I Want 100% Loyalty

I stared at the 87% loyalty score floating above Ethan’s head.

For a moment, I thought something was wrong with my eyes.

After all, Ethan and I had dated for five years and been married for another five.

Ten years in total.

And the number above his head had always been 100%.

Ethan noticed me staring straight above him and smiled.

“What are you looking at so seriously?”

I snapped out of it and casually said,

“Nothing.”

But my chest felt tight.

Our daughter, Sunny, was still wearing her birthday crown.

She was holding the boxed doll Ethan had bought her, her eyes curved into happy crescents.

“Mommy, look! Daddy got me this for my birthday!”

I crouched down and stroked her cheek.

“It’s beautiful.”

Sunny sat down on the rug and started opening the box.

The loyalty score above her head still read 100%.

So there was nothing wrong with my eyes.

The problem was Ethan.

We had agreed a month ago that we would celebrate Sunny’s birthday together.

He had promised.

A week ago, I reminded him again.

He had missed her birthday last year.

This year, he had to make it up to her.

He agreed.

Even last night before bed, Sunny had held onto his hand and reminded him not to be late the next day.

Ethan had gently tapped the tip of her nose and promised he definitely wouldn’t be.

Then, a little after six that evening, he suddenly texted me and said something had come up at work and he couldn’t make it.

Something at work?

What could possibly be so important?

Did it really have to be him?

But I didn’t dare ask.

All I could do was tell him to come home as early as he could.

And Ethan did keep his word.

Just after eight, he knocked on the door.

He had brought my favorite matcha latte and macarons.

He had also bought Sunny the Barbie set he’d promised her.

He acted exactly the same as always.

The first thing he did after stepping inside was kiss my forehead.

Then he handed Sunny her present, picked her up, and kissed her too.

If it hadn’t been for the number above his head, I really would’ve believed he had simply been working late.

Ethan said he was tired.

He took off his suit jacket, tossed it onto the couch, and went to shower.

I picked up his jacket.

Then I saw it.

A long strand of hair caught on the collar.

My hair was short.

That strand wasn’t mine.

I slowly looked toward the bathroom.

The door was shut tight.

Water rushed behind it.

And I thought,

It was time to pack my things and leave.

The next morning, nothing changed.

I still got up early and made breakfast for the three of us.

I laid out the clothes Ethan was going to wear at the foot of the bed.

Then I woke Sunny up, got her dressed, and helped her wash up.

At eleven that morning, I packed lunch and drove to Ethan’s company.

Ethan was a vice president there.

He brought Sunny and me to the company’s annual party every year, so most of the employees knew who I was.

When they saw me carrying the lunch containers, they all smiled and greeted me.

I took the elevator to the eleventh floor, said hello to the receptionist, and headed toward Ethan’s office.

The moment I pushed open the door, I saw a young woman sitting in his executive chair.

She looked fresh out of college, with a youthful face and long hair falling down her back.

Ethan had one hand braced behind her while the other pointed at something on the computer screen.

At the sound of the door, they both looked up.

My eyes immediately went to the number above Ethan’s head.

Only three hours had passed.

Yet his loyalty score had already fallen from last night’s 87% to 79%.

He froze when he saw me.

Then he smiled.

“What are you doing here?”

He actually sounded pleasantly surprised.

“Who is she?”

I looked at the young woman.

“Oh, this is Ava Miller. She’s Monica’s temporary assistant.”

Monica Spencer was Ethan’s secretary.

She was thirty-five, sharp, capable, and extremely efficient.

“Monica’s out for her wedding and won’t be back until next week,” Ethan explained. “Ava’s filling in for her for a few days.

“She just graduated and doesn’t have much experience yet, so I’ve been showing her the ropes.

“Yesterday, I had to stay late because she messed up a set of numbers.”

His tone was light.

As though getting company data wrong was no big deal at all.

Ava looked at me somewhat nervously.

“Mrs. Hayes.”

Ethan noticed the lunch containers in my hands.

“You brought lunch too?”

Then he turned to Ava.

“Come eat first. My wife’s cooking is amazing.”

He said it so naturally that before I had even processed what was happening, Ava had already gotten up and sat beside him.

Whenever I brought Ethan lunch in the past, I always packed enough for two.

Then I would stay and eat with him.

Even Monica had only eaten one of my lunches once.

At first, I assumed Ethan meant the three of us would eat together.

But instead, he said to Ava, “Go ahead. We still have work to finish after this.”

The motion was practiced.

His tone completely casual.

Ava sat down beside him..

“Thank you.”

Not once did Ethan ask whether I had eaten.

I sat across from them and watched the two of them eat the lunch I had made.

Something about it felt wrong.

I just couldn’t put my finger on what.

Ava took a bite of the salad.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

“This is so good!

“Mr. Hayes, you’re seriously lucky. You married such an amazing wife!”

Ethan’s face clearly showed how pleased he was by the compliment.

But the number above his head dropped another two points.

**77%.**

And just like that, I finally understood the strange feeling in my chest.

The two of them kept eating and chatting.

It was as if I wasn’t even there.

Only after they finished all the food did Ethan finally look at me.

“Yara, just clean this up and head home.

“I still have work to do.”

I stared at him with a faint smile.

Then I said,

“Ethan, I haven’t had lunch yet.”

Ethan froze.

So did Ava.

It only took him a second to realize what had happened.

I had packed lunch for two.

For Ethan and me.

And he had given my portion to Ava.

Ava immediately panicked.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hayes. I didn’t know!

“I’ll go buy you something. What would you like?”

I lowered my head and started clearing away the leftovers.

