Chapter 1 · My Revenge After My Husband's Drama

Chapter 1

For a full three minutes, my husband held another woman in his arms and kissed her. And he did it right in front of 20 of our former classmates.

Some coughed awkwardly, some pretended to check their phones, and some secretly recorded it.

When my husband finally let go, he looked at me, his eyes daring me.

I took a sip of my wine, stood up, and said, "Suit yourself. Have fun. He doesn't matter to me anymore."

The next day, that video went viral, and everyone was feeling sorry for me. But nobody realized that I was the one who had someone record it.

*****

Three minutes. My husband was all over another woman, kissing her for three straight minutes. And he did it right in front of 20 of our former classmates.

The air in the private room felt suffocating, like someone had their hands around its neck.

Someone coughed. Someone buried their face in their phone. Someone took a shaky sip from their glass.

When Jason Reed finally let go of Alice Foster, there was a lipstick stain on the corner of his mouth.

He looked at me. There was zero guilt, zero panic in his eyes, only pure provocation.

I knew that look way too well. Every time we argued, he'd throw it at me. It said, "So what? What are you gonna do about it?"

'What can I do?' I thought. I grabbed my red wine, took a slow sip, and stood up.

Twenty pairs of eyes locked onto me.

Alice leaned on Jason's shoulder, smiling, but her eyes never left my face as she was waiting for me to crack. She'd been waiting for this moment forever.

"Suit yourself. Have your fun," I said. I set my wine glass down. "He doesn't matter to me anymore."

The room went dead silent for three seconds.

I picked up my bag and walked out. My heels clicked steadily down the hallway, each step calm and sure.

As soon as the elevator doors slid closed, I pulled out my phone. I sent Claire a message: [Did you get it?]

Three seconds later, she replied: [Got it. Three minutes, twelve seconds. Full face. Crystal clear.]

I leaned against the elevator wall and slipped my phone back in my bag.

The next day, that video exploded in all our social circles, including work chats, neighborhood groups, and PTA threads. Everyone was buzzing about it.

They all felt sorry for me.

"Poor Susan, she didn't deserve this."

"How could Jason do that, right in front of so many people?"

"Who does that woman think she is, smiling so smugly?"

But nobody knew I was the one who made sure that video got recorded. Well, to be more precise, I had Claire set up that party.

I'd known about the affair of Jason and Alice for a month already.

That three-minute kiss? It was my present to Jason. He hadn't unwrapped it yet.

The morning after the video went viral, my phone rang 17 times. Every single call was from Jason. I didn't answer a single one.

When the eighteenth call came in, I was out on the balcony watering my plants.

The phone rang for thirty seconds before it finally stopped. Then it started ringing again.

I flipped my phone over and kept watering my plants.

Claire, though, replied to my message. She sent me a bunch of screenshots, asking: [Guess who's roasting Jason in the group chat? His best college buddy, Samuel Carter.]

I opened the screenshots.

Samuel was going off in the group chat: [Jason, are you human? You've got a wife, and you pulled this stunt in front of everyone? What do you take us for?]

Seven or eight people jumped in to back him up. Not a single person stood up for Jason.

Claire sent another message: [Alice deleted three posts from her social media. All those bragging posts from yesterday are gone.]

I didn't reply. That was what I'd foreseen.

My phone rang again, but this time it wasn't Jason. It was my mother-in-law, Maria Reed, calling.

I hesitated for a couple of seconds, then answered.

"Susan, look at what you've done!" Maria yelled.

I held the phone a little further from my ear.

She kept roaring, "Was it you who leaked that video? Are you trying to embarrass this family in front of everyone?"

I waited until she finished yelling before I spoke. "Maria, the one kissing someone else in that video is Jason, not me."

"Don't talk back to me. Every couple has their fights. Couldn't you have kept it between you two? Why did you have to make it public?" she snapped.

"I didn't make it public. There were 20 people at the party. I don't know who recorded it," I shot back.

"Stop playing dumb. Jason said Claire is your close friend, and you two are plotting against him," Maria snorted.

