The mouthwatering aroma of roasted chicken, sizzling spices, and fresh-baked bread filled the cozy dining room. Megan took a step back and admired the table she had set for her anniversary dinner. Candlelight flickered against the silverware, casting a warm glow over the meal she had spent hours preparing. A hopeful smile curled on her lips.
Tonight had to be special. It was their fifth anniversary, after all.
The door swung open. Megan’s heart leaped as she turned to greet her husband. “David, you’re back!” she said excitedly.
David barely looked at her. Instead, his gaze swept over her body, a scowl forming on his face. “What the hell are you even wearing? You look fat in this!”
Megan’s smile faltered. She smoothed down the fabric of her deep red dress, the one she had picked out just for tonight. “Oh… Why? Don’t you like it?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s our anniversary today. Did you forget?”
David clenched his jaw. “Of course not.”
A flicker of hope lit up Megan’s eyes. Maybe he had a surprise planned after all. Her hands trembled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. She had told him countless times how she had dreamed of visiting Paris. Could it be?
But the moment she opened the envelope, her stomach dropped.
The cruel, unforgiving word on the paper blurred through her tears—DIVORCE.
“Tell me it’s a joke,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
David chuckled coldly, his laugh echoing through the room like a knife slicing through her heart. “I don’t joke. Not about this. Because, Megan… I hate you.”
Megan’s hands shook. “Why? What did I do?”
David scoffed. “Just look at yourself in the mirror, Megan. You’ll find your answer there.”
Tears streamed down her face. “David, please. We can fix this. We can go to therapy—”
“Therapy?” He laughed cruelly. “You’re the one who needs therapy, not me. I’m done with you.”
Megan ran after him as he grabbed his suitcase. “David, please… I love you!” she begged.
But David simply rolled his eyes. “Oh, Megan, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Someone’s waiting for me in the car.”
Megan’s breath hitched. “Who?”
A wicked smirk spread across David’s lips. “Jessica. My secretary. You remember her, don’t you? Always fit, polished, and sexy. Unlike you.”
The words cut deeper than any knife. Megan’s knees buckled. “You… you were cheating on me?”
“Bingo!” David snapped his fingers and swung the door open. “And don’t forget to sign the papers. I expect them on my desk by morning.”
The door slammed shut, leaving Megan in suffocating silence.
For days, Megan was a ghost, floating through her house in a fog of heartbreak. She barely ate. She barely slept. Until one evening, she gathered every wedding photo, every trinket, and every memory of their life together, dumped them in a bucket, and set them ablaze.
A sharp knock on the door startled her. Veronica, her best friend, stood there with an exasperated look. “Meg! I’ve been calling you all week. What’s wrong with you?”
“He’s gone,” Megan choked out. “David left me for his secretary.”
Veronica folded her arms. “David? Well, good riddance! I told you he was a jerk, didn’t I?”
“You may be right,” Megan whispered. “But how do I move on?”
“You pick up the pieces, sweetheart,” Veronica said firmly. “And you find happiness—the kind that doesn’t depend on a man.”
Megan sighed. “How am I supposed to do that?”
Veronica snatched Megan’s phone and grinned mischievously. “High time you stopped mourning the Titanic and boarded a new ship!” With a few taps, she installed a dating app and handed the phone back.
Megan hesitated. But that night, wrapped in a blanket, she clicked on the app. A message popped up almost immediately.
“Hi, you look gorgeous!”
Her breath hitched.
A few messages later, she found herself talking to a man named Robert—Rob. He was kind, funny, and easy to talk to. When he asked her to dinner, something inside her whispered… say yes.
The evening of the date, Megan stood in front of the mirror. She barely recognized herself. A touch of mascara, a hint of blush, and the soft scent of roses clung to her skin. For the first time in years, she felt… beautiful.
Just as she reached for the doorknob, the past came crashing in.
David.
He stood in her doorway, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down. “Going somewhere tonight?” he asked, his voice laced with jealousy.
Megan clutched her purse tighter. “Just out.”
“Moving on already?” David sneered. “You think I wouldn’t notice this sudden makeover?”
Megan’s phone buzzed. It was Robert, checking if she wanted him to pick her up.
David’s jaw clenched. “No matter who you find, they’ll leave. You’re boring, Megan. Ugly. No amount of makeup can fix that.”
Megan straightened her back, eyes locking onto David’s. “You’re wrong,” she whispered. “I may be broken, but I am not ugly.”
With a final look of disgust, David stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Megan took a deep breath, wiped away a tear, and walked outside to meet Robert.
Months passed. Megan and Robert’s love grew stronger. One evening, as they dined in a luxurious restaurant, an unwelcome voice shattered the air.
“Megan?”
Megan turned. David.
“Hi, David,” she said, keeping her voice even.
David hesitated. “You look… great.”
“I’m doing well,” she replied. “And you?”
David sighed. “Jessica and I… we’re separating.”
“I’m sorry,” Megan said, though she felt nothing.
“Don’t be. I deserved this,” he admitted, his voice filled with regret. “Leaving you… biggest mistake of my life.”
Before Megan could respond, a familiar voice cut in. “Excuse me, may I help you?”
David turned, his eyes narrowing. “Who the hell are you?”
Robert smiled, slipping an arm around Megan’s waist. “I’m Rob. Megan’s fiancé.”
David’s face turned pale.
Megan laced her fingers with Robert’s. “Actually, David, we’re getting married soon.”
David opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Robert grinned at Megan. “Ready to go, beautiful?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling warmly. “Let’s go, honey.”
As Megan walked away, hand in hand with Robert, she didn’t bother looking back. David was nothing more than a lesson—a painful past that had finally, beautifully, been left behind.