“No need.”

My voice was calm.

Ava looked so anxious her eyes started turning red.

“Mrs. Hayes, I really didn’t mean to. Mr. Hayes told me to eat, so I did.”

“I…”

Ethan glanced at me cleaning the table, then at Ava’s distressed expression.

Finally, he spoke.

“Enough. This has nothing to do with you.

“I’m the one who forgot.”

Then he turned to me.

“But you’re partly to blame too. Why didn’t you say anything?

“If you’d told me you hadn’t eaten yet, I wouldn’t have let Ava have your portion.”

He paused, pulled out his phone, and transferred me some money.

“I sent you some money. Just stop somewhere downstairs and grab lunch before you leave.”

I said nothing.

I stacked the lunch containers, snapped the lids back into place, and stood up.

“Okay.”

I turned to leave.

But Ethan suddenly grabbed my wrist.

His voice dropped, guilt creeping into it.

“I really didn’t mean to do that.”

“I know.”

His grip slowly loosened.

I went downstairs and tossed the lunch containers straight into the trash.

Then I drove to the mall.

I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to get back at Ethan or just blow off steam.

Either way, I ordered enough food to cover the entire table.

Then I ate to my heart’s content.

Afterward, I went shopping for a while before heading to Sunny’s preschool to pick her up.

Then I took her straight back to the mall.

And we had another huge meal.

Ethan called and asked why we weren’t home.

“We’re eating out.”

His voice immediately turned aggrieved.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?”

I let out a mocking laugh.

“You didn’t wait for me at lunch either.”

That shut him up.

Thanks to all the food I’d stuffed myself with at lunch and dinner, my stomach completely rebelled that night.

I ran to the bathroom at least ten times.

Eventually, I couldn’t even get out of bed.

Ethan filled a hot water bottle for me, helped me sit up, and gave me some medicine.

“You know you have a sensitive stomach. Why would you eat spicy food?”

I wanted to argue, but I didn’t have the strength.

I had barely swallowed the medicine when my stomach churned violently.

I threw it all back up.

Ethan gently rubbed my back, his face full of concern.

“No. This has to be gastroenteritis. We’re going to the hospital.”

He called his mother and asked her to come over and watch Sunny.

Then he carried me straight to the car and drove me to the hospital.

After a round of tests, the doctor confirmed it was gastroenteritis.

They put me on IV fluids and gave me medication for the diarrhea.

I eventually drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, it was already two-thirty in the morning.

The IV had been removed.

But Ethan was nowhere beside me.

I opened our chat and sent him a message.

[Where are you?]

No response.

So I called him.

Once.

Twice.

On the third call, he finally answered.

His voice was unusually quiet.

“Yara, what’s wrong?”

“Where are you? Did you go home?”

There was a brief silence before he answered.

“Ava called me. She said someone was hanging around outside her apartment, and I was worried, so I came over to check on her.”

“She was too scared to sleep. I finally got her to calm down and fall asleep.”

“Did you need something?”

Did I need something?

I almost laughed.

“Ethan, you’re my husband. You left me here so you could go put another woman to bed, and now you’re asking if I need something?”

Ethan sounded helpless.

“Yara, she’s my employee. Of course I should look out for her.”

“And I waited until your IV was finished before I came over.”

“Ethan, I’m still lying in a hospital bed.”

“Instead of taking care of your wife, you’re taking care of your female employee?”

“Does she seriously not have a single friend she can call? Why does she need a married man to stay with her?”

Ethan’s patience finally snapped.

“Yara, when did you become so petty?”

“Ava just graduated. She’s new here and barely knows anyone. If something happens, who else is she supposed to call?”

He sighed.

“Tell you what. I’ll get you a ride home.”

“I’ll come back once she’s sleeping properly.”

Then he hung up on me.

I sat there gripping my phone, feeling cold all over.

By the time I got home, it was three-thirty in the morning.

At the sound of the door opening, my mother-in-law quietly stepped out of the guest room.

When she saw that I was alone, she looked confused.

“Where’s Ethan?”

“Oh.”

I slipped off my shoes.

“He went to take care of his female coworker.”

“What?!”

Her eyes widened in shock.

I ignored her and went straight to my bedroom to sleep.

Ethan came home early the next morning.

There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked exhausted.

Apparently, he really had stayed with Ava all night.

When he saw his mother and me sitting at the dining table eating breakfast, he rubbed his nose guiltily.

“Ava kept saying she was too scared to sleep last night. She insisted that I stay with her. I didn’t really have a choice.”

“Oh.”

I took another bite of breakfast.

“Then make sure you go stay with her again tonight.”

“Yara! What the hell are you saying?”

He was angry now.

His voice shot up.

I looked up at him.

One night alone with Ava.

And the number above his head had already fallen below 70%.

**67%.**

I lowered my eyes and said nothing else.

After breakfast, Ethan’s mother left.

Ethan went into the bedroom to change.

When he came back out, he glanced at me.

“I was wrong last night.

“Once I help Ava finish moving into her new place, I won’t get involved with her anymore.”

I didn’t answer.

After Ethan left, I turned to Sunny.

“Do you want to leave with Mommy?”

At three years old, Sunny didn’t understand what I meant.

But she nodded anyway.

“Wherever Mommy goes, I’ll go too!”

“Okay.”

I went back to the bedroom and started packing our things.

Mine and Sunny’s.

Then I bought two train tickets back to Riverton.

Before we left, I placed the divorce papers on the coffee table.

When I closed the door behind me, I looked back one last time at the home I’d lived in for five years.

I had once thought I would never have to leave again.