His Secret Wedding Photo, I Left Him

Lily's POV: I dug up a wedding photo of my husband and my worst enemy, tucked away in a corner of our home. In the picture, their faces are pressed close in an affectionate pose, no trace left of the sharp, hostile tension that used to crackle between them whenever they crossed paths. Turns out, they had hidden their sweet, loving relationship from me for almost an entire decade. I snapped a photo of the print with my phone, then put it back exactly where I had found it. The wedding photo was perfectly spotless, even though it was tucked away in the dust-choked attic. Anyone could tell it was pulled out and looked at all the time. Only the two of us lived in this house year-round. It did not take a genius to figure out who kept coming up here to gaze at it. Back in college, Sean had been the top student in the physics program, and the woman in that photo was Jessica, the girl everyone in our cohort joked was the "perpetual runner-up." The two of them were infamous bitter rivals back then. Neither would back down, not even to save their own lives. Though they shared the same major, they would walk right past each other on campus like total strangers. Who would have guessed that, behind closed doors, their bond had long since outgrown friendship, and run deeper than most romantic relationships ever did? My gaze drifted to the date stamped in the bottom left corner: July 27, 2015. The second year of our marriage. I pulled up my chat history with Sean. Sure enough, like clockwork, every single year on this exact date, he sent me the very same message: Sean: Babe, I have to work late tonight. I won't be home for dinner. Love you. Every time he stumbled home late, he would make a beeline straight for the bathroom to shower. When he came out, he would crawl under the covers, act all soft and clingy, and complain about how brutal his day had been. I never doubted him for a second. He had once told me he would never lie to me, after all, and I had believed him. Looking back now, it was all just a sad, transparent cover-up. 'Tomorrow is July 27 again. Sean would probably make his usual plans to slip away,' I thought. I took a few deep breaths to steady my racing heart, then tucked the photo back in its hiding spot, leaving not a thing out of place. When I got downstairs, I drafted a divorce agreement, signed my name, and slipped it into the drawer of our bedside table. I cooked dinner as I always did, and waited for Sean to come home. At the table, Sean rambled on about trivial, random things as he ate, until he quickly noticed I was a million miles away. "Lily? You okay? Are you feeling sick?" he asked, his voice soft with what sounded like concern. I set down my fork with a quiet click. I had barely touched my food. I looked him dead in the eye. "I heard they renovated the sports field at State University. I want to go back and see it." State University was our old college, the very place where we had started dating. At that, Sean let out a visible sigh of relief and grinned. "That's what's had you spaced out this whole meal? Whenever you want to go, I'll come with you." "Tomorrow," I said, slow, deliberate. The smile froze right on his face. "Is that a problem? Or do you have to work late tomorrow?" My tone was ice-cold, not a flicker of feeling seeping through. I could see cold sweat beading clearly on his forehead. Tomorrow was the weekend. No one had to go to work. He probably planned to claim some last-minute work emergency popped up, but right now, he could hardly pretend he knew something would come out of nowhere. So he clamped his jaw and forced out the words. "Sure. Tomorrow it is." That night, Sean was clearly on edge. He spent hours hunched over his phone, firing off nonstop texts. I pretended not to notice. I pushed down the sharp urge to pull out the divorce agreement and make him sign it right then and there. When I woke up the next morning, Sean was already gone. There was a note left for me on the dining table. Honey, there was a critical data error. My boss called me in the middle of the night to fix it. I'll come straight home to you once I'm done. - Sean My fingertips trembled slightly as I clutched the paper. I texted Sean. Lily: I'm waiting for you at the main gate of State University. Sean, who always replied in two seconds flat, went radio silent. I stood at the university entrance for two whole hours. Then the skies opened up, and a torrential downpour hit. Every call I made went straight to voicemail. First it was, "The person you are calling is unavailable right now." Then it switched to, "The number you have dialed is switched off." At that moment, my mind was clearer than it had ever been in my life. I pulled out my phone and sent him one final message. Lily: Sean, let's get a divorce.