ONE NIGHT CHRISTMAS TO FOREVER

CALISTA. Three Days Before Christmas, San Diego. Red high heels at the entrance of the house. A maroon woman handbag on the sofa. Two bottles of alcohol and two shot glasses lying on the living room table—there was a lipstick mark on one of the shot glasses. Panties... of a woman. My heart pounded even faster after seeing all that things in my living room. My body froze for a moment, then relaxed to the point of almost falling over, but I managed to rest on the wall. "What... is my husband doing?" I muttered softly, scanning all the irregularities before my eyes. I had just gotten home from work. I already had an envelope in my hand, containing the pregnancy test results, and I was about to give this to my husband. "Is he out partying with his friends?" I muttered, trying to find a positive possibility. In a slight daze, I walked over to the table, a little afraid to take a closer look at one of the slurries. My guess was right. It became more and more obvious that something printed on the lip of the glass was a woman's lipstick mark. "What... just happened?" I muttered softly. Various bad thoughts suddenly invaded my head. I tried to deny it. Could it be that my husband invited his friend over for a party? But there were only two slugs; a woman's lipstick; and a woman's panties. Did my husband only invite his female friends? My curiosity grew. I immediately stepped slowly into my master bedroom. I didn't understand why my gut feeling told me to go there. With every step closer to the main room, I felt a mixture of fear and worry. It was as if I was making a bet: would my bad feeling be right or wrong? "Aahh... faster, baby! Ahh... I want you... to f**k me more!!!" "You're so damn sexy, Darling! Ahh... do you wanna c*m now?" I forced my way into the main room, despite hearing a faint conversation. Of course I knew it was a woman and a man sighing. The closer I got, the more I could hear the sighs in the room very clearly. Tears began to well up in my eyes, preparing to fall for the terrible things I was about to face. When I arrived in front of my master room, the door was slightly ajar. I tried to push the door slowly while peeking into the room. I had hoped that I would find something else, not the bad things that had crossed my mind. "Darling, you're so beautiful! I imagine... ahh! I wanna c*m! Do you want me to c*m in you?" "Yes, please! Ahh! Ahh! I wanna c*m too, Darling!" "We c*m together, My Love!" Although in truth, I knew the male voice I heard was my husband's. I held myself back for a moment as I heard them throwing sighs at each other, then let loose with passionate satisfaction. 'What are they doing... on my bed?' My hand gripped the doorknob tighter and tighter, I closed my eyes as my heart was wracked with pain. The rhythm of my heartbeat quickened as anger rose in my chest. Slamming the door wide open, I witnessed a heartbreaking scene: on the bed, my husband was f*****g another woman, holding her close. "Calista?!" Damian, my husband, was surprised to see me. He released his embrace and flopped down next to the naked woman. My body froze after learning who the woman on the bed was. The document in my hand fell out of my hand. Tears had already fallen down my cheeks before my body finally trembled. "Camilla?" She's my best friend—someone I've been with for years. She betrayed me! "Wow, you guys..." I lost my words. Furthermore, I was completely silent. I didn't expect to find this out. For all the years of my marriage with Damian, I thought he only gave me all his love. I needed time to digest what I was witnessing. Since when? How could this have happened? Why would they, my husband and my beloved best friend, do this behind my back? "Calista, why are you coming home so early?" Damian asks, his voice snapping me out of my reverie. Damian had already put his pants back on, and now he was rushing over to me. "Calista—" "Don't touch me, asshole," I said, immediately throwing my hands away. Damian is surprised by my reaction. We were both silent: I gave him a fierce look, and he now looked like a fool. "Calista, I hope you're not mad. We were just playing, this didn't happen on purpose," Camilla interjected. I saw Camilla put on a pitiable expression. But for some reason, I felt odd about her expression. It seemed... insincere. "Asshole? Hey, how dare you call your husband an 'asshole'?" Damian protested. I looked at Damian sarcastically. My heart throbbed painfully at the look on his face. "So what, I'm supposed to call you a bastard after you've made love, on our bed and in our room, with another woman?" I retorted. Damian scrunched up his waist as he threw his face away. He looks exasperated at me. "This is what pisses me off about you, Calista. You're a woman who disrespects me, is defiant, and can't make me feel loved," Damian suddenly blasted me in protest. "Do you know how long I held back my frustration to you? Do you feel better than me because you're working now, while my business has gone bankrupt?" "I never thought of it that way, Damian!" I denied immediately. Damian was silent, he seemed surprised by my rebuttal. "Gosh, you betrayed me and now you're blaming me? You're the only one at fault here! What, never felt loved?" I then let out a long breath. "Did you ever give me your love? All those years I was with you, I begged for your love, accepted everything you gave me even if it was just the bare minimum love!" I continued. SLAP! A slap landed on my cheek, sending my face flying. I held my heated cheek and fell completely silent. This hurts. For years I had convinced myself that Damian would treat me better. Yet, after all I've given, this is what I get? "Calista! Oh my God, Damian, what are you doing?" Camilla's voice rang out. Hasty footsteps approached. I saw Camilla was already in front of me, wanting to examine my cheek, but I shook off her hand. "I don't want to be touched by you, Camilla. You're a traitor," I said. Camilla lowered her hand, giving me a disappointed look. "Calista, why are you calling me that? I told you, this wasn't intentional." "No, we did this on purpose," Damian argued later. Camilla glared at Damian, while I furrowed my brow. "I'm grateful that you saw this happen, Calista. I don't need to go to the trouble of explaining it to you," Damian said again, then he walked over to the nightstand. Damian picked up an envelope document. Once it was in front of me, he handed me the document. "We're divorced, Calista. Ever since I was set up with you, I couldn't love you. At times, I had to pretend to love you." I let out a cynical laugh. Secretly, I was laughing at my own miserable fate. All images of a happy marriage vanished instantly. I placed so much trust in the two of them. Almost half of my life relied on them. Of all the things they could do, they betrayed me. "Come on, sign this document!" Damian suddenly pulled on my hand. I put up no resistance. In front of the nightstand, after Damian pushed my body and placed the document and pen, I signed our divorce document. After that, I stepped out of the room, but I stopped in front of Camilla. I looked at her with my tears falling steadily down my cheeks. "You happy, Camilla?" I asked. Camilla exhaled. "I don't feel guilty, Calista. I may be your best friend, but we love each other." "Yeah, go for him. I'm giving my junk to you."