The Anniversary Surprise

My phone buzzed on our anniversary, showing a transfer notification of $1,314,000.

My wife, Sarah, posted on her Insta: “Hard work pays off, and so do surprises!”

Staring at this unexpected “surprise,” I was frozen. Because the money wasn't going to me. It was coming out of my account. And the recipient? Her new assistant, Liam, hired six months ago.

“Thanks, Sarah! See you at our spot tonight.”

“Oops, sorry, bro-in-law, wrong text! You won't mind, right?”

I shook my head, a humorless laugh escaping. Mind? No, I didn’t mind, I just felt like strangling someone.

…

Around 2:00 AM, Sarah stumbled through the door, reeking of booze. Before she could even say hi, she slapped me across the face.

“You’re being ridiculous, Mark! Liam earned those bonuses! You sit around doing nothing; what right do you have to complain? Let me tell you something, stay out of company business!”

Her accusatory tone just made me chuckle. On our anniversary, she goes to a hotel with another guy, gets wasted, and sends him over a million dollars while telling me to stay out of it? Seriously, who's being ridiculous?

And what kind of assistant gets a million-dollar bonus six months into the job? Is it because he looks like her dead high school sweetheart?

I'd been waiting up tonight to talk, to figure out what was going on. But seeing her like this just zapped the fight out of me.

I was done.

In the past, no matter what she did, I was always the first to apologize after a fight. I’d naively thought love could change a person. But I'd finally learned that constant sacrifice doesn't move anyone. The only one I'd been fooling was myself.

“Is anyone even home? Why did you make so much food?” Sarah grumbled, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, seemingly forgetting it was our anniversary.

“Oh, nothing. Thought you’d be back. Won't happen again,” I replied flatly.

Sarah's temper flared at my cold response. “What's that supposed to mean, Mark? I'm busting my butt for the company, while you’re here sulking! Can’t you just get over me giving Liam some money? Why can’t you be a man and grow up?”

"Did you forget what day it was yesterday?” I asked, cutting her off.

Caught off guard, Sarah went silent.

“Never mind, doesn’t matter anymore.” I knew she’d react this way. If she remembered, she wouldn't have gotten hammered at a hotel with another dude.

A flicker of guilt crossed her face, but she recovered quickly.

“It was just one anniversary. Fine, we can celebrate tonight, okay? Happy now?” With that, she turned and slammed our bedroom door.

Watching her go, I shook my head again. Six months ago, I’d have been ecstatic. But now, our anniversary just didn't mean anything. Seven years of marriage, ten years together, it all felt like it was just over.

Maybe it was the closure, but for the first time in ages, I actually slept like a log.

The next morning, Sarah was surprisingly up before me, even ordering me breakfast. “I made reservations for lunch. Be ready when ...