True Revenge

My childhood sweetheart of a husband loved to go fishing with his female coworker. For the first three years of our marriage, we fought about it constantly. By the fourth year, I was tired of fighting. I picked up my own rod and tackle box and started leaving early and coming home late, just like him. At first, Ryan didn't care. Not until he came home late one night and found I still wasn't back. He panicked. He begged me, promising he’d never go fishing again, that he’d stay home and be a good husband. But I wasn’t interested anymore. After all, the man I had on my line was Crestwood’s newest resident. The billionaire widower, Arthur Kingsley. 1 I’m a lazy person. Too lazy to find a new boyfriend, so I married my childhood sweetheart, Ryan. It was fine at first. Our families knew each other inside and out, and we’d grown up together. He was handsome in a clean-cut way, had never had a serious girlfriend, and I knew him down to the last freckle. Life after the wedding was pretty good. Until his parents, tired of him lounging around, arranged a job for him. In his department, there was this loud, outgoing girl who was always asking him to hang out. It started with dinners and karaoke, but somehow, they got hooked on night fishing, staying out all night long. Here I was, in the prime of my life, left to warm the bed alone night after night. How could I stand it? When I fought with Ryan about it, he called me dramatic. His coworker, Sarah, would always add fuel to the fire. “Oh, Ryan, you should just go home. It looks like the little wifey will die without a man around.” A few of their single male colleagues would snicker along. I ignored them and tried to pull Ryan home, but he shoved my hand away so hard I nearly fell. “Have you had enough?” he snapped. “Can’t I have one single hobby? I work my ass off for you all day, I help with the chores. I do everything you ask. The one thing I want is a little time to myself, and you have to chase me down and start a fight?” A wave of indignation washed over me. “A little time? You haven’t really been home in a week.” His face was cold. “What are you talking about? I come home to sleep every single night.” “At three in the morning! And then you’re up and gone for work, and you spend the entire weekend with them. We barely even talk anymore.” “That’s because you don’t have any friends. That’s not my problem,” he said, his face a mask of annoyance. “Iris, let me tell you something. We’re married, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen to every single thing you say.” Growing up, Ryan had always been gentle and easygoing. He had no bad habits and had never once lost his temper with me. That’s why I had felt so safe marrying him. But now, just a few years in, he’d learned how to fight with me. Seeing that he was impenetrable, I got angry too. I turned and stormed off. From then on, our life together was a battlefield. He hated my constant questions; I hated that he was never home. We started sleeping in separate rooms and stopped speaking altogether. The large house felt as cold and empty as a morgue. My heart was so heavy that I stopped taking care of myself. In three years, I gained a ton of weight, and my face was perpetually etched with resentment. It all came to a head when my best friend, Jenna, came to town on a business trip. When she saw me, she gasped. “Oh my god, Iris, what happened to you? How did you let yourself get like this?” “Like what?” “See for yourself!” She pulled out a compact mirror. Reflected in it was a washed-out, bitter woman with dull, lifeless eyes. I was so shocked I dropped the mirror on the table with a clatter. “Jesus, what is that thing? Jenna, do you think I’m possessed?” I frantically told her everything about Ryan. She pursed her lips, watching me for a long time, as if she didn't know what to say. “Well?” I poked her impatiently. “Say something! Don’t just stare at me.” Jenna sighed. “It’s just… it’s like getting married turned your brain to mush.” I stared at her, confused. She broke it down for me. “Look, it’s obvious that Sarah girl is bad news. She knows you two are newlyweds, but she’s still dragging him out every single day. And Ryan? He’s playing dumb. You think he doesn’t know he should be home with his wife at night? Of course he does. He just knows that if he leaves you at home, you won’t do a thing about it.” “How is that possible?” I said, baffled. “I’m beautiful. Isn’t he afraid I’ll find someone else?” Jenna raised an eyebrow. “Have you?” I shook my head immediately. “No. My grandma always said you have to be a good person. Once you’re married, you