The aroma of sizzling spices hung in the air as Megan set the table with a cocktail, chicken roast, and every delicacy David loved. "Perfect!" she sighed with a smile.

"David, you're back!" Megan exclaimed.

"What the hell are you even wearing? You look fat in this!" David mocked.

"Oh, why? Don't you like this dress, honey? It's our fifth anniversary today," Megan whispered, her voice barely audible like a plea lost in the wind. "Did you forget?"

"Of course not," he clenched his jaws.

A flicker of hope sparkled in Megan's eyes. She thought those were tickets to Paris. She'd told David she wanted to holiday in Paris during Christmas.

"I have something for you," he said. He pulled out an envelope from his pocket.

Blinded by tears, she stumbled forward. "I thought these were the tickets to Paris...what is this?"

The unforgiving and cruel word—DIVORCE—stabbed her eyes. "Tell me it's a joke..." Megan whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

David's laugh echoed in the room like a monstrous bark. "I don't have the time to joke around with you. Because...I hate you."

"Why?" Megan forced a whisper out of her mouth.

"Why?" David scowled. "Just look at yourself in the mirror...you will know why."

"We can fix this," she pleaded, her voice cracking.

"Just packing and leaving today. I'm done with you," he frowned.

"David, please...we can visit a therapist together. Maybe sort things out. I love you..." Megan ran after David, trying to stop him from loading his clothes and essentials into his bag.

"Therapist?" he jeered. "Let me remind you—you're the one who's sick, not me!"

David turned his back and stormed across the hallway with his bag. "I don't owe you explanations. This marriage is over. And I'm finally free," he said, reaching for the door.

"Please, David. Don't leave me," Megan cried.

"No time for your stupid games, alright?" David, his face etched with a cruel indifference, brushed past Megan. "Besides, someone is waiting for me in the car," he continued, his eyes glinting with a strange spark of joy.

Megan choked, her voice barely audible through the fog of tears. "David, who is it? Why are you doing this to me?"

"Look at yourself, Megan," David mocked. "You've lost all that beauty I once adored. Layers of fat have taken over your hourglass figure. Oh, don't get me started now..."

"Jessica!" David continued. "My secretary, remember? Always fit, polished, and sexy!"

"You were... cheating on me?" Megan stammered, tears tracing hot tracks down her pale cheeks. "With your secretary, Jessica?"

"Bingo!" David snapped, his eyes gleaming with sickening joy. "Two tickets, one for me, one for the future I deserve." He grabbed his suitcase and swung the door open.

"And don't forget to sign the divorce papers!" David's voice echoed as he slammed the door shut and left Megan with a suffocating silence.

This isn't the end, Megan whispered after waking up with a start. As the day wore on, Megan gathered her wedding photos and trinkets in an iron bucket. With a trembling hand, she doused them in gasoline and set them ablaze.

Suddenly, a sharp knock startled her. It was her best friend, Veronica. "What's wrong with you, Meg?" she barked. "I've been calling you all week."

"He's gone," Megan choked, the words tumbling out like broken glass. "Left me for another woman."

"David? Well, not surprised, Meg," Veronica said. "He's a jerk! I warned you, didn't I?"

"You may be right," Megan said. "But how do I move on?"

"Honey," Veronica said, sounding concerned, "...you look like hell. You need a doctor. You need help. Stop thinking about that cheater."

"It's not that easy, Veronica. I loved him," uttered Megan while putting her head on Veronica's shoulder. "What do I do now?"

"You pick up the pieces, sweetheart," Veronica smiled, "...and find happiness...the kind that doesn't depend on someone else's validation."

"How am I gonna do that?" uttered a heartbroken Megan.

Veronica snatched Megan's phone, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "High time you stopped mourning the Titanic and boarded a new ship, girl!" With a flurry of taps, she installed a dating app and created a profile that made Megan's breath hitch.

"You deserve to be happy...not whine over some damn guy who deserted you," Veronica winked, pressing the phone into Megan's hand.

That night, sprawled on the couch, Megan clicked on the app, a nervous flutter in her chest.

"Hi, you look gorgeous!" a message suddenly popped up, sending Megan into a tailspin. She was just out of the shower, with only a towel covering her body and under eye patches.

With a panicked swipe, Megan shut down the app, flinging the phone onto the couch.

"Did I scare you off?" a stranger still waiting for her asked in a low rumble as soon as Megan's face appeared on the screen.

"It's…okay," she replied. "I'm just not used to this."

"Neither am I," he laughed. "But hey, who knows, maybe we can get used to it together?"

The man on the other side introduced himself as Robert. "Call me Rob!" he said, holding out his hand.

"Megan," she replied. "Friends call me Meg!"

"Nice to meet you, Meg!" Robert continued as Megan felt herself floating in the air in a fantasy world where butterflies and dandelions were the size of mammoths. "You have such a beautiful smile," he added.

"First timer here…accidentally clicked a button. Next thing I know, I'm streaming live!" Megan laughed, her cheeks hot with embarrassment.

"How about I make it up to you?" he asked, his eyes sparkling. "Dinner tonight?"

"Yes," Megan breathed, her heart skipping a beat.

Robert's smile widened before he winked. "See you at eight, then, at La Café Bean."