On our wedding anniversary, I took the day off early to decorate the house, eagerly awaiting Vernon Slater's return. Instead, I received news that he had gone to the airport to pick up his FirstLove, Flora Vance. Her husband had passed away, leaving her unemployed with a child. Vernon decided to take them in, asking me to show them kindness and understanding. My disappointment in him grew, and my once passionate heart slowly froze over. Ultimately, he realized too late how much he had wronged me, but by then, I had already decided to leave.

"Zoe, I won't be coming home tonight. I ordered takeout for you. Remember to answer the door," Vernon texted me.

I looked at his message, then glanced at the takeout bags in front of me. I had no appetite. Frustrated, I sent a voice message to my best friend, Daisy Rook.

"Daisy, come over and have dinner with me."

She replied quickly, "I don't want to be a third wheel."

"No, Vernon isn't home tonight. We're having takeout."

I can't cook, and I usually get home late from work. Vernon usually cooks for us. If he has to work late, we go out to eat. I only eat takeout at home when he's not around. But tonight, I couldn't stomach it.

Vernon and I have been married for three years. In those three years, he has never stayed out overnight. Even when he was on business trips, he would always video call me. We were like inseparable lovers, envied by many.

Then, a month ago, on our third wedding anniversary, everything changed.

I believe that anniversaries are important, and I wanted to surprise Vernon. I spent a week preparing and even finished my work ahead of schedule to decorate the house on our special day. I wanted to give him a memorable anniversary he would never forget.

And indeed, he gave me an unforgettable anniversary.

Because Vernon didn't come home that day.

Someone who had never stayed out, vanished without a word. His phone was unreachable. At first, I thought he was working late on something important and couldn't contact me. Then, I feared something had happened to him, and contacted many of our mutual friends to find him.

Finally, at dawn, I received his reply:

"I'm sorry, Zoe. A friend came back from abroad, and I went to pick her up. I accidentally put my phone on silent."

A flimsy excuse.

After waiting all night in exhaustion and frustration, I had no patience left. I packed my things and stayed with a friend, waiting for Vernon to apologize and make amends. Vernon always knew how to make things right. After making a mistake, he would often recognize his fault, though sometimes pride made it difficult to admit. But Vernon had the virtue of owning up to his mistakes. Every time he messed up, he would make up for it, and I expected nothing less that day.

How naive I was.

Not only did he not come to apologize, but he called me the next day to question why I had left the house in disarray and gone to stay elsewhere. We had a rare argument, and it was then that I learned his "friend" was actually his long-time FirstLove, Flora. He had spent the night helping her and her child move their belongings and settle in.

Our third wedding anniversary, and he didn't even remember it.

"Vernon is really getting careless, how could he bring you a mango milkshake?" Tomboy Daisy picked up the drink from the table, frowning. "Did he forget you're allergic to mango?"

I numbly ate my burger, saying nothing.

"It happened last time too. He worked late and ordered mango-flavored yogurt for you as an after-dinner drink. Luckily, it didn't contain real mango, or you would have ended up in the hospital."

She sat down next to me, sharing the takeout that was clearly more than one person could eat. One of us had no appetite, while the other couldn't stop talking.

Scenes like this had happened seven times this month already. Vernon hadn't come home seven times.

And I could feel that Vernon cared less and less about me. Even if I worked late and got caught in the rain, he wouldn't come to pick me up. When I came home late, all that greeted me was a cold meal and someone lying on the couch playing on his phone after a shower.

I've seen his screen; sometimes he’s playing games, but more often he's chatting with Flora.

I confronted him, "Why do you talk to Flora so much every day? You don't even answer my calls!"

Vernon always had an excuse.

"Zoe, your call came when I was cooking. The range hood was too loud, so I didn't hear it."

"I don't talk to her every day; most of the time, it's work-related."

"We’re just friends; we only talk about work and life. You're being overly sensitive!"

"I've been really busy lately, don't be so unreasonable!"

