Chapter 3 · My Revenge After My Husband's Drama

Three days after the party, Alice added me on WhatsApp.

Her avatar was a side profile, so filtered that one couldn't guess her real age.

She sent me a message: [Susan, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but there are some things I think you should know.]

I stared at the screen for ten seconds. Then I replied with one word: [Speak.]

She typed fast: [Jason and I have been together for a while now, and I don't want to hide it from you. He said your relationship was already dead, and you were going through the motions.

[He also said he'd talk to you about divorce, and asked me to wait a bit longer.]

I didn't reply.

She sent another message: [Susan, I'm not trying to hurt you. I think you should start thinking about yourself. Instead of dragging it out, maybe it's better to let go. It's better for everyone.]

I set my phone down on the table, took a screenshot, and sent it to Claire.

Claire replied: [Classic homewrecker script, all five steps. First, act innocent, then pretend to care, and finally, push you to walk away.]

I replied: [I know.]

["How are you going to respond?]

[I'm not replying to her. I'll mislead her, making her think I'm intimidated.]

Claire sent an "OK."

I took a screenshot of my chat with Alice and filed it away in that special folder.

I made that folder a month ago. Inside, I got Jason's bank transfer records, call logs, chat screenshots with Alice, property info, and a timeline I made myself. The timeline spells out every step and when to take it.

Now, I was at step six. Step seven was waiting for Jason to bring up divorce.

It wouldn't be long. Alice would push him.

Sure enough, the night Alice messaged me, Jason came home. He'd been gone for three days. He walked in, looking rough, smelling like cigarettes.

I was in the kitchen, heating up dinner.

He stood in the doorway, watching me. "Susan, we need to talk."

I said, "After I eat."

"Forget it. We're not eating," he refused.

I turned off the gas, set the pot aside, and turned to face him.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You saw the video. After all this, do you think we can still make it work?"

I asked, "What do you think?"

"Let's get divorced." He said it flat, as if he'd rehearsed it and had practiced in front of a mirror.

"Fine," I agreed more readily than he did.

Jason froze and clearly didn't expect me to agree so fast.

He had a whole speech ready, maybe to blame me for leaking the video and embarrassing him, maybe to say we weren't compatible, or maybe to list all my flaws.

But I shut him down with one word.

"You... Did you agree?" he stammered.

"Yep. I agree," I answered.

Jason stared at me for a few seconds. "The house is mine."

"Okay."

"The car is mine, too."

"Fine."

His expression shifted from surprise to suspicion. "What do you mean? You're not taking anything?"

I said, "Whatever you say."

"Susan, what are you playing at?" he growled.

I grabbed a plate from the cabinet, filled it with some pasta, and sat down at the table. "No tricks. You want a divorce, and I agree. Take everything. We'll go sign the papers tomorrow."

He stood there, like he was nailed to the floor.

He thought I'd cry, I'd make a scene, or I'd threaten him with the video. But he never imagined I'd agree.

He parted his lips several times, then finally squeezed out a sentence. "So it's settled."

I replied, "It's settled."

Jason turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door.

I took a couple of bites of my food. My phone buzzed.

Alice sent a message: [Susan, I'm glad you've come to your senses. I wish you happiness in the future.]

I stared at the message. She replied fast, which meant Jason was messaging her the whole time while he was talking to me in the kitchen. Maybe he had her on a voice call, listening in.

I put down my utensils, took a screenshot of Alice's message, and filed it away in the folder.

Then I messaged Claire: [He brought it up. He wants the house and the car. He wants me out with nothing.]

Claire: [What did you say?]

[I said fine.]

[How did he react?]

[He was shocked.]

Claire sent a string of laughing emojis. Then she messaged: [Don't rush. Let him be on cloud nine for a couple of days. The higher he flies, the harder he'll crash.]

I replied, [Yeah.]

I knew exactly what Jason was thinking. He was thinking. 'Why is she so easy to handle? Can I take everything for real? Alice was right, Susan's a pushover.'