I let out a small laugh. "Maria, he kissed another woman for three minutes, and you're not mad at him. Instead, you're mad at me, huh?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

She continued, "That's still your fault. If you treated him better, would he have gone out to find someone else?"

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "Fine. Then go talk to him about it." I hung up.

My hands didn't shake. My heart didn't ache.

A month ago, the night I found out Jason was cheating, I cried all night. When one side of the pillow got soaked, I flipped it over, and that side got soaked, too.

The next morning, I looked in the mirror and said to myself, "I'm done crying. Time to get down to business."

From that day on, I started making my move.

First, I checked Jason's phone. It wasn't snooping. He had left his phone in the living room while he was in the shower, and the messages popped up on the screen.

It was from Alice: [Miss you. Can you come out tonight?] And she sent a kiss emoji.

I didn't smash his phone or storm into the bathroom to confront him. Instead, I took out my own phone and snapped a photo of the notification. Then I put his phone right back where it was.

That night, Jason went out. He said it was for work.

I said, "Okay."

After he left, I sat on the couch and started thinking. I wasn't considering how to fix things but how to walk away. I wanted to leave clean and with dignity, and I'd take everything that belonged to me.

The next day, I met up with Claire for lunch.

Claire was my college roommate, and she'd been a lawyer for six years.

I showed her the screenshots on my phone.

She looked up at me and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Divorce. But not right now."

"When?"

"When I'm ready."

Claire stared at me for three seconds. "Alright, let me know if you need anything."

From that day on, I spent a whole month getting ready.

Jason had no idea what was going on. He still thought I was the same woman who cooked for him, waited for him to come home, and sometimes complained about him working too much.

What he didn't know was that I kept track of every time and place he met up with Alice. I also checked every house, car, and bank account in his name.

And there were things he thought I didn't know about, such as the 130,000 dollars he owed Alice's brother. Also, I got to know the house he said was in my name, but it wasn't.

I dug up every single one of these things, one by one.

Then I told Claire, "Set up a class reunion. Make sure Alice gets an invite too."

Claire asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I need him to go all out in front of everyone."

"Why?"

"Because the more he goes all out, the cleaner my exit will be."

Chapter 1

For a full three minutes, my husband held another woman in his arms and kissed her. And he did it right in front of 20 of our former classmates.

Some coughed awkwardly, some pretended to check their phones, and some secretly recorded it.

When my husband finally let go, he looked at me, his eyes daring me.

I took a sip of my wine, stood up, and said, "Suit yourself. Have fun. He doesn't matter to me anymore."

The next day, that video went viral, and everyone was feeling sorry for me. But nobody realized that I was the one who had someone record it.

*****

Three minutes. My husband was all over another woman, kissing her for three straight minutes. And he did it right in front of 20 of our former classmates.

The air in the private room felt suffocating, like someone had their hands around its neck.

Someone coughed. Someone buried their face in their phone. Someone took a shaky sip from their glass.

When Jason Reed finally let go of Alice Foster, there was a lipstick stain on the corner of his mouth.

He looked at me. There was zero guilt, zero panic in his eyes, only pure provocation.

I knew that look way too well. Every time we argued, he'd throw it at me. It said, "So what? What are you gonna do about it?"

'What can I do?' I thought. I grabbed my red wine, took a slow sip, and stood up.

Twenty pairs of eyes locked onto me.

Alice leaned on Jason's shoulder, smiling, but her eyes never left my face as she was waiting for me to crack. She'd been waiting for this moment forever.

"Suit yourself. Have your fun," I said. I set my wine glass down. "He doesn't matter to me anymore."

The room went dead silent for three seconds.

I picked up my bag and walked out. My heels clicked steadily down the hallway, each step calm and sure.

As soon as the elevator doors slid closed, I pulled out my phone. I sent Claire a message: [Did you get it?]

Three seconds later, she replied: [Got it. Three minutes, twelve seconds. Full face. Crystal clear.]

I leaned against the elevator wall and slipped my phone back in my bag.

The next day, that video exploded in all our social circles, including work chats, neighborhood groups, and PTA threads. Everyone was buzzing about it.

