Our Anniversary, I Rejected Him

Chapter 5

David's business seemed to be booming lately.

Just days after his project hit a major milestone, he invited me to a banquet.

I'd meant to turn him down flat, but he kept badgering me nonstop until I got so annoyed I finally agreed.

"I already told you I'll stick by your side the whole time. That's why I want you to come with me. I can even introduce you to all our partners, yeah?"

Once we stepped into the banquet hall, the female secretary from the partner company locked eyes on me, and mumbled to herself like she was watching a juicy drama unfold.

"Wait, the woman he brought to the contract signing last time didn't look like this at all!"

David's face went rigid instantly. He'd definitely heard the remark too.

Right then, my boss called. He told me I needed to head into the office that night to hand off my current projects to the new hire.

I agreed immediately.

When I hung up, David's expression darkened right away. He frowned and snapped.

"What kind of emergency can't wait? Can't you just tell them you're busy tonight?"

I didn't hesitate for a second. "No, I can't."

Once upon a time, I'd needed him just as badly. But nine times out of ten when I called him, he'd brushed me off, saying he was swamped with work.

When our daughter Alexa got sick, I'd pulled an all-nighter alone at the hospital with her, then rushed straight to work first thing the next morning.

I'd even worried the cafeteria food at his company was too greasy and bad for his health, so I'd cook him homemade meals and drop them off myself.

But what did I get for it? He called me a nuisance, said I was distracting him from his work.

And the final straw? I'd asked him to pick up the kid just once because I had a last-minute work emergency, and that one request led to the most devastating outcome I could have imagined.

I almost burst out laughing right there.

What, does David really think I'm gonna drop my own responsibilities for some stupid company banquet of his now? Please.

His fingers tightened so hard around his wine glass I half expected the glass to shatter. He was clearly furious, voice sharp as he bit out.

"You've been nagging me forever about me and Anne, saying there's something going on between us. Now I'm finally bringing you out in public with me, and you're bailing? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I didn't bother answering. I just turned on my heel and walked straight out of the banquet hall doors.

From now on, he could bring whoever he wanted to these stupid events. I didn't care anymore. Not one bit.

After I finished handing off all my work to the new hire at the office, I headed straight home.

My boss told me my flight was booked for next week.

When I heard that, a huge, unexpected weight lifted off my chest.

Right then, my friend who's always in the know sent me a random video clip.

In the video, David and Anne were being egged on by the crowd to drink a wedding-style linked-arm toast. Anne was grinning from ear to ear, her whole face glowing with pure, giddy happiness.

I asked my friend where she'd gotten the video. She said the secretary of BluePeak Technologies' general manager had posted it on a public social media platform.

I logged onto the app. The comment section was already blowing up with speculation, though the post hadn't gone fully viral yet.

A: [Wait, the wife of Williams Corporation's boss doesn't look like this, right?]

B: [Nah, that's definitely the wife, right? The other one you guys are thinking of is probably the mistress.]

C: [Wait, so who's actually the real wife here? I'm confused!]

I snorted coldly, snapped a photo of our marriage certificate, and posted it directly in the comment section. That instantly shut everyone up.

After a beat, I forwarded the video and the whole comment thread to David.

When I pulled the post back up a second later, it was gone, deleted right off the platform by that secretary.

It didn't take long for David's call to blow up my phone.

His voice was shaky, tripping over itself to make excuses, "That was just a dumb truth or dare game! Everyone was egging us on, it was all a joke!

"I have no idea what's wrong with President Lay's secretary! She had no business posting that garbage out of nowhere! I have already talked to President Lay, I'm making sure she gets properly reprimanded for this!"

I just gave a lazy, disinterested "oh". I never would've guessed he'd actually hand the phone over to Anne right then.

She sounded like she was trying to apologize, but I could pick up the smug little lilt under every single word, obvious as anything.

"Olivia, please don't get the wrong idea! This is such a common game at parties, we play it all the time. It's just to liven up the mood, you know, a few drinks, that's all! There's really nothing going on between David and me!"

Faintly, I heard another voice crackle through the line in the background. "Bringing the mistress instead of the wife is all the rage these days, huh? Didn't think mistresses were bold enough to act like the actual wife these days, though."

It had to be that secretary.

I heard David roar, "Shut up!" so loud it made the speaker fizzle and c***k.

Anne's voice immediately started wobbling, thick with fake sobs. "Olivia, you have to believe me..."

I yawned, slow and bored, and said flatly, "Sure. There's nothing going on between you two. Please inform David that I want a divorce."