I never expected my marriage to end while I was scrubbing glitter off a windshield.

But there I was, standing in my driveway, wrist cramping and covered in tiny, iridescent flecks that clung to my skin like a bad omen.

A car covered in glitter | Source: Midjourney

The morning sun turned Liam's car into a disco ball, and no matter how much I wiped, the glitter just would not budge.

It was in the wipers. It was in the cracks of the hood. It was in the side mirrors. Goodness, I think some had permanently fused to the paint.

And I knew exactly who to blame.

Mark.

A woman holding a sponge | Source: Midjourney

Mark was my husband's arch-nemesis. He was the bane of Liam's suburban existence. He was the man that my husband despised with an intensity usually reserved for cheating spouses and tax fraud.

"I really cannot stand that guy, Sav," Liam said. "I don't know what else to tell you. But he's... he makes me want to throw things!"

Their latest fight had been over a misdelivered Amazon package. A simple, easily fixable mistake.

Except for the tiny fact that Liam had decided that Mark had stolen the package. And, in turn, Mark had decided that Liam was an "insufferable jackass," and now, here we were.

A package on a porch | Source: Midjourney

I scrubbed harder, cursing the entire situation under my breath while the speaker blared out pop songs. I put music on, hoping to get me into the groove of cleaning, but the more I scrubbed, the more I wanted to trash the entire car instead.

"Of all the things in the world... glitter? What happened to water balloons?" I grumbled.

Then, a voice behind me.

"If I were you, I'd cover his car in glitter too, Savannah."

A bucket of water balloons | Source: Midjourney

I turned, startled.

Claire.

She was from three doors down and was always watching, always knowing things that she shouldn't. And to make it even worse?

She constantly had this sly smirk pasted on her face like she was in on a joke the rest of us had missed.

I frowned, throwing the sponge into a bucket of water at my feet.

A woman standing outside | Source: Midjourney

"What do you mean? It wasn't me. I thought it was Mark, you know how he and Liam are."

Her smirk didn't fade. If anything, it got deeper.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

I straightened. There was something about her tone that made my stomach tighten.

"What do you know, Claire?" I asked.

An upset woman standing outside | Source: Midjourney

She hesitated, her eyes scanning my face like she was weighing whether to drop a bombshell or not. Then, with a sigh, she leaned in.

"Everyone knows, honey. Your husband didn't just buy this house because of the view."

My grip on the rag I was holding tightened.

"What?"

Claire lowered her voice, her eyes scanning the road before she spoke.

The exterior of a house | Source: Midjourney

"Your neighbor's wife? Emily? She's his high school love. As in his high school sweetheart! That's why Liam hates Mark. That's why you've had nothing but problems with them. And..."

She tilted her head as if she was trying to get a memory to shake itself into place.

"A couple of days ago, someone saw them hugging on your porch."

A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney

My breath caught in my chest.

No, that wasn't possible. Liam had never mentioned an Emily before. But my brain betrayed me, flashing back:

To the way his jaw clenched whenever Mark was around.

To the way he bristled when I brought up their house.

To the way he never had a real reason for hating the guy.

"You're lying, Claire," I said. "This is one of those moments where you're trying to act as if you know more than the rest of us."

A man looking out of a window | Source: Midjourney

"Darling, believe what you want. But I'd say that you've been fighting the wrong enemy," she said.

"Then how do you know?"

Claire looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Do you remember the barbecue dinner we all had a few weeks ago? You came late, brought s'mores and wine?"

I nodded.

A barbecue evening | Source: Midjourney

"Emily was... tipsy. And she let it slip. Liam was playing ball with the other guys, so I don't think he knows that it's common knowledge now, either."

I couldn't believe my ears.

Then, with a pointed glance at Liam's glitter-covered car, she smiled.

"And let's just say... some of us don't appreciate cheaters."

Then, she walked away, leaving me standing there, hands covered in glitter and my entire world shifting.

A car covered in glitter | Source: Midjourney

That evening, I waited. I sat on the porch with a bowl of cut fruit and waited for Liam to pull in. He had been carpooling with one of the other neighbors recently.

Liam came home, stepping past his glitter-bombed car like he hadn't just won "Most Likely to Be Attacked by Craft Supplies."

He had no reaction.

A woman holding a bowl of fruit | Source: Midjourney

That told me everything.

I followed him inside, heartbeat steady, stomach like lead.

Then, one word.

"Emily," I said simply.

Liam froze.

There was a beat of silence.

"What about Emily? And what's for dinner, Savannah? I'm starving."

A man standing on a porch | Source: Midjourney

"Speak," I said. "Tell me about her."

"What about her?" he asked.

"You tell me!" I said, almost shouting.

Slowly, my husband turned to me, his face carefully blank. But his shoulders were stiff. His hands curled slightly at his sides.

Guilty.

"Who told you?" he asked.

A man standing in a hallway | Source: Midjourney

Not no. Not what are you talking about?

Just who told you.

My stomach twisted. I kept my voice level.

"So, it's true?"

A long exhale. Then, finally, he nodded.

"Yeah." His gaze flickered away.

An upset woman standing in a hallway | Source: Midjourney

"She was my first love. We were together all through high school. I didn't know she lived here until we moved in after our honeymoon. And yeah... that's why I can't stand her husband. He doesn't deserve her."

My blood ran cold.

He doesn't deserve her.

Not I love you. Not This is a mistake. Not even I'm sorry.

Just resentment toward another man.

"And hugging her on the porch?" I asked.

A couple on a porch | Source: Midjourney

He hesitated.

"It was just..."

I smiled.

"Savannah?" Liam stopped mid-sentence, confused by my smile.

I turned and walked straight out the door. I felt so stupid. So foolish. Unworthy.

