Bittersweet

When Ethan was at his poorest, he came home drunk after negotiating a deal with a client.

He could not even stand straight when he reached home, but he desperately pulled out two pieces of melting chocolate from his pocket. “Honey, for you! Your favorite!”

During those endless days of arguments that followed, I always thought back to those two pieces of chocolate. They were the reason I compromised with him, fell pregnant for him, even miscarried for him.

It all ended just now, when he forgot to log out of his WhatsApp on his computer.

His friend messaged him. [Hey, your wife doesn’t know Anna joined your company yet, does she?]

[Back when she was about to leave the country, you searched the whole city for her favorite chocolate, but you still couldn’t convince her to stay. After that, you got dead drunk and cried the entire way home.]

[That was when I knew you would never get over her.]

[Ethan, why aren’t you here yet? Anna’s getting impatient.]

[Did you not satisfy her last time?]

The open chat box on Ethan Jones’ computer made me pause. Felix Chase’s profile picture kept flashing.

[Hey, your wife doesn’t know Anna joined your company yet, does she?]

[I can’t believe you made her cry for a few days over something like that.]

[Back when she was about to leave the country, you searched the whole city for her favorite chocolate, but you still couldn’t convince her to stay. After that, you got dead drunk and cried the entire way home.]

[That was when I knew you would never get over her.]

[Luckily for you, she came back.]

[Ethan, if you two get back together, you’ll restore my faith in love.]

I froze. The sweet chocolate in my mouth suddenly tasted bitter.

I did not have a sweet tooth, but I specifically loved this brand of chocolate.

It was all because Ethan used two pieces of chocolate from this brand to win my heart three years ago.

Back then, he was chased out of his house with nothing to his name and struggled to build a company from scratch.

One day, he came home drunk after negotiating a deal with a client.

He could not even stand straight when he reached home, but he desperately pulled out two pieces of melting chocolate from his pocket.

I asked him where he got them, but he did not explain. He just stuffed them into my mouth.

“Honey, for you! Your favorite!”

The chocolate had melted into a sticky mess. His face was covered with sweat, and he wore a silly smile.

Even so, my heart felt warm and fuzzy inside.

The next year, we got married, and his company took off.

The first thing he did was buy the dying chocolate factory. After that, I had all the sweets I could ever want.

Now, however, that sweetness was like poison, sealing off my breath. My chest felt suffocated.

Before the tears could fall, I heard Ethan’s voice.

“What are you looking at, babe?”