can’t mess around.” “And there you have it,” she said. “You two grew up together. You know him, and he knows you. He is absolutely certain that your moral code would never let you cheat on him.” It was like a lightbulb went on. “Oh. No wonder he’s so confident just leaving me at home.” Jenna nodded sagely. “Exactly. And he was right, wasn’t he? I bet you can count on one hand the number of times you two have been intimate lately. And even with all that, you haven’t even thought about finding another man. You’re a pushover, Iris.” My fists clenched. “That bastard! How dare he!” She sighed again. “Look, I’m not telling you to go do something crazy. But Iris, at any point in your life, you cannot let a man take you for granted like this. You have to love yourself, too.” 2 After Jenna left, I went home. The large house was cluttered with junk I had bought over the past three years to fill the void. Cheap stuff from online, a few dollars here and there, had managed to fill over a thousand square feet. The place looked like a landfill. To Ryan’s credit, even while ignoring me, he still provided for me. He gave me three thousand dollars from his eight-thousand-dollar monthly salary as spending money. His mother would also give me cash on holidays, telling me to go play Mahjong. That was the only reason I put up with the misery for so long. But after talking to Jenna, I knew this couldn’t continue. I was wasting the best years of my life in this miserable haze. I looked at my reflection in the mirror—puffy, with greasy hair pulled back in a messy t-shirt—and took a long, deep breath. I tied up my hair, grabbed a giant trash bag, and started throwing things away. I worked from noon until night, filling eight enormous bags. The house was suddenly half-empty. The high-calorie junk food in the pantry, the cheap clothes in the closet, the low-quality makeup on my vanity, and even our wedding photo—all of it went into the trash. When I was done, I boiled two sweet potatoes for dinner. I’d only taken a few bites when the front door opened. Ryan walked in, followed by the impeccably dressed Sarah. She saw me, and her expression didn’t change. “Oh, you’re home,” she said with a smile. “Yeah,” I replied. “What are you doing here?” “Ryan was saying how great his new fishing rod is. I came to borrow it for a test run.” Ryan didn’t even look at me as he walked past and into the other room. Sarah sat down next to me, her eyes on my sweet potatoes. “Why are you eating this cheap stuff? Trying to lose weight?” “Yeah. I’ve gotten too fat. Thought I’d try.” She giggled. “Well, you know, body type is all in the genes. Some people are just born to be big. Starving yourself won’t help. You should just give up. You have any instant noodles? I can make you a bowl.” She started to get up, but I stopped her. “Don’t bother. I threw it all out.” “Why?” “I wasn’t eating it. It was just going to waste.” A flicker of something crossed Sarah’s eyes, but she just smiled. “Alright then. If you’re that determined to lose weight, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” She looked up as Ryan came out of the room and walked over to take the rod from his hand. “Wow, Ryan, this rod really is nice. So thin and light. Come on, I’ve rented a pond on the south side for tonight. Let’s go try it out.” Then she looked back at me with feigned guilt. “Oh, I forgot you were here. Is it okay if I go with Ryan?” Ryan didn’t even consider me anymore. He just smirked. “Why are you asking her? Her opinion doesn’t matter.” Three years hadn’t changed Ryan much, except that he had developed a more mature, masculine charm. That, combined with his well-maintained physique and respectable job, meant that plenty of women besides Sarah were interested in him. He was no longer the innocent boy I had married; the way he looked at Sarah now was tinged with a predatory hunger. I watched them, hating myself for letting a man like this turn me into a ghost of my former self. Ryan glanced at me, his expression dismissive. “I’m leaving. Don’t wait up for dinner.” “Okay.” He started to leave, then turned back. “By the way, I’ll transfer you four thousand this month. We got our quarterly bonus.” “Okay.” 3 With the new balance in my account, I went downstairs and signed up for a gym membership. Thankfully, my in-laws had bought a condo in a great building with all the amenities. After a three-month pass, I still had twenty-nine hundred left. I bought a cartful of whole grains, eggs, and fruit and hauled it all home. Then I looked at my messy, overgrown hair in the mirror and, on an impulse, chopped it all off. For the next