Love's Sorrow in the Shadows of Yesterday

On our sixth wedding anniversary, my husband, Walter Owens, said he would surprise me.

I waited for hours on top of the mountain even in the pouring rain, but he never showed up.

However, his childhood sweetheart, Ruby Lee, posted a location at a half-mountain hotel on her social media.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

In the photo, they were lying on a bed covered in rose petals, holding hands.

But Walter's ring finger was empty.

There were several red scratches and shallow tooth marks on his bare chest.

I felt nauseous and commented, "If you get bitten by a dog, remember to go to the hospital."

***

When I saw the photo, my first reaction was that Walter had been unfaithful and I didn't want him anymore.

So when Walter, who had never called me before, called to explain, I simply said a word.

"Divorce."

Walter was silent for a moment.

"Don't be so jealous. Ruby and I have grown up together like siblings. The dirty-minded person is the one who sees everything as dirty.

"Besides, we just happened to meet. It's raining outside, and Ruby is not feeling well. I was afraid something might happen to her, so I brought her to the room to take shelter."

The more he explained, the more guilty he looked.

I impatiently interrupted, "I'm still on top of the mountain."

I had waited for him for three hours and got soaked in the rain for an hour.

There was no place to take shelter on the mountain, and I was too afraid to go down alone.

When Walter heard that I was in danger now, he was a bit worried.

"Wait for me, I'll come get you."

Another hour passed.

I didn't see Walter until the rain stopped, and the mountain path was muddy and difficult to walk on.

Just a few steps in, I got covered in mud all over.

I sneezed several times, and suddenly felt that my heart had sunk into the mud.

It was uncomfortable and nauseating.

After getting home, I took a hot shower.

I saw Ruby post a new update, "I don't care about the heavy rain, my white prince will take me home."

I noticed that Walter, who never liked or commented on my Instagram posts, commented below, "I will always protect my princess."

Refreshing again, there was only a horizontal line left, I didn't know if Walter had blocked me.

I had a terrible headache, so I took a few cold medicine pills and fell asleep deeply.

I didn't sleep for long when I was suddenly woken up by Walter taking off my blanket.

"Why don't you wait for me?

"I'm hungry, get up and cook for me.

"Also prepare a glass of warm milk. Ruby got a little wet, I'll take it to her later."

Suddenly awakened, I felt my head hurt even more.

My tone was impatient. "Didn't Ruby feed you enough?"

Walter stood up suddenly, looking at me with anger.

"Coral Linton! Are you never satisfied? I've already explained everything to you, I came back late because of the traffic jam. Do you really want to make a fuss on our wedding anniversary? I went to a lot of trouble to prepare a surprise for you."

Saying that, Walter threw a small box at me.

The box accidentally hit my eye corner, hurting me so much that tears came down immediately.

He was surprised and a bit panicked as he came to check my wound.

As his hand approached, I smelled a strong fragrance.

This scent was the shampoo that Ruby often used.

I could almost imagine his hand passing through Ruby's hair, with a gentle and affectionate expression.

I pushed him away disgustedly, and my eyes fell on the box on the ground.

The necklace inside fell out, it was the one I had always liked and the one Ruby was wearing.

But the cheap glossy look exposed everything.

In this marriage, Ruby got the real necklace and true love.

What I got was one lie after another.

I didn't even bother to ask him who the surprise in the villa halfway up the mountain was prepared for.

"It's one o'clock in the morning now."

I slowly looked up at Walter and said, "Our sixth anniversary has passed, and our marriage is over."