Chapter 2

2.

During those two days on the road, I did not text Faye to remind her to eat or sleep like I used to.

I did not ask to FaceTime her every night, either.

My coworker joked that the apocalypse must be coming since a devoted husband like me had gone two whole days without calling his wife.

Everyone at my firm knew how much I loved Faye.

I used to head straight home after work every day to cook dinner for her, rarely ever attending company happy hours.

On the last day of the trip, Faye's name flashed across my phone screen.

"Babe, why didn't you make any shrimp potstickers to leave in the freezer? There's literally nothing for me to eat!"

In the past, no matter how long I was away, I would always prepare homemade shrimp potstickers so she could easily boil them whenever she was hungry.

Once, when I stayed up late making them, Faye told me it was unnecessary because she could just buy takeout anywhere.

I had smiled and told her that homemade food was healthier and that it was no trouble at all.

Yet it took her until the third day of my absence to realize the freezer was empty.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and replied calmly, "I've been busy lately. Just order delivery."

Right after I spoke, my manager called me over for a meeting.

I told her I had to get back to work and hung up the phone.

When I finished the meeting, I saw several missed calls from my mother.

Worried that something had happened, I quickly called her back.

The moment she picked up, she started berating me.

"Luke, why are you mistreating Faye? Have I not taught you since you were little that a wife is meant to be cherished?"

My mother did not give me a chance to explain before hanging up.

I opened my social media, and sure enough, Faye had posted a new update:

"Men stop cherishing you the moment they have you."

Whenever I upset her, she would post cryptic complaints online.

Then she would sit beside me and secretly smirk while listening to my mother scold me over the phone.

I used to think of those moments as playful banter between husband and wife.

This time, however, all I felt was disgust.

I looked at Faye's post, tapped the like button without hesitation, and went to get ready for bed.

The next morning, when I checked her profile again, a blank line met my eyes as expected.

Blocking and deleting me was Faye's go-to punishment.

Once, after an argument, I texted her and saw the red exclamation mark showing I was blocked.

I immediately took time off work to rush over to her office.

Faye had kept a cold face and threatened to divorce me, claiming I did not love her anymore.

I had held her hands, apologizing over and over, asking what I could do to make it up to her.

She had thought about it for a moment before demanding a luxury designer handbag.

At that time, that bag cost me three to four months of my salary.

To stop her from being upset, I gritted my teeth and bought it for her anyway.

Having tasted that sweet reward, Faye blocked me every single time she got mad.

My friends used to tell me she was being manipulative and dramatic.

Back then, I would only smile and say that her little tantrums were cute.

While waiting for my flight back, I checked the young guy's social media account again.

During the days I was away on business, they had met up every single day.

Faye took him out to fancy dinners and trendy brunch spots.

At night, they partied at clubs before heading back to hotels to sleep together.

Over those few days, I felt like a thief peeking into someone else's happiness.

I scrolled through that boy's profile countless times.

I practically memorized the timeline of how they met, talked, and fell into bed together.

Perhaps I had successfully gone numb.

When I returned home and saw the latest video posted by "With Faye", my heart did not even skip a beat.

In the clip, a man's hand pinned a woman's hand against the bed sheets.

The background audio was filled with heavy, breathless moans.

The woman's hand had a distinct scar, identical to the one on Faye's hand.

Only this time, her wedding ring was gone.