Chapter 1

On my wife's birthday, I spent the entire day making her a custom cake from scratch.

My wife looked at it with pure disgust. "A grown man spending his day baking? How embarrassing can you get?" she snapped.

"If you have this much free time, you should be out making more money for me!"

But when her first love handed her a store-bought cake, her face lit up with emotion.

"Jasper, this is the best gift I've received today," she whispered.

Hearing the stark difference in her voice, I didn't explode or argue like I usually did.

I simply tossed my cake into a nearby trash can and walked out of the party without a word.

1.

My phone rang just as I stepped through the front door. It was Vivienne.

"Nathaniel, where the hell did you go? Jasper thinks he upset you, and now his chest is tight. He's having a heart episode because of your attitude!"

Listening to her baseless accusations, I didn't feel the usual sting of heartbreak. I just felt empty.

"Something came up at the office," I replied calmly. "I had to leave."

It wasn't a complete lie. There was work to do, even if it wasn't urgent.

Vivienne paused, clearly surprised I wasn't apologizing, but she didn't drop the subject.

"Whatever. Who's going to pay the bill? Transfer me fifteen thousand dollars right now!"

"That should be enough to cover everything," she added.

I knew this was the real reason she called. Every single time she and Jasper went out, I was the one footing the bill.

In the past, I kept telling myself that eventually, Vivienne would see how much I loved her. I was a fool, paying for my own humiliation.

When I didn't respond immediately, she grew impatient. "It's my birthday. You left early, so the least you can do is pay. Is that too much to ask?"

In the background, I heard Jasper's fake, soothing voice. "Vivi, don't force Nate. I'll pay. I have some savings, and if it's not enough, I'll just borrow some from a friend."

"It's your birthday," Jasper continued. "I want you to be happy."

Vivienne's voice softened instantly. "Jasper, I can't take your money. You worked so hard for that."

Then she turned her venom back on me. "Nathaniel, it's just fifteen grand. Don't be a cheapskate. Consider it my gift, since you tried to insult me with that pathetic cake. Do it now, unless you want a divorce."

She hung up before I could say a word.

That "pathetic cake" was something I had spent weeks learning how to bake just for her.

I had worked on it from ten in the morning until six in the evening to make it perfect.

When I showed up at the party, Vivienne told me the cake wasn't high-end enough. She said she'd rather have a Chanel bag.

While I sat in the corner, dejectedly browsing bags on my phone for her, Jasper walked in with a cake he claimed to have made himself.

Vivienne treated him like a hero. She took his cheap cake and called it the best thing she had ever received.

Seeing her cherish that bargain-bin cake while mocking mine finally broke something inside me.

The suffocating pain I usually felt was gone. In its place was a strange sense of relief.

I didn't stay. I grabbed my ignored cake and walked out of the hotel.

Before getting into my car, I dumped the cake into the bin. It was time to throw away the rotten relationship along with it.

I was lying in bed, almost asleep, when the phone rang again. It was Vivienne, screaming.

"Nathaniel! I told you to send the money! Where is it? I looked like an idiot trying to pay the bill with a declined card!"

"Why did you change the password to the business account? Give it to me now!"

Hearing her entitlement, I was glad the first thing I did when I got home was change all my passwords.

"I thought Jasper said he was paying?" I asked, my voice flat.

Vivienne sounded hysterical. "Jasper saved my life once! I would never make him spend his hard-earned money on me!"

The "life-saving debt" happened back in high school. Apparently, she fell into a river, and Jasper pulled her out.

She had used that story for years to shut me up whenever I complained about him.

Every time we fought about Jasper, she would take the moral high ground.

"Jasper has heart problems because he dove into that freezing water for me! How can you be so selfish? If you loved me, you'd be grateful to him too!"

Because of that, I kept stepping back. I let them cross every line.

But seeing that cake today made me realize the truth.

Vivienne wasn't repaying a debt. She was using it as a shield to hide her emotional affair.

"Nathaniel, are you listening? Send the money!"

"No," I said firmly.