The Wrecked Dinner

Chapter two

Emily

~•~

“I’m probably overthinking, he’s just being sweet,” I muttered to myself.

“What’s on your mind, don’t you like the food? You’ve barely touched your plate.” Nathan asked, narrowing his eyes on me.

“Oh, I was just wondering how good of a husband you are.” I let out a smile before pressing a kiss on his cheek and taking out a bite of my food.

Dinner was awkward, everyone at the table seemed to be having fun except me. I barely ate my food and for some reason, my mind wasn’t at rest. Nathan placed his hands on my lap and snapped me out of my thoughts.

“I want to make a toast, I’ll need your full attention please.” Nathan announced. “Can I have everyone’s attention?” He added.

Everyone went silent as he stood, lifting his glass of deep red wine. Around the long dining table, his closest colleagues, business partners, and their poised, elegant spouses turned their attention to him.

I sat at his side, my fingers lightly grazing the stem of my untouched glass. The tension in my chest had been building all night.

Something was coming, I felt it in the way Nathan had looked at me with a grin on his face, the way his hand barely brushed mine when he helped me to my seat.

Nathan’s voice was smooth, and commanding. “Tonight, we celebrate success. A company built not just on power and ambition but on trust. Loyalty.” He let the word hang in the air, his gaze sweeping over the room, making every person at the table sit a little straighter. “Without loyalty, there is no foundation. No security. No future.”

He turned then, and for the first time all evening, his full attention was on me. A slow, deliberate shift. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at him.

“And that is why, as of tonight, my future will no longer include my wife.”

The room stilled. The soft clinking of silverware ceased. My blood ran cold.

Nathan took a sip of his wine, unbothered by the stunned silence, before continuing. “Marriage, like business, demands trust. And trust, once broken, can never be restored.” His expression was calm, too calm. “My wife, the woman I built a life with, the woman I believed in, has betrayed that trust.”

A wave of murmur rippled through the room. My lips parted, but no words came out. My pulse pounded in my ears. Everyone turned to look at me and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

“I have always valued honesty,” Nathan continued, setting his glass down with a quiet clink. “Unfortunately, Emily did not. So, tonight, I offer her the same courtesy she never gave me, transparency.”

He reached into his suit pocket, and pulled out a black envelope, setting it neatly beside my plate.

I reached for the envelope, my hands shaking, not knowing what could be inside. I had been faithful to him all these years, and I could not help but wonder why he was doing this to me, especially in this manner.

As I opened the envelope, everyone turned to look at me. I let out a gasp and covered my mouth with my hand. Tears welled up in my eyes and the entire room began to murmur.

I forced myself to meet his gaze, but the man I saw was not the one I had married. He was steel. Ice. A man who had already erased me from his life.

“Consider this my final gift to you,” he said, his voice quiet but sharp enough to cut through bone. “Your freedom.”

And with that, he lifted his glass one last time.

“To loyalty.”

I looked around the room. A place that once looked like heaven started to feel like hell to me. I grabbed my purse and ran out of the room. I barely made it out before I broke down into tears. How could he do this to me? After everything I endured? Why did he choose to embarrass me this way?

I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I immediately called my sister Emma. It took her a while to pick up. As soon as she responded I let out a scream.

“What’s going on? Why are you screaming and why does your voice sound like you’re crying?”

“He divorced me in front of his colleagues and business partners. It was all a facade. Everything he had done these past few days was a show-off. He wanted to embarrass me.”

“Why would he do that? Do you perhaps know what you did?” You know what, I need you to stop crying okay? Go back to the hotel, pack your stuff. I’ll board a plane for you back to New York.”

I sniffed and wiped the tears from my eyes before ending the call.

As I journeyed back to the hotel, all I could feel was an excruciating pain in my chest. Like my heart was about to explode.

Memories of the past six years flashed through my mind. All the times I supported Nathan, even when he had to undergo physical therapy because he fractured his leg in an accident. I had helped him get back on his feet and now he’s dumping me this way? How selfish!

“You’ve reached your destination ma’am.” I let out a sigh as the driver’s voice snapped me back to reality. I had been so deep in my thoughts I didn’t realize we had gotten to the hotel.

“Thanks,” I said to the driver as I paid him.

I walked into the hotel looking like a mess. Suddenly I remembered the blond-haired woman that approached me before I left for the party. She must have been trying to warn me about everything but I was too in love with the idea that my husband was trying so hard for our marriage.

The elevator door opened and I stepped inside consumed by unending thoughts and “what ifs”.

As I got to the private villa that was booked by Nathan, I broke into tears. I threw my hands over my face in an attempt to muffle the sounds that came from me.

I heard a beep from my phone and opened it to check the notification. It was a text from my sister, I was too much of an emotional wreck to reply so I called her instead and she immediately answered the phone.

“I don’t know why he did this to me.” My voice was faint as I spoke.

“He did this to you because he’s never cared about you, stop crying over him. Instead, show him you don’t care. Make him wish he had never treated you this way.”

“I know, but it’s not that easy.” I cried.

“You’ll just have to take it one day at a time, he doesn’t deserve your tears.”

“Thank you so much, Emma, this is why I love you.”

“I love you too sis, now go take a shower.” I blew her a kiss before hanging up.

She had a point. It was useless crying as it only made him happier. I needed to show him that I didn’t care about him anymore.

I took a deep breath and wiped my tears one more time. This time with anger, to completely distance myself from him for good. It doesn’t matter if I have to find a job and work hard so I can take good care of myself. All that mattered was that I was away from him and living for myself.

As I began to undress myself I heard the door open. I knew it was Nathan but I didn’t bother turning around. I continued undressing myself till I was fully naked.

I didn’t spare him a glance, instead, I placed the red dress by his luggage alongside the wedding ring he had given me.

“Place the divorce papers on the bed, I’ll sign them by morning,” I said to him. As I walked into the bathroom, I could feel his eyes lingering over me but I was too angry to look at him.