The Return of Her First Love

Inside the private room, Rick Gilbert stepped forward.

"Michelle, now that I'm back in the country, I've got a big surprise for you."

Amid the crowd's cheers, Rick opened the box in his hands. A piece of sheer, lace lingerie lay quietly inside.

Just one look at it, and Michelle Safra's face flushed red. The crowd hooted and hollered.

Rick shot a provocative glance my way. "Cyrus, this gift is meant to spice things up between you and your wife. You don't mind, do you?"

Before I could even answer, Michelle let out a contemptuous snort. "Him? He's just a clueless bumpkin. He wouldn't know romance if it hit him in the face."

Everyone looked at me with mocking grins. They all knew the score—in this relationship, I'd always been Michelle's doormat. She could trample all over my pride anytime, anywhere.

Everyone expected me to blow up, only to get shot down by her again. But instead, I felt strangely calm.

I looked at Rick and gave a slight raise of my glass. "Have fun."

After downing my drink in one go, I stood up and walked away without looking back.

"Hey, hey, hey, it was just a joke! No need to get so worked up!" Rick called after me with fake concern.

But Michelle couldn't have cared less. "Can't even take a joke. What a buzzkill."

A joke? I didn't see it that way. But then again, it didn't really matter anymore.

The moment I stepped outside, my phone buzzed with a text from a buddy. [Cyrus, a few of us are heading to Alexis Lounge tonight. You in?]

I asked for the address and drove over.

When I arrived, my friends greeted me warmly. I poured myself a drink and knocked it back.

One of them teased, "Cyrus, no fear of the wife checking up on you tonight?"

"Since when did the henpecked husband grow a pair? Did hell freeze over?"

I didn't take the ribbing personally—just laughed it off, grabbed a mic, and started belting out off-key tunes with the rest of them.

Time flew. Before I knew it, midnight had come and gone.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Michelle.

"Do you even know what time it is?! Have you forgotten you have a home?"

Her tone was dripping with reproach and accusation.

I turned the screen off and ignored her. Right now, all I wanted was to push her out of my head, even if just for a little while.

That's when my buddy slid over next to me. He was both my close friend and my boss.

"Benedict, business at the branch office is booming. You sure you don't want to give it a shot? You're too talented to waste away here."

This wasn't the first time he'd tried to get me to take the branch manager position. He always thought I deserved a bigger stage. Ever since the branch launched, he'd had his eye on me for the role.

There was also the fact that the branch was based in my hometown. But I'd turned him down every time—because of Michelle. As a husband, I didn't feel right leaving my wife behind.

But now, every time I thought of her, all I saw was that lingerie. Rick had said he bought it in her exact size. And she hadn't refused it—instead, she'd looked at him with nothing but tenderness.

Maybe they were the ones who really belonged together. Maybe it was time for me to step aside.

I raised my glass, clinked it against my buddy's, and tossed it back. "I'm in."

"Ha! Finally coming to your senses," he said with a grin, taking a sip of his own drink and clapping me on the shoulder. "Alright, I'll make the arrangements. Get ready—you leave in three days, tops."

"Got it."

I nodded, but a wave of restlessness washed over me. I got up to splash some water on my face in the restroom.

When I came out into the hallway, I was met with the sight of Michelle, fuming.

"Cyrus Benedict, do you have any idea what time it is?! You're not coming home, you're ignoring my texts—what's going on?!"