Chapter 3

3.

With my heart no longer heavy with worry, I threw myself into my work.

I didn't even realize it was lunchtime until my colleague, Rick, tapped on my desk.

I nodded and grabbed my phone.

I had over 99 unread messages.

Half were from work groups, the other half were from Rosalind.

Her office was just a block away from mine.

In the past, I would beg her an hour in advance to grab lunch with me.

She would always reject me, saying she had plans with colleagues.

I tucked my phone away and walked to a nearby diner with Rick.

"The sun must be rising in the west today," Rick joked. "You're actually ignoring your wife's texts. What's the catch?"

Rick sat right next to me at work and knew exactly how much of a simp I used to be.

I just shrugged.

We hadn't been sitting for five minutes when Rosalind walked in with her team.

She froze when she saw me.

She picked up her tray and sat directly across from us.

Rick and I kept talking about the football game from last night, ignoring her completely.

She looked miserable.

"Why didn't you answer me this morning? You always wait for me to eat," she snapped.

Rick and I shared a look.

Without a word, we picked up our trays and moved to a table across the room.

Rosalind slammed her hand on the table.

"Caden! Are you even listening to me? You've never acted like this!"

I took a bite of my steak and smiled at her.

"I can hear you perfectly fine."

"You always said you preferred eating with your colleagues. I thought about it, and you're right. It's much better this way."

Whenever I used to get upset about Jayden, Rosalind would just say, "Whatever."

She used to love watching me spiral while she stood there with her arms crossed.

She'd tell me I looked ugly when I was angry.

Now, the roles were reversed.

She was the one fuming, and I was the one who didn't care.

Rosalind didn't even finish her food before stomping out in her high heels.

Her colleagues followed her awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with me.

...

I usually take a quick nap at my desk during lunch.

Before I closed my eyes, I saw a new post on Jayden's Instagram.

It was a photo from Thanksgiving.

He and Rosalind were feeding each other pie, looking like a blissful young couple.

The caption read: "Our eighth Thanksgiving together. I know you'll be by my side next year, too."

The math was simple.

She had started cheating on me during our second year of marriage.

I hit the "like" button and left a comment: "What a perfect couple."

Two minutes later, my phone exploded with voice notes from Rosalind.

She sounded panicked.

"Caden, it's not what you think. That photo was just a joke!"

She sent a string of explanations, some over a minute long.

She sounded so sincere.

In the past, our conversations were mostly me talking to a brick wall.

Now, the tables had turned.

I didn't have the patience to listen to her lies anymore.

I muted my phone and put on my sleep mask.

Rick chuckled from the next desk. "Are you guys in the 'hate-love' phase now?"

"If most people are warriors for love, Rosalind and I are warriors for pure spite," I joked.

"But you used to love her like crazy," Rick said.

I just smiled and said nothing.