She Got the Job, I Got the Truth

Under the dazzling lights of the banquet hall, I watched, powerless to stop it, as my own wife wrapped her arms around another man.

"You silly thing," Megan Louis said. "How could I keep you without a title any longer?"

I wanted to ask her, then what about me? What were ten years of devotion and my best years worth?

Before I could even open my mouth, a nurse beside me shoved a huge bouquet into my hands.

"What are you standing around for? Dr. Statham reserved these flowers ahead of time. Him asking for you by name to deliver them is an honor. Get up there already."

My wife was about to announce her relationship with another man, and I was supposed to hand them flowers and wish their perfect romance smooth sailing.

How pathetic could I possibly be?

I threw the flowers to the floor and said coldly, "I've never heard of a husband delivering flowers for his wife's lover."

The crowd stared at me, stunned. A few seconds later, the room erupted into laughter.

"What husband? That's just a delusional simp's fantasy! The woman you've been pining over is already pregnant, and you still don't even rank as the consolation prize!"

"Exactly. You chased after Dr. Louis all this time and actually thought she was your girlfriend? Get your head out of the clouds."

The commotion drew the attention of Megan, who was up on the stage. She frowned, displeased.

"What's all this noise? It's a happy occasion; don't ruin my mood. If you don't want to be here, get out."

Looking at the disgust in her eyes, I suddenly thought back to our first year together.

Back then, she'd been nobody, just an unknown intern who had to work until dawn every night before she could go home.

I'd ached for her and wanted to find her an easier job, but she'd only leaned into my arms and smiled.

"You're an ordinary person too, just like me. You can't help me with this. I just want to work a little harder now, so that later, you can finally take it easy."

Looking into her bright, shining eyes back then, I would have found a way to give her anything, even if she'd asked me for the whole world.

Over the next ten years, I called in every favor my family had to help her, an intern from an ordinary school with average skills, climb all the way to the position of deputy director.

But once she'd made a name for herself, she forgot the promise she'd made. She grew colder to me by the day.

Once Drew Statham showed up, things only got worse. She stopped wanting to come home at all, unwilling to even look at my face.

The most laughable part was that even after she got pregnant, everyone around her still had no idea we'd been secretly married all along. They all assumed I was just one of her many admirers.

The day she got her pregnancy test results, I finally worked up the courage to ask her for a real place in her life.

She stared at me for a long moment before she suddenly smiled.

"Of course I'm going to let everyone know about us. I've been waiting for this day for a long time too."

Like a fool, I thought I'd finally made it through the hard years and could stand beside her out in the open at last.

What I never imagined was that when she said those words, the person on her mind was actually Drew.

My phone kept buzzing with messages from my parents, pushing me to bring her home for dinner. My plan had been simple: once she announced our relationship today, I'd tell her who I really was and take her home to meet them.

But looking back now, none of that had ever mattered.

I don't even remember exactly how things fell apart. All I know is that I pushed open the door to Megan's office in a daze and found the two of them locked in a passionate kiss, Drew's hands still roaming freely over her body.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice level.

"Megan, what exactly is going on here?"

Even after watching her with another man with my own eyes, if she'd just given me one honest explanation, I could have let the whole thing go and pretended none of it had ever happened.

She watched my body shake and let out a cold laugh.

"Why are you looking at me like some bitter, jilted wife? Don't you understand that you're not even in my league anymore? Only Drew can give me everything I want."

Drew chimed in right on cue.

"Weston, if I were you, I'd get out of this hospital on my own before someone makes you. Staying here just makes you a joke. You haven't been good enough for Megan in a long time. The only reason she never divorced you was for old times' sake. Don't be so ungrateful."