I got back from the embassy with my visa late in the evening.

Macie rang me up to join a staff dinner.

Just outside the private room, I caught Macie's voice.

"Hey, when Mr. Jones gets here, no one's to get him drinking, okay? The guy's not in the best shape for booze. Anyone itching for a drink, you come to me!"

Her voice was bubbling with laughter. Peeking through the door, I spotted her in a sleek black gown, her arms pale and striking.

The room burst into cheers.

I swung the door open, and all eyes were on me.

Macie, as if she had seen it coming, got up and made her way through the crowd to grab my hand.

"We all know Ms. Henderson's head over heels for her hubby. We're just here for the show to see her spoil her man."

I could not help but put on a wry smile. "Ms. Henderson's married to her work, alright. I'm her husband, and I barely catch a glimpse of her. She didn't get home until midnight yesterday, and by dawn, she was out the door again."

Mentioning that morning seemed to hit a nerve. Macie's face went through a quick series of emotional changes, her guilt plain as day.

Right then, the waiter came in with the drinks.

Dressed to the nines in a tailcoat, he was the picture of elegance, like he had stepped right out of a medieval portrait.

The ladies could not take their eyes off him.

As he set down the wine, he shot Macie a sly wink, almost too quick to catch.

He left, and one of the guys muttered under his breath, "Can't we even grab a bite without a side of drama now?"

My colleague still was not over it. "What's the big deal if someone dresses sharp? You guys could learn a thing or two."

The argument buzzed on, but Macie slipped away to the ladies' room.

Time ticked by, and she had not come back.

The waiter's sly wink at Macie earlier flashed in my mind, sending a chill through me. I got up and hurried after her.

Reaching the door, I caught a strange noise from the stairwell.

Peeking through the door, I saw the waiter's chest under the soft touch of a woman's hands.

"Why do you gotta look so good, huh? Trying to get my attention?"

He chuckled and added, "Your husband's back in the room, and here you are with me. Not scared he'll catch on?"

"What's to be scared of? It's just a fling. It won't change anything for him. I'm not worried."

I could not bear to listen anymore.

She had become a stranger to me despite all our years together.

It turned out that the thrill of something new could shatter years of love so easily.

Everyone thought Macie loved me, but who could have guessed that she had that dark side?

I forced myself to stay cool and snuck back to our room.

When they asked about Macie, I just smiled and shook my head, though it felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

Macie finally returned after an eternity, looking utterly content.

She reached for me, but I instinctively pulled away.

"What's up, Raymond? You don't look so good. Something wrong?"

"Must've been something I ate. I feel sick."

Worried about me, she decided to cut the evening short.

…

A couple of days later, Macie was all set for a swanky fashion designer party.

She batted her eyes and asked, "Are you coming? I'll be all by myself without you. Everyone else will have a date."

I gave her a frosty reply. "I might be tied up. Why don't you see if the secretary can fill in?"

She paused, a flicker of surprise crossing her face, before her laughter rang out again. "A secretary can't match your thoughtfulness."

I let out a derisive chuckle and fell silent.

That evening, my phone buzzed with a new message.

[Aren't you curious about where your wife is at the moment?]

Attached was a photo of a deserted restroom, unmistakably the one at the party venue.

…

I tracked down the source of the noise and as I approached the door, Franklin's voice floated out.

"I was starting to think you didn't care about me anymore."

Macie's voice was a hushed, icy blade.

"If you want this to last, play by the rules. We're nothing more than a brief fling. Cross my husband, and you'll regret it."

Next came sounds that were too much to bear.

My heart was in agony, nearly choking me. I could not take it anymore and stumbled away.

Once I had regained some composure, I headed back to the party.

From a distance, I saw Macie and Franklin walking down the corridor, one after the other.

Franklin spotted me first.

Seizing the moment before Macie caught on, he approached. "Mr. Jones, I'm the one who sent those texts. They're just snapshots of my everyday life with Ms. Henderson."

I gave him a once-over, my face betraying nothing. "I'm aware."

His smile did not waver as he dropped another bombshell. "There's something you don't know. Ms. Henderson is pregnant."

That stopped me in my tracks. For years, I had been hoping for a child with Macie, but to no avail. Then, she was carrying another man's child.

A bitter laugh escaped me as I replied, "Well, that's wonderful news."

He looked at me, disbelief etched on his face. "That's it?"

"What more can I say? I'm all in for divorcing Macie, just as long as you can make her agree."

I inhaled sharply, my voice icy as I added, "This is your one shot. If you want to rise to the top, you've got to team up with me."

Franklin stayed quiet for a moment before he finally responded, "Alright, I'm in. We'll work together."

…

I did not bother saying goodbye to Macie. I just walked out of the event.

By the time she got home, it was the middle of the night.

Drunk and smelling of booze, she hugged me from behind, but all I caught was the scent of someone else's perfume.

Love and marriage had filled up half my life, and then, that was the sorry end to it all.

I turned around and saw the love bites on her neck, and my heart sank into an icy, empty place.

I was not sure how Franklin pulled it off, but within an hour of me handing over the divorce papers, he had Macie's signature on them.

"Ms. Henderson doesn't even know what she's signed. You're free to do as you please now," he told me.

That suited me just fine. It meant that I did not have to waste any more energy on Macie.

On my last day, a new visa from the embassy was delivered to the office.

The receptionist, clueless about what was going on, handed it to Macie.

She opened it, totally baffled, and called me up.

"Honey, did your visa expire? Why'd you get a new one?"

I felt a pang of anxiety and quickly steered the conversation away. "Just thought I'd renew it early, you know, to avoid any hassle later."

She did not dwell on it, probably too caught up in her fling with Franklin.

"Tomorrow's your birthday. Got any special wishes? Do you feel like going out, or would you rather keep it low-key at home?"

I paused, the words heavy on my tongue. "Why don't we have dinner at home? It's been ages since we've had a quiet meal together."

Memories of our shared struggles over the years washed over me, leaving a bittersweet ache in my chest.

I used to believe we would be side by side for life, but life, it seemed, had other plans.

The very next morning, Macie was up at dawn, claiming work demanded her presence at the office.

As she was about to leave, I called out to her and asked, "Macie, will you be back on time?"

"I will!"

However, her eyes darted away, clouded with confusion and guilt.

"This is the last time I'll wait," I said, a silent ultimatum hanging in the air.

She paused, a flicker of something in her gaze, but she did not grasp the weight of my words. With a forced smile, she stepped out the door.

She never returned that day.

Deep down, I knew she was with Franklin, tending to his feigned illness, her care for him crossing lines that should never have been crossed.

I took one last look at the intimate photo Franklin had sent, erased her from my phone and my life, and slipped away from Hushington under the cover of night.