When My Ex-husband Learned of My Death

The next day, Daniel took a day off. As I left for work in the morning, he was still awake.

Around noon, my phone buzzed with a call. It was Daniel. My husband said that he had made a reservation for the fancy restaurant I had always been wanting to try and he would pick me up after I got off work to celebrate our love anniversary.

Honestly, if it had not been for that call, the significance of the date would have completely slipped my mind.

Later that evening, when I arrived at the restaurant after a long day at work, Daniel was already there. He had even taken the initiative to order the food, ensuring my favorites were included.

As I walked in, he rose like a perfect gentleman, pulling out a chair for me. My favorite pink roses adorned the table and a glass of warm water awaited me. Exactly the way I liked it.

Yes, Daniel was always so thoughtful and attentive. He was truly a perfect husband.

If it were not for that suspicious Instagram post, I truly believe he could have kept this charade going indefinitely and my husband would have been able to hide his affair from me for the rest of his life.

Just as the final dishes were being brought out, Daniel's phone buzzed insistently. He excused himself, his voice laced with a hint of urgency as he explained to me about an urgent surgery needing his immediate presence at the hospital.

I stared at the beautifully presented food, but my appetite had completely gone. So, I just nodded without saying anything else.

If only the female voice on the other end of that phone was not so obviously pretentious, perhaps his sudden "emergency" would have been more believable.

Daniel grabbed his coat hanging on the back of the chair and hurried out the door. Before he left, he tossed a quick, "I already paid the bill."

The second his figure disappeared from the restaurant entrance, I knew what I had to do. Rising from my seat with a newfound resolve, I hailed a taxi, my eyes fixed on the direction his car had vanished.

As we weaved through the bustling city traffic, a whirlwind of thoughts swirled in my head. What would I do if I actually saw him with another woman? The image sent a fresh wave of hurt washing over me.

The taxi ride seemed to stretch on forever until finally, Daniel's car came into view. He pulled over in front of a familiar sight. My husband stopped right in front of the porridge shop where he had gotten me porridge when I had that awful bout of stomachache.

Daniel emerged from the shop moments later, a bag emblazoned with the restaurant's logo clutched in his hand.  He fussed over the bag for a moment, carefully checking its contents to ensure nothing had spilled.

I could not help but wonder, had he ever been this careful when buying porridge for me?