in the lower back. Blinding, agonizing pain shredded through my nervous system. I slid to the floor, feeling a warm, thick liquid dripping down the back of my head. Gasps erupted across the office. Jenny froze. She stared at the pooling blood on the carpet, all the color draining from her face. I lay in my cheap rental apartment for a full month. During that time, Brody practically lived on Instagram, flaunting his new luxury lifestyle. In the comment sections, Jenny and Sissi were tearing each other apart, fighting over him like wild dogs. Both of them ended up in the ER after a physical brawl at a country club. Watching their circus act, I felt nothing but a dark, cynical amusement. A month later, as the sun set, Jenny finally unlocked the door to our old condo. The place was completely hollow. Stripped of all life. She walked into the living room, annoyed, until her eyes landed on the glass coffee table. Sitting right in the center was the divorce agreement. My signature was already inked at the bottom.
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