three months, I was completely focused on working out. Ryan was gone more often than not, but I barely noticed. After losing over twenty pounds, none of my old clothes fit. I asked Ryan for money to buy a few new things, but he wasn’t as generous as usual. He sent me a string of angry voice messages, yelling at me for wasting money, before finally sending me five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars. If I had married him so I wouldn’t have to struggle, this paltry sum made our entire arrangement feel like a joke. I accepted the money through gritted teeth, my frustration fueling my run on the treadmill. That’s when a man approached me. He was well-dressed and polite, and he asked me out to dinner. I noticed the Rolex on his wrist, and an idea sparked in my mind. That’s right. I married for security, for an easy life. If I wasn’t getting anything out of this relationship, what was the point? It was time to find a replacement. So that night, I went with the man, Mark, to a private fishing farm. It was remote, but the people coming and going all looked wealthy. I didn’t like Mark. He was sleazy, and his eyes kept darting to my chest. Within minutes, the conversation turned to sex. The guy was moving way too fast. He was bad news. My patience wore out, and I got up to leave. Mark grabbed my arm. “Where do you think you’re going? Once you’re in my car, leaving isn’t so easy.” I almost laughed. “This is a civilized society. What are you going to do, stab me?” He wouldn’t let go. “I don’t have to stab you. I have plenty of ways to make you scream.” What a creep. I tried to kick him, but he dodged. I went for his hair, and we caused a commotion. The owner of the farm came over and pulled us apart, dragging Mark to the side. “Hey, man, take it easy tonight. I’ve got a special guest.” Mark scoffed, straightening his shirt. “What kind of guest gets to tell me how to pick up women?” “The chairman of Apex Group. He just arrived. You know his reputation. He doesn’t like noise.” Mark’s face paled. “Apex? You mean Arthur Kingsley?” “The one and only.” “I heard his wife died a few years ago. He moved his whole company to a new city to avoid the bad memories. What’s a widower like him doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” “He’s just trying to relax, get back to nature. Not everyone is like you.” Their voices dropped to a whisper. I got tired of waiting and tried to slip away. Two minutes later, I was completely lost. After several wrong turns, I ended up behind a rock garden. A man in casual clothes was standing there, looking out at the horizon. He heard me and turned his head. Our eyes met, and we both froze. 4 I don’t know why he froze. I froze because… I had never seen a man that handsome in my entire life. To be fair, Ryan was good-looking. But compared to this man, he was nothing. It was his presence, his aura. Just standing there in profile, he made my heart race. I subconsciously licked my lips. “Um…” Arthur Kingsley looked at me. “Yes?” “I… I’m lost. Can you help me?” My brain had turned to mush. It had been too long since I’d seen a man that attractive. His cool gaze swept over me, then he pointed to the right. “That way.” “Oh. Th-thank you.” I was a good distance away before I realized I shouldn’t have just left. This place was in the middle of nowhere. I’d walk my legs off before I got back to the city. But I couldn’t find my way back to him, and if I ran into Mark again, it would be even worse. Just as I was stuck, a car horn beeped behind me. A Bentley pulled up, and the window rolled down. It was him. Arthur didn’t know why he was playing the good Samaritan, but seeing the woman clutching her jacket in the fading light, he opened the passenger door. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.” I slid into the seat. “Thank you, sir,” I said meekly. Arthur’s eyes darkened for a moment, but he said nothing. He drove in silence. I looked at my phone. It was ten o’clock. Not a single message from Ryan. On social media, Sarah had posted another picture of their group. Ryan was leaning in close to her. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were a couple. I sighed, wondering if there was any point in continuing this marriage. Without thinking, I turned to the composed man beside me and asked him. Arthur raised an eyebrow. “You’re asking a complete stranger for marital advice?” “Sometimes a stranger sees things more clearly.” He gave a noncommittal smile. After a long moment, he said, “If you’re asking me, I’d say the problem is that you haven’t figured out what you want from life.” I froze. The man was ruthless.