Crushed Confidence, Revived Passion

I exited the video and scrolled through Elroy’s TikTok profile, skimming through his posts. Unsurprisingly, every video portrayed him as a long-suffering husband. In every video, I was depicted as a demanding wife who took pleasure in making his life miserable.

One video showed him tearfully facing a table full of food, with the same sorrowful music playing. The caption read: “Spent all afternoon preparing a feast for my wife. But she’s craving lobster, nearly overturned the table. I gave her two hundred dollars so she could go grab some. Guess I’ll just eat this all myself. Don’t want it to go to waste.”

The comments section was full of people cursing me out. I couldn’t help but smirk. The food on that table had actually been prepared by me.

Earlier that evening, Elroy had called and claimed his friends wanted to taste my cooking. He insisted that I have a table full of dishes ready by seven so he wouldn’t lose face.

It was already five when he called and I rushed to the market, bought ingredients and spent over an hour cooking a lavish feast. Just as I sat down to catch my breath, there was a knock at the door.

Elroy walked in alone.

I asked where his friends were and he shrugged nonchalantly. “They had something come up and couldn’t make it.”

“All of them?” I asked, my frustration mounting. It might have been a coincidence if just one person canceled, but for not a single one to show up was clearly intentional.

He avoided my gaze and responded with irritation. “Why are you pissed? It’s not like your cooking is Michelin-star quality. Stop being dramatic.”

His words were harsh and commanding as he flung his shoes aside. “Get my shoes and put them on the rack.”

I managed to keep my expression neutral as I picked up the shoes and then turned to head upstairs to gather my things. When I came back down, I halted at the top of the stairs upon hearing Elroy’s voice coming from the living room.

“Did you see the photos I sent to the group?” Elroy said, his tone full of smug satisfaction. There was a brief pause before he continued, “I told you that cheap woman listens to me. I tell her to go east, she doesn’t dare go west. I told her to make a feast and she did it right away. All of you owe me. A hundred bucks each… hahaha.”

My steps faltered as the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. The whole story about guests coming over and the sudden cancellations—it was all a fabrication. He had been playing me for a fool, using my emotions and my dignity to win bets and make money.

“Elroy!” I snapped, my voice sharp and angry.

I stormed downstairs, reaching for his phone. Elroy, caught off guard by my outburst, jumped and instinctively swatted my hand away. His face darkened with anger. “Have you lost your mind? How dare you yell at me?”

“You called and said we had guests coming. I rushed to the market, bought all the ingredients and cooked as fast as I could. Do you have any idea how frantic and exhausted I was? And it turns out it was all just for your stupid bet. Shame on you, Elroy!”

“Shame on me?” Elroy retorted, his voice rising. “Before pointing fingers, why don’t you look at yourself? We’ve been married for three years and you still haven’t given me a child. Now, whose fault is that?” His expression hardened as he continued, “Look, I really want this marriage to work. But I can’t do it all myself. I can’t keep being understanding when you make a big deal out of everything. If you can’t tolerate the small mistakes I make, then maybe we should end it. Let’s get a divorce!” He squinted at me, his face a mask of bitterness.

“You—”

That night ended with me storming out of the house, unable to endure Elroy’s verbal abuse and humiliation any longer. He used my hard work to paint himself as the victim in his videos, crafting a false image of a devoted husband.

Thinking back to that night when I had come crawling back, apologizing and begging him not to divorce me, I felt a wave of self-loathing. Why had I been so weak? Watching his pathetic videos now, I couldn’t help but smirk. If he wanted attention, I’d give him that and more. When he was at his peak, I’d be the one to bring him down and watch him crash.