What he didn't know was that our house wasn't his for the taking, and neither was the car.

He thought only he knew about these things, but he had no idea I knew more than he did.

Chapter 3

Three days after the party, Alice added me on WhatsApp.

Her avatar was a side profile, so filtered that one couldn't guess her real age.

She sent me a message: [Susan, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but there are some things I think you should know.]

I stared at the screen for ten seconds. Then I replied with one word: [Speak.]

She typed fast: [Jason and I have been together for a while now, and I don't want to hide it from you. He said your relationship was already dead, and you were going through the motions.

[He also said he'd talk to you about divorce, and asked me to wait a bit longer.]

I didn't reply.

She sent another message: [Susan, I'm not trying to hurt you. I think you should start thinking about yourself. Instead of dragging it out, maybe it's better to let go. It's better for everyone.]

I set my phone down on the table, took a screenshot, and sent it to Claire.

Claire replied: [Classic homewrecker script, all five steps. First, act innocent, then pretend to care, and finally, push you to walk away.]

I replied: [I know.]

["How are you going to respond?]

[I'm not replying to her. I'll mislead her, making her think I'm intimidated.]

Claire sent an "OK."

I took a screenshot of my chat with Alice and filed it away in that special folder.

Now, I was at step six. Step seven was waiting for Jason to bring up divorce.

It wouldn't be long. Alice would push him.

Sure enough, the night Alice messaged me, Jason came home. He'd been gone for three days. He walked in, looking rough, smelling like cigarettes.

I was in the kitchen, heating up dinner.

He stood in the doorway, watching me. "Susan, we need to talk."

I said, "After I eat."

"Forget it. We're not eating," he refused.

I turned off the gas, set the pot aside, and turned to face him.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You saw the video. After all this, do you think we can still make it work?"

I asked, "What do you think?"

"Let's get divorced." He said it flat, as if he'd rehearsed it and had practiced in front of a mirror.

"Fine," I agreed more readily than he did.

Jason froze and clearly didn't expect me to agree so fast.

He had a whole speech ready, maybe to blame me for leaking the video and embarrassing him, maybe to say we weren't compatible, or maybe to list all my flaws.

But I shut him down with one word.

"You... Did you agree?" he stammered.

"Yep. I agree," I answered.

Jason stared at me for a few seconds. "The house is mine."

"Okay."

"The car is mine, too."

"Fine."

His expression shifted from surprise to suspicion. "What do you mean? You're not taking anything?"

I said, "Whatever you say."

"Susan, what are you playing at?" he growled.

I grabbed a plate from the cabinet, filled it with some pasta, and sat down at the table. "No tricks. You want a divorce, and I agree. Take everything. We'll go sign the papers tomorrow."

He stood there, like he was nailed to the floor.

He thought I'd cry, I'd make a scene, or I'd threaten him with the video. But he never imagined I'd agree.

He parted his lips several times, then finally squeezed out a sentence. "So it's settled."

I replied, "It's settled."

Jason turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door.

I took a couple of bites of my food. My phone buzzed.

Alice sent a message: [Susan, I'm glad you've come to your senses. I wish you happiness in the future.]

I stared at the message. She replied fast, which meant Jason was messaging her the whole time while he was talking to me in the kitchen. Maybe he had her on a voice call, listening in.

I put down my utensils, took a screenshot of Alice's message, and filed it away in the folder.

Then I messaged Claire: [He brought it up. He wants the house and the car. He wants me out with nothing.]

Claire: [What did you say?]

[I said fine.]

[How did he react?]

[He was shocked.]

Claire sent a string of laughing emojis. Then she messaged: [Don't rush. Let him be on cloud nine for a couple of days. The higher he flies, the harder he'll crash.]

I replied, [Yeah.]

I knew exactly what Jason was thinking. He was thinking. 'Why is she so easy to handle? Can I take everything for real? Alice was right, Susan's a pushover.'

What he didn't know was that our house wasn't his for the taking, and neither was the car.

He thought only he knew about these things, but he had no idea I knew more than he did.