4
Soon after I left, a heavy rain started.
The summer thunderstorm was so intense it caused power outages, even cutting off electricity at the mall. They managed to stay open using their own generators.
The mall was very close to the apartment complex Chloe rented.
Daniel seemed very anxious.
He said he was going to the restroom, but he kept making call after call.
I waited for him by the restroom door.
He came out sweating profusely and told me:
“The company seems to have lost power due to the storm, and there’s an issue with the servers. I need to get back there immediately.”
He handed me his bank card, reassuring me:
“Honey, buy whatever you like. Anything is fine with me.”
Daniel left in a hurry, not even giving me a chance to ask questions.
I looked down at my phone screen. I had just sent a message to Ben:
“Are you on duty today? There’s a power issue in the South Side area. How’s the company?”
He replied:
“We have generators. Everything’s fine, no problems at all. Don’t worry, Amelia.”
3:42 pm DSS
pm;
<
I didn’t buy any rings.
My heart was terrifyingly calm, as if I had long been prepared to sever the last thread of attachment to those ten years of our relationship.
After a long time trying to hail a cab, I ended up walking home in the rain.
I pulled out cardboard boxes and started packing my things.
It wasn’t until dusk that Daniel finally called me:
“Amelia, the company situation here is a bit tricky. I won’t be coming home tonight; I’ll stay here to
handle it.”
“Tomorrow! Tomorrow, I promise I’ll spend our anniversary properly with you.”
Before I could say anything,
Daniel hung up, as if there was something he was in an urgent rush to do.
It seemed even the algorithms disapproved of Daniel’s clumsy lies. When I opened Ins, I accidentally stumbled upon Chloe’s account.
I recognized the hand in the photo instantly as Daniel’s.
There was a scar on his middle finger knuckle, and a faint white mark on his ring finger where his wedding ring used to be. But with just a hand, there might still be room for self-deception.
However, another photo, a profile shot of Daniel shirtless, left me with no way to lie to myself.
Chloe’s caption was incredibly sweet:
**[He appeared when I needed him most.]**
I dialed Daniel’s number.
It rang for a long time before he picked up, his tone impatient:
“Amelia, what is it? I’m really busy right now.”
I glanced at the lightning and thunder outside and lied:
3:42 pm DSS
<
“I’m at the mall, and I can’t get a cab.”
“Can you come pick me up? I’ll get sick if I stay in the rain in this weather.”
There was a moment of silence on his end.
He still refused, even with a hint of blame:
“I really have something going on at the company. Just go home, take a shower, and you’ll be fine.”‘
“Don’t make a big deal out of nothing.”
“I have to go, I’m hanging up.”
Beep, beep, beep.
I opened my mouth, but only a dial tone met me.
An hour later, Chloe updated her Ins again:
**[I have him, he has me.]**
The picture was a selfie of her and Daniel.
They were in a bed, and Daniel’s eyes were closed, asleep.
I glanced at it, and the heartbreak I felt was now just a dull, aching numbness.
I quietly screen-recorded it as evidence of Daniel’s infidelity, not a single tear falling.
I paid extra to arrange a moving company to ship my belongings. The house was empty now. Of our things, only the large, yellowing wedding photo remained on the wall.
It was an eyesore and a painful reminder.
I didn’t take it.
With a simple carry-on bag, I arrived at the train station. I hadn’t decided where to go, so I just glanced at the ticket display. Whichever train was boarding earliest, I’d take that one, aimlessly.
3:42 pm; DSS
<
“Ma’am, the final destination for this train is Brighton. How many tickets?”
“One.”
The next morning, I woke up in a B&B in Brighton.
As I was feeding seagulls by the lake, Daniel sent me a message:
**[Good morning, Honey. Happy fifth wedding anniversary!]**
I didn’t reply.
Midday arrived.
Daniel seemed to realize something was wrong and sent a few more messages:
**[Honey, are you mad because I didn’t pick you up yesterday?]**
**[The company really did have an emergency. You’re not the type to hold a grudge over something like this. Come on, I’ve booked the best table at the lakeside restaurant. Twelve o’clock sharp, to celebrate our anniversary!]**
**[Honey, don’t be mad. I love my wife the most!]**
I still didn’t reply.
It was already past one o’clock.
Daniel had clearly run out of patience:
**[?]**
**[Are you seriously mad? There’s no need for this. All these years of our relationship, just because I didn’t pick you up? ]**
**[Where are you? I’ll come find you. Why is your temper getting worse and worse lately?]**
Just as Daniel called me,
Mr. Davis, my lawyer, arrived.
3:42 pm DSS
pm;
<
He walked straight up to Daniel:
“Mr. Miller, I presume?”
“I’m Mr. Davis, a lawyer. Ms. Amelia Wei has retained me to discuss divorce proceedings with you.”
Daniel frowned, looking utterly bewildered:
“Divorce? What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Where is she? She’s not replying to messages, not answering calls.”
After a few rings,
I answered the phone.
Daniel immediately put it on speaker, his tone hostile as he interrogated me:
“Amelia Wei, what exactly do you mean by this?!”
“Just because I didn’t pick you up yesterday, you want a divorce? How many times have I told you, the company servers had issues! It wasn’t that I didn’t want to pick you up, I simply couldn’t leave.”
“Today is our wedding anniversary. Do you really have to blow things out of proportion like this and make such a scene?”
His tone was aggressive.
But perhaps it was because I had completely given up hope, I felt extraordinarily calm in
comparison.
I no longer tried to play along.
Instead, I completely ripped off the band-aid, speaking without mercy:
“Daniel Miller, were the company servers set up on Chloe Hayes’s bed?”
“Was cheating on your wife stimulating?”
3:42 pm
