On the day of the company’s annual meeting, my husband, Holden, unexpectedly sent me on a business trip.

As my plane touched down, my phone buzzed with a call from his assistant, Nori. Before I could say anything, I overheard her ask, "Holden, did you send Maren away just so you could see me?"

In a voice oozing with affection, he replied, "What do you think, darling?"

"Then tonight, let's spice things up. I promise you won't be disappointed..." The call ended with a flirtatious laugh.

I swallowed the pain and repeatedly tried to call Holden. From being cut off to finding his phone switched off, he didn’t answer once. Resigned, I tucked my phone away, deciding from that moment on to stop caring about him.

Yet later, it was Holden who pleaded with me to give him another chance to be loved.

---

Standing at the blustery curb outside the airport, I dialed Holden Johnson over and over. I desperately hoped he would pick up and tell me it was all a misunderstanding, that the call had been just a silly game at the annual meeting.

But he didn’t. His earlier words lingered in my mind, "Maren, I'll wait for you to come back. Safe travels."

I tried convincing myself that the call was just a figment of my imagination. But the thought of Holden with another woman crowded my thoughts.

Unwilling to give up, I contacted one of the employees. I learned that Holden didn’t attend the team-building event, and neither did his assistant, Nori Spencer.

At that moment, my hopes were crushed by the brutal truth. Clutching my aching heart, I slowly crouched down.

My phone screen displayed Nori’s latest Instagram post.

"Personally tested and approved, and the boss is a star in every way."

The picture showed her draped in a towel, a dark butterfly tattoo peeking from her shoulder, her waist encircled by strong hands, kissing her neck. Though the man’s face was hidden, the posture and grip made it clear how much he enjoyed it.

The man had a dark rose tattoo on his lower left abdomen—the same tattoo Holden had secretly gotten six months ago. I recognized its unique design. When I found out, the scabs had already healed.

I had given him the silent treatment for a day over it. I was upset he didn’t value his body, worried about the health risks from the ink. But he lost his temper, telling me to mind my own business, then spent the night out at a bar.

I had to go find him, apologize in front of his friends, before he softened a little.

Back then, I thought he simply liked experimenting and even suggested we get matching tattoos. He just glared at me and said I was being ridiculous.

I naively took his words as concern for me. Now, I finally understood he was mocking me for being so self-deluded.

Indeed, I was deluded. But at least now, I realized it wasn’t too late.

I lost track of how long I sat in the cold.

It wasn’t until Holden's call came in that I noticed my hands were numb from the cold. The chill had seeped into my bones, making me shiver uncontrollably.

With fingers trembling, I stiffly answered his call.

Holden’s furious voice came through immediately, "Maren, how could you take so long to answer? Why did you ditch the client? Do you know breaching the contract costs money?"

His words were colder than the winter air, freezing me to the core.

Sarcastically, I shot back, "Just because I missed your call, you think you can talk to me like this?"

Perhaps it was the first time I spoke to him this way. There was a sudden silence on the other end. After a few seconds, he spoke again, his tone noticeably softer, "I’m sorry, I was just worried. But you really can’t bail on the client."

"Sure, I'll explain everything to the client," I replied coolly. "Anything else?"

Although he needed my help, Holden didn't seem bothered by my tone. His voice turned smoother as he added, "It's not a big deal. After apologizing to the client, could you stop by downtown and pick up a watch for me? It's a special order for Nori."

My heart sank further at his words. He knew perfectly well that the client's office was uptown, and there was over 300 miles between the two. Yet he had the nerve to call it 'on the way.'

I had seen him sketching the design for that watch myself. At the time, I thought it was a birthday gift for me. After all, my birthday was coming up, and I had been hinting about wanting a watch. But it turned out to be for Nori Spencer. He never truly listened to anything I said. Everything was just wishful thinking on my part.

Just as I was about to refuse, Nori's cheerful voice came through the phone. "Holden, could you come here a minute and help me bring in the laundry?"

Holden sharply drew in his breath and quickly muffled the phone, but I had already heard her. I let out a bitter chuckle.

He rushed to explain, his words stumbling over each other. "Maren, you got it wrong. Nori and I were just..."

I should have felt some satisfaction at his urgency, a sign that he cared a little. But instead, I felt emptier, unable to take any more of his deceit.

I stood up, moving towards the taxi stand, interrupting him, "Holden, no need to explain. It's okay."

Silence followed on the other end. All I could hear was the wind howling through the receiver, mingling with the crunch of my footsteps in the snow.

Maybe it was my persistently icy demeanor today that finally pushed Holden's buttons. His voice turned cold and accusatory. "Maren, enough! All I did was ask a simple favor. Do you have to be so sarcastic? Besides, you're the one who stood the client up, and I haven't even called you out on it yet!"

I was about to argue when the sounds through the phone shifted again. Holden let out a muffled "hmm," followed by Nori's teasing laugh.

"Holden, you're being cheeky. I asked you to bring in the laundry, yet here you are chatting on the phone. How should I make you pay for that?"

I couldn't listen anymore and hung up immediately. Holden rang back right away, but I rejected the call again. He had never faced such dismissive treatment from me, and it seemed to unsettle him.

Messages started pouring in, each one critiquing me. I finally hit my limit and challenged him directly: [If you're so unhappy with me, why don't you take my video call right now?]

After sending the message, the phone finally went silent. A half-hour later, his response came through.

[Maren, let's not fight anymore. When you get back, I'll throw you a birthday party, and we can take that island vacation you've always wanted. What do you think?]

I tucked my phone away, choosing not to reply. Staring out the car window, my thoughts wandered far away.

Despite five years of marriage to Holden, we had never taken a proper vacation together. He always used work as an excuse to dodge my suggestions. Yet, just a month ago, he secretly took Nori on a getaway to the island I had long dreamed of visiting, using a business trip as a cover.

He thought he was discreet, but Nori had turned the trip into her bragging right, posting every detail on Instagram—down to what they did at each hour of the day.

It's not that I was oblivious or unaffected. But because I loved him, I couldn't confront him or speak the truth. I clung to the illusion that as long as he didn't ask for a divorce and stayed by my side, nothing else mattered. I believed that one day he would see my worth again.

But now, I realized, I no longer needed him.