It took Arthur three minutes to reply. I didn't know what he thought about during those minutes, but it no longer mattered.
Because his reply was simple: [Beautiful.]
It was my birthday that day. At eleven o'clock, he had just finished working overtime and came back to blow out the birthday candles with me.
When I finished making a wish and looked up, I saw Arthur staring at his phone for a long time.
When I asked him about it, he suddenly turned his head and quickly typed a few words, saying that something had come up at work.
So, there was no overtime.
I could almost see Lyla's satisfied smirk.
It was utterly disgusting.
My hand, clutching the phone, trembled with betrayal and anger, a surge of emotion so strong I could tear them apart.
Arthur and I had been together for seven years since we were twenty and married for three, and this year marked our tenth anniversary.
In ten years of love, our passion rarely faded. Arthur's thoughtfulness and care made me never doubt his sense of responsibility and loyalty.
But now, these chat records were a harsh slap in the face.
Arthur, how could you do this to me?
...
When I loved, I loved deeply, but I tolerated no betrayal.
So, the next day, when Arthur used his old excuse of needing to work late, I simply told him in a calm voice to come home and sign the divorce papers.
A chaos of sounds came through the phone, including a woman's gasp.
Within half an hour, the black Maybach pulled up downstairs, and he hurried up to our apartment.
The living room was filled with my packed suitcases.
I sat on the sofa, a printed divorce agreement on the coffee table in front of me, already signed with my name.
Arthur steadied himself and walked over to me. His voice strained as he tried to suppress his panic.
"Avery, what's going on? What is this all of a sudden?"
"All of a sudden?"
I gave him an ugly smile. "Arthur, stop pretending. You can't play with fire and not get burned.
"I've seen everything."
His body shook, and his facade quickly crumbled.
"Avery, please let me explain."
Arthur lunged forward, grabbing my hand, the composure he always maintained now gone.
I calmly withdrew my hand, wiping the spot he touched, and curled my lips into a smirk.
"Alright, go ahead and explain."
How would he explain? I watched the bewildered Arthur with amusement, finding the situation absurd.