Mark opened the door, eyes wary, probably expecting another screaming match. Instead, I smiled again.

A woman walking out of a house | Source: Midjourney

"Our spouses are complete idiots. Don't they know that suburban life comes with nosy neighbors and gossip queens?"

Mark blinked, completely confused.

"I... what? What are you on about, Savannah?"

"I know everything, Mark," I said, stepping inside his home. "And I have an idea."

It took exactly three days for us to drain our savings accounts. Mine was a joint account with Liam. And I wanted to take everything we had in there.

A man standing in a doorway | Source: Midjourney

A trip to the Maldives, first class, all-inclusive, every luxury you could think of.

Mark stood in the airport and looked at me.

"Are we really doing this?"

"I don't know about you, but I've spent too much time being the fool in someone else's story. And to think that Liam and my third anniversary is coming up."

That was all it took.

A man standing in an airport | Source: Midjourney

We sent the confirmation emails to Liam and Emily from the airport.

Liam's only response?

You can't be serious, Savannah.

Emily didn't even reply to Mark.

For two glorious weeks, Mark and I ate, laughed, and lived like royalty.

Every sunset, we took a stunning picture.

Every expensive meal, we made sure to document.

Every ridiculous luxury, we flaunted.

A beautiful sunset | Source: Midjourney

We posted it all online, with the most passive-aggressive captions imaginable. But it was all a façade.

On one hand, it was freeing. But on the other hand, I felt... like I was trying too hard.

One day, Mark and I were sitting at the hotel bar, a bottle of whiskey sitting between us, and we were just... talking.

Mark poured himself another drink, his movements slow, almost absentminded. He had barely spoken since we got to the hotel bar, just small nods and hums and the occasional dry chuckle when I made some offhand remark about our ridiculous situation.

A hotel bar | Source: Midjourney

Now, finally, he spoke.

"I keep thinking about the first time I met Emily," he murmured, swirling his glass. "We were in college. She was different then. So open. So certain of us. And now, looking back, I wonder if I was just convenient."

I leaned back in my chair, watching the way his fingers traced the rim of his glass.

"Convenient how?" I asked.

"I loved her like she was my entire world, you know? And I think she liked that. Liked being the center of it. But love like that?" He shook his head. "It makes you blind to everything."

A glass of whiskey | Source: Midjourney

"You weren't blind, Mark. You just trusted her. That's not a flaw."

His jaw tightened, his laugh humorless.

"Tell that to the guy who spent years thinking he had a happy marriage, only to find out his wife's ex-boyfriend moved in two doors down and that's what made her start pulling away."

I swallowed, looking down at my hands.

A woman sitting at a bar | Source: Midjourney

"At least you got some warning signs, though."

"What do you mean, Savannah?" he asked, frowning.

I hesitated, the words thick in my throat.

"Liam... he never gave me a reason to doubt him. Not once. And that's the worst part." I exhaled. "I didn't get a slow unraveling. I didn't get late nights at the office, or forgotten anniversaries, or a shift in his touch. I got glitter on a car and a neighbor with a smirk and a secret, telling me my entire marriage was a joke."

A woman sitting at a bar | Source: Midjourney

Mark was quiet for a long moment.

"If you could go back... to before you knew... would you want to?"

I thought about it. About the quiet mornings, the small laughs, and the way I had felt safe. And then I thought about the truth, about the weight of being unwanted, of being someone's second choice and never even knowing it.

"No, I'd rather know," I said.

Mark studied me for a moment, then lifted his glass.

"To knowing, then."

I clinked my glass against his, and for the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.

A woman sitting at a bar | Source: Midjourney

Later, when the trip was over and I was sitting in my sister's apartment, I waited until everything was signed.

Until the divorce was official, until our accounts were separated, until there was nothing left of us but paperwork and memories.

Then, and only then, I called Liam.

"What?" he asked, answering on the third ring.

No hello, Savannah? No hello, how have you been?

A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

"What do you want?" he sighed.

"I wanted to say something to you. And for once, I don't want you to cut me off or deflect or pretend you're the smartest person in the room. I just want you to listen."

Silence.

"Fine, Savannah."

A man talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

"You once told me that Mark didn't deserve Emily. That he wasn't good enough for her. And I realized something after you said that," I said, moving to the kitchen.

Liam didn't respond, but I could feel his tension through the phone.

"You didn't hate Mark because he mistreated her. You hated him because he got to love her and you didn't. You spent our entire marriage resenting a man for having the life you wanted. And the worst part? You let me believe that you chose me in this lifetime. You let me stand beside you, sleep beside you, build a life with you, and all the while, your heart was somewhere else."

"Savannah," he said.

A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

"No, I'm not done," I said, cutting him short.

I pressed forward, my voice strong, unwavering.

"You didn't just betray me, Liam. You stole my right to choose. If you had told me about Emily from the start, I would have walked away. But instead, you lied by omission. You let me believe that I was your only choice, when, really, I was just the easier one."

"I did love you," Liam said.

"Well, not enough, huh?" I said.

A man talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

I heard him inhale like he was about to say something, maybe an apology, maybe an excuse. But I didn't care anymore.

I hung up. I set my phone down. I poured myself a glass of wine.

And then I smiled, because for the first time in a long time, I was free. And I had Claire to thank for the glitter bomb, too. Apparently her nosy watching from behind curtains had taught her that some people needed to learn a few lessons.

"Especially cheaters, Savannah."

A woman standing on a balcony | Source: Midjourney

What would you have done?

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When Sabine's husband invites his "work wife" to their Valentine's dinner, she plays along but not without a plan. Enter Mark, her charming "home husband." As tensions rise and truths unravel over dinner, Sabine delivers a masterclass in petty revenge that Chris will never forget.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.