They all felt sorry for me.

"Poor Susan, she didn't deserve this."

"How could Jason do that, right in front of so many people?"

"Who does that woman think she is, smiling so smugly?"

But nobody knew I was the one who made sure that video got recorded. Well, to be more precise, I had Claire set up that party.

I'd known about the affair of Jason and Alice for a month already.

That three-minute kiss? It was my present to Jason. He hadn't unwrapped it yet.

The morning after the video went viral, my phone rang 17 times. Every single call was from Jason. I didn't answer a single one.

When the eighteenth call came in, I was out on the balcony watering my plants.

The phone rang for thirty seconds before it finally stopped. Then it started ringing again.

I flipped my phone over and kept watering my plants.

Claire, though, replied to my message. She sent me a bunch of screenshots, asking: [Guess who's roasting Jason in the group chat? His best college buddy, Samuel Carter.]

I opened the screenshots.

Samuel was going off in the group chat: [Jason, are you human? You've got a wife, and you pulled this stunt in front of everyone? What do you take us for?]

Seven or eight people jumped in to back him up. Not a single person stood up for Jason.

Claire sent another message: [Alice deleted three posts from her social media. All those bragging posts from yesterday are gone.]

I didn't reply. That was what I'd foreseen.

My phone rang again, but this time it wasn't Jason. It was my mother-in-law, Maria Reed, calling.

I hesitated for a couple of seconds, then answered.

"Susan, look at what you've done!" Maria yelled.

I held the phone a little further from my ear.

She kept roaring, "Was it you who leaked that video? Are you trying to embarrass this family in front of everyone?"

I waited until she finished yelling before I spoke. "Maria, the one kissing someone else in that video is Jason, not me."

"Don't talk back to me. Every couple has their fights. Couldn't you have kept it between you two? Why did you have to make it public?" she snapped.

"I didn't make it public. There were 20 people at the party. I don't know who recorded it," I shot back.

"Stop playing dumb. Jason said Claire is your close friend, and you two are plotting against him," Maria snorted.

I let out a small laugh. "Maria, he kissed another woman for three minutes, and you're not mad at him. Instead, you're mad at me, huh?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

She continued, "That's still your fault. If you treated him better, would he have gone out to find someone else?"

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "Fine. Then go talk to him about it." I hung up.

My hands didn't shake. My heart didn't ache.

A month ago, the night I found out Jason was cheating, I cried all night. When one side of the pillow got soaked, I flipped it over, and that side got soaked, too.

The next morning, I looked in the mirror and said to myself, "I'm done crying. Time to get down to business."

From that day on, I started making my move.

First, I checked Jason's phone. It wasn't snooping. He had left his phone in the living room while he was in the shower, and the messages popped up on the screen.

It was from Alice: [Miss you. Can you come out tonight?] And she sent a kiss emoji.

I didn't smash his phone or storm into the bathroom to confront him. Instead, I took out my own phone and snapped a photo of the notification. Then I put his phone right back where it was.

That night, Jason went out. He said it was for work.

I said, "Okay."

The next day, I met up with Claire for lunch.

Claire was my college roommate, and she'd been a lawyer for six years.

I showed her the screenshots on my phone.

She looked up at me and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Divorce. But not right now."

"When?"

"When I'm ready."

Claire stared at me for three seconds. "Alright, let me know if you need anything."

From that day on, I spent a whole month getting ready.

Jason had no idea what was going on. He still thought I was the same woman who cooked for him, waited for him to come home, and sometimes complained about him working too much.

What he didn't know was that I kept track of every time and place he met up with Alice. I also checked every house, car, and bank account in his name.

And there were things he thought I didn't know about, such as the 130,000 dollars he owed Alice's brother. Also, I got to know the house he said was in my name, but it wasn't.

I dug up every single one of these things, one by one.

Then I told Claire, "Set up a class reunion. Make sure Alice gets an invite too."

Claire asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I need him to go all out in front of everyone."

"Why?"

"Because the more he goes all out, the cleaner my exit will be."