It’s not yours anymore. It was $19,000, and we’re not letting you walk away with it.”
My breath caught in my throat. I sat up straighter, staring at my screen in shock.
“Jake is meeting with a lawyer tomorrow. An annulment can be done quickly since it’s only been 2 weeks.”
An annulment? Before I could finish processing that, the next text arrived.
“We’ll be sending your things soon. Tell us if you’d rather have them dropped off or shipped.”
My fingers curled into the blanket on my lap, gripping it like it was the only thing keeping me grounded. I kept reading the messages until I finally turned off my phone.
I sat there, staring at the little gold band on my finger, wondering how we got here. Two weeks ago, we were untouchable. I didn’t sleep that night.
My mind wouldn’t stop spinning. By 2 a.m., I was replaying every little detail, looking for a clue. And then it hit me: the wipes.
The smell in our apartment wasn’t cologne. It was the lemon-cedarwood wipes I’d taped behind the fan in our bedroom. I’d done it on purpose after cooking fish for dinner — Jake hated the smell of fish.
My heart started pounding so hard it felt like it might break my ribs. I grabbed my phone and texted him. “Check behind the fan.
Look in the bathroom trash for the packaging. It’s the wipes, Jake. It’s not cologne.
It’s not a man. It’s the wipes.”
Then I waited. The next morning, I was sitting with my mom at the kitchen table, trying to act like I hadn’t just experienced the emotional collapse of my life.
My coffee was cold, and I didn’t care. My phone buzzed. Jake.
I looked up at my mom, and she nodded. “Go on, baby.”
I walked to the door. Through the window, I saw him standing there.
Shoulders slouched. His eyes were red. His hands shook as he wiped at his face.
He knocked once. Just once. I opened the door but didn’t say anything.
I just watched him. “Sarah,” he choked out, his face crumpling. “I’m so sorry.”
I folded my arms, leaning against the doorframe.
“Are you?”
“It was a mistake,” he said, voice cracking. “I-I let my head get… I wasn’t thinking. I just—” He looked up at me, eyes wild.
“Please come home.”
My breath hitched, and before I knew it, I was stepping forward, arms wrapping around him. His warmth crashed into me, his breath shaky against my hair. Relief poured out of him in a broken sob, and for a moment, I let myself believe it was going to be okay.
I went home with Jake that evening, but I couldn’t get over what had happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about the lock change, the cruel texts, and Jake’s mom demanding my ring back like I was a thief. The names Jake had called me circled my thoughts.
One little misunderstanding was all it had taken for him and all his family to turn on me. We’d known each other for five years… we were supposed to be family. The next night, I packed my things.
I carried my suitcase out into the living room, where Jake was watching TV. “I’ve been thinking…” I started, leaning over to switch off the TV as I spoke, “about how quick you were to believe I was cheating on you, how you refused to talk things through with me, how easy it was for you to throw me out like trash.”
“Baby, I said I’m sorry.” He stared at me like he couldn’t believe this still bothered me. “I know, but saying sorry doesn’t mean we aren’t broken, Jake.”
“I’ll make it right, I swear!
I love you.”
I shook my head, slow and steady. “Love doesn’t change the locks on me. Love doesn’t end with a text.”
His face twisted with regret.
“Please.”
“I’m going back to my mom’s,” I said, grabbing my suitcase and heading for the door. “I need space.”
“Sarah, please!”
But I shut the door. For the next week, he sent me long, heartbroken texts.
Pages of apologies. I read them all. I didn’t reply.
I lay awake at night, thinking about it. If someone else told me this story, I’d laugh at how stupid it sounded. He thought it was cologne.
It was lemon wipes. But I didn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny.
Two weeks into marriage, and I’d already learned this much: People who love you don’t turn on you that fast. Here’s another story: When I politely asked my neighbor to stop sunbathing in bikinis in front of my teenage son’s window, she retaliated by planting a filthy toilet on my lawn with a sign: “FLUSH YOUR OPINION HERE!” I was livid, but karma delivered the perfect revenge. Do you have any opinions on this?
