Chapter 1

1

At our high school reunion, my wife, Sarah, nonchalantly ate a bite of cake offered by her first love, David. The room erupted in hoots and hollers, everyone staring at me, waiting for my reaction. But instead of losing it, I pulled out my phone, turned on the flash, and started snapping pictures. "You guys are adorable," I said, grinning. "Do a peace sign! I gotta post this online. Everyone needs to see this."

...

Sarah had just taken a bite of David's half-eaten red velvet cupcake �C the same little green plastic fork, still smeared with cream cheese frosting, that he'd just had in his mouth. It made my stomach churn. All I could think about was how Sarah claimed to have a germ phobia. Once, I’d accidentally used my chopsticks to give her a shrimp, and she’d flipped out. "Ethan! Don’t you know how gross saliva is? It's full of bacteria!" she’d yelled. But apparently, David's saliva was purified spring water.

The room was buzzing, teasing David about wanting to rekindle an old flame. He sat next to Sarah, blushing and giggling. "Don't be silly," he said, glancing at me. "She's married, you know." Then, looking directly at me, he added, "Ethan, right? Just a joke, man. You’re not mad, are you?"

Everyone’s eyes were on me, full of mockery. I felt like I was on display. Sarah had dragged me to this reunion, insisting I needed to meet her old friends. But the moment we arrived, she'd made a beeline for David, leaving me stranded at a table with strangers, completely ignored. All night, they’d reminisced about inside jokes and college adventures I had no part in. They kept bringing up Sarah and David's "epic" college romance, conveniently forgetting I was sitting right there.

And Sarah? She lapped it up, oblivious to �C or maybe just ignoring �C how uncomfortable it was making me. Honestly, a year ago, I would have lost it. I would have been jealous and furious. I might have even punched David. But now? Numbness. A hollow feeling of… inevitability. Maybe this was what people meant by a broken heart.

Before I could process anything, Sarah snapped at me, her voice sharp. "Ethan, what's with the long face? You're ruining everyone's fun."

I looked at her, seeing nothing but disgust in her beautiful face. David stood up, feigning an apology. "Sorry, Ethan, didn't mean to offend you. Just sharing a cupcake, you know? We're old friends. Don’t be jealous.” He looked so wounded, like I was the one being unreasonable.

I stood up, ignoring the burning stares of the crowd. I pulled out my phone, the flash blinding in the dimly lit room. Sarah and David flinched, shielding their eyes like celebrities caught by paparazzi.

"What's wrong?" I asked, feigning confusion. "You weren’t so shy when you were sharing that cupcake." I grinned. "I'm kind of shipping you two. Do a peace sign! I'll post it online."

Sarah lunged for my phone, but I dodged her. Enraged, she grabbed a ceramic bowl and hurled it at me. "Ethan! What the hell are you doing?!"

The bowl shattered against the wall, just missing my head. My heart pounded, but my face was cold. "What am I doing?" I laughed. "Go be with David, Sarah. We're done."

She froze, her anger replaced by disbelief. "You're breaking up with me… over a cupcake?"

I shrugged. "If that's how you want to see it."

I walked out, leaving her speechless.