It was clear that Vernon's excuses were becoming more perfunctory and his attitude increasingly impatient.

My mood grew worse, my expectations of him dwindled, and both work and life suffered. I often confided in close friends.

"If you ask me, you should come stay at my place for a few days," Daisy said. "Look at you, feeling down all the time, it's bad for your health. It's all Vernon's fault! Vernon is so excessive; I feel like punching him!"

"I want to punch him too." I smiled bitterly. "Every time he makes me angry, I want to hit him, but once I do, things will change."

If I could let go, I wouldn't be in such pain, but I can't.

We've been in love for two years, married for three. Until a month ago, we were the envy of others, a loving couple.

Five years, not just a moment.

"I know you can't let go. I've witnessed these five years too. If Vernon hadn't spoiled you back then, I wouldn't have let that pig near you," Daisy said. "But times have changed. Since he betrayed you, just leave. Zoe, you’re so young, beautiful, and capable. There are billions of men in the world; surely there’s one who’s right for you. Why hang yourself on a crooked tree?"

"I know," I said helplessly. "I’ll wait a few more days. I can give him a few more days."

I’ll give Vernon a maximum of seven days. If he doesn’t sever ties with Flora in seven days, I will divorce him.

What I didn't expect was Vernon's sheer shamelessness.

"Money?" I looked at him. "You've always had control of your salary, and now you’re asking me for money? What are you planning to spend it on?"

We each had our own jobs. Mine was more demanding, with a higher salary. I paid most of the down payment and mortgage for our house. Correspondingly, Vernon was responsible for buying various daily necessities. Out of mutual respect, we never handed over our salaries, and I never restricted his spending on leisure activities.

But our incomes weren't low, and he should have plenty of savings.

"Have you run out of savings? You haven't been scammed, have you?"

"Absolutely not! I went to college too, there's no way I'd be tricked!"

"Then what do you need the money for?"

"..." Vernon was silent, and I noticed the evasiveness in his eyes. Without another word, I grabbed his phone from the table and opened the app to check the transaction history.

Vernon was shocked. "ZoePruitt!"

He snatched the phone back, but it was too late. I had already seen where the money was going.

Someone marked as "Flo."

"This is my privacy! How can you just snatch my phone like that!" Vernon put the phone back in his pocket. "Zoe, didn't we agree to respect each other's privacy? You can't invade my phone without permission!"

"Respect privacy? When have you ever respected me as your wife?" I stared coldly into his eyes.

"Who is Flo? That name, it's short for Flora, isn't it? You call a 'normal' female friend so intimately and send her money?"

I emphasized the words "normal" and "friend," my voice growing louder with each word.

Vernon's face turned pale. "Zoe, can't you use your brain and have some compassion? Flora just came back from abroad, she lost her husband and has a child to care for. What's wrong with me, as a friend, supporting her? I'm not cheating!"

"Of course, you wouldn't dare cheat, because if you did, with all this money and interactions, I could sue you for solicitation!"

I didn't want to tear into him, but the anger was beyond my control.

"Vernon, you're really quite the friend, aren’t you? Always there to pick her up, handing over money so eagerly. What, does Flora not have parents, relatives, or other friends? And as for support, she's a grown woman, isn't she? Can't even take care of herself and has the nerve to take money from a married man? You two are both shameless!"

"Smack!"

A resounding slap across my face turned my head to the side, stinging unbearably.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the hurt in my heart.

I slowly turned back, staring at Vernon blankly. He seemed just as stunned, unable to believe he had struck me.

"...I... Zoe, I didn't mean to... I'm sorry, Zoe... Zoe!"

I didn't accept his apology. With all my strength, I slapped him back. Vernon fell to the floor, my palm red and trembling from the blow.

"Vernon," I said, my breath unsteady, "How dare you... you... Listen to me carefully. No matter what you want to do, don't expect to get a single penny from me!"

Without packing any clothes, I grabbed my phone and wallet and stormed out.