My wife and first love were reunited

At our high school reunion, my wife, Sarah, nonchalantly ate a bite of cake offered by her first love, David. The room erupted in hoots and hollers, everyone staring at me, waiting for my reaction. But instead of losing it, I pulled out my phone, turned on the flash, and started snapping pictures. "You guys are adorable," I said, grinning. "Do a peace sign! I gotta post this online. Everyone needs to see this."

Sarah had just taken a bite of David's half-eaten red velvet cupcake – the same little green plastic fork, still smeared with cream cheese frosting, that he'd just had in his mouth. It made my stomach churn. All I could think about was how Sarah claimed to have a germ phobia. Once, I’d accidentally used my chopsticks to give her a shrimp, and she’d flipped out. "Ethan! Don’t you know how gross saliva is? It's full of bacteria!" she’d yelled. But apparently, David's saliva was purified spring water.

The room was buzzing, teasing David about wanting to rekindle an old flame. He sat next to Sarah, blushing and giggling. "Don't be silly," he said, glancing at me. "She's married, you know." Then, looking directly at me, he added, "Ethan, right? Just a joke, man. You’re not mad, are you?"

Everyone’s eyes were on me, full of mockery. I felt like I was on display. Sarah had dragged me to this reunion, insisting I needed to meet her old friends. But the moment we arrived, she'd made a beeline for David, leaving me stranded at a table with strangers, completely ignored. All night, they’d reminisced about inside jokes and college adventures I had no part in. They kept bringing up Sarah and David's "epic" college romance, conveniently forgetting I was sitting right there.

And Sarah? She lapped it up, oblivious to – or maybe just ignoring – how uncomfortable it was making me.

Honestly, a year ago, I would have lost it. I would have been jealous and furious. I might have even punched David. But now? Numbness. A hollow feeling of… inevitability. Maybe this was what people meant by a broken heart.

Before I could process anything, Sarah snapped at me, her voice sharp. "Ethan, what's with the long face? You're ruining everyone's fun."

I looked at her, seeing nothing but disgust in her beautiful face. David stood up, feigning an apology. "Sorry, Ethan, didn't mean to offend you. Just sharing a cupcake, you know? We're old friends. Don’t be jealous.” He looked so wounded, like I was the one being unreasonable.

David had dumped Sarah back in college for a richer girl. He'd broken her heart, then moved abroad. Ironically, after we got married, Sarah's birth parents, who happened to be millionaires, found her. Now she was the heiress, and suddenly, David was back in town, acting like he wanted a second chance. And even more shocking, Sarah seemed to be encouraging him.

I stood up, ignoring the burning stares of the crowd. I knew they were waiting for a meltdown, a jealous outburst. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. I pulled out my phone, the...