My Wife's Betrayal: I Chose to Forget the Scars and Divorce

No wonder she used to blow up at me. But now, I was done playing that game.

Iris didn't head straight to bed after taking off her coat. She just stood by the bed, watching me.

She looked like she wanted to say something. I wasn't in the mood to talk.

Iris finally spoke, "Albert, sorry about today.

Gavin was drunk, and no one else could pick him up, so I..."

Her words broke the silence, tinged with guilt. But it just annoyed me.

"Yeah, got it. Let's sleep," I said.

My indifferent response seemed to catch Iris off guard. She stopped talking.

3

Next morning, I woke up to find Iris had made breakfast and was waiting for me.

She slid the toast towards me when she saw me.

The toast was a bit burnt. Iris chuckled awkwardly and said, "This is my first time making breakfast. Just eat it, okay?"

I nodded and bit into the toast. We both sat there quietly.

I used to do all the cooking when we first got married, even handled all the chores.

But eventually, Iris complained my breakfasts were too boring.

She'd snapped one day, "It's the same stuff every day. I'm sick of it. Don't bother with mine anymore!"

Later, I found out she'd been grabbing breakfast with Gavin instead.

Since then, I stopped cooking in the mornings and just picked up something quick near work. It saved time.

I never thought I'd see the day Iris would cook.

She kept looking at me, then finally said, "Albert, sorry. I stood you up yesterday. The car show's still on today, right? How about I go with you?"

I set down the toast, shook my head, and said, "Don't bother."

I stood up to grab my coat and head out.

Iris came after me, looking worried, trying to make up for yesterday.

"Why not? Isn't the car show running for a few more days?" she asked.

I looked at her and said flatly, "It ended yesterday."

Iris froze. She never cared about cars and didn't know I'd been working extra just to make time for the car show. And still, I missed it.

As I turned to leave, I saw tears in Iris' eyes.

She stopped me, stumbling over her words trying to explain.

Iris said, "Albert, were you upset last night?

There's nothing going on with Gavin and me. We split up years ago. We're just friends now. He was just really drunk yesterday, and I was worried about him, so I..."

"I know," I cut her off with a smile, "Being drunk is dangerous. I get you're just friends. I didn't overthink it. Okay, I've got to head to work now."

I pretended not to see the hickey on her neck. I even pretended I hadn't noticed her phone's location at the hotel last night.

So, I didn't ask why she came home at 2 a.m.

Anyway, none of that mattered anymore.

4

I got assigned a business trip at work.

My boss patted my shoulder, saying if I nailed this trip, a promotion was just around the corner.

When I got home, I started to pack but knocked over a box next to my suitcase, spilling its contents.

As I picked things up, I found a book filled with photos.

They were all of Iris and her ex, Gavin. Some were from their trips, some from fooling around on a college field, and a few were of them kissing under the stars.

Those photos were snapshots of their young love.

I remembered finding these photos right after Iris and I married.

I was so jealous, and I asked her to throw them out. She agreed.

I didn't expect that she still kept these after three years of marriage.

Three years later, she still had them. She'd sometimes pull out that book and flip through it.

I put everything back quietly and then heard Iris' muffled voice.

"Heading out for your trip?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, without looking back, continuing with my packing.

Iris looked at the photos I'd just put away and said with guilt, "Albert, I'll go throw these out now!"

I stopped her. "No need. They're your amiable memories. It's okay to keep them."

My tone was flat, casual, like it didn't matter.