The White Rose He Threw Away

To get back at Daniel for cheating, I threw myself at the incredibly hot stranger who broke into my house in the middle of the night. While keeping things hot with Daniel, I collected evidence of his affair. His mistress loved picking up men in bars, so I made sure she got more than she bargained for. Her reputation was ruined, and the man she loved shoved her down the stairs, causing her to miscarry. Once I was done with her, I took my evidence of Daniel’s affair to court and filed for divorce. In the end, he walked away with nothing. Later, sitting in a police station, he cried and told me he regretted everything. I waved him off. A woman who knows her worth doesn’t take back trash. My phone chimed with notifications. When I opened it, messages were flooding the group chat. “Chloe, I’m seriously so jealous. Your boyfriend treats you so well.” “That bag costs over twenty thousand dollars at the boutique! And he just bought it for you? He’s so generous!” “Ugh, I want a boyfriend like that.” The messages kept pouring in. I scrolled to the top. In the photo, a girl beamed with happiness, holding the latest designer handbag. Only a blurry profile of the man beside her was visible, but that was all I needed to recognize my husband, Daniel Hayes. The girl everyone was gushing over replied in the chat. “My birthday’s in a few days. He brought it back from overseas just for me. It hasn’t even been released here yet!” I sneered inwardly. He claimed he was on a business trip to England, too busy to answer my messages promptly, but he still remembered to bring his little mistress a gift. How wonderfully romantic of him. Two days earlier, I’d accidentally spotted a secret account on his other phone. That was how I discovered Daniel was cheating. I immediately tracked the girl down. Her name was Chloe Miller. She studied media at a mediocre local arts college. She’d gotten involved with Daniel during her sophomore year, and they’d been together for two years. They’d met at a bar. A drunk man was harassing Chloe, and Daniel stepped in. She insisted on getting his number so she could thank him, and one thing led to another. At first, it was just dinner dates. Then one night she got drunk and, naturally, ended up in his hotel room. Remembering how devoted Daniel had seemed when he pursued me made my stomach turn. Back in college, I’d been known as the campus beauty. I was aloof and kept people at a distance. Plenty of guys pursued me, but few lasted long in the face of my indifference. Daniel was the exception. He was known around campus as a gifted writer. Unlike the others, who brought flowers and jewelry, Daniel wrote me poems. Whenever I picked up one of his love poems, the people around me would tease me. I never let it show, but little by little, he found a place in my heart. He pursued me for three years. On graduation day, Daniel held a bouquet of white roses and dropped to one knee. “Emma Bennett, will you give me a chance to take care of you forever?” White roses meant, “I offer you my love with a sincere heart, because I am worthy of standing beside you.” The crowd around us grew. Standing in the space Daniel had so carefully decorated, I looked into his passionate, determined eyes and nodded. After college, we got married. We worked for two years and saved some money. Then, at Daniel’s urging, we started an advertising agency together. Daniel handled design and creative content, while I went out to find clients and sponsors. I’d always hated dealing with people, but after that, networking dinners became unavoidable. Many clients were difficult. Some sleazy men even took the opportunity to grope me when I wasn’t paying attention. I could only swallow my disgust. As long as the company did better and the business grew, I told myself the sacrifices were worth it. But Daniel never understood. He thought his art was something lofty and pure, while the work I did was vulgar and beneath him. Without me running myself ragged, where would his opportunities have come from? Even his design competition trophy had only landed in his hands because I knew the organizers. Otherwise, how could he have beaten all those seasoned designers? When the staff realized we were fighting, they took my side. In the end, I was the one who backed down, and we made up. After all those years of working so hard for him, had I really just paved the way for another woman? I posed as one of Chloe’s college classmates and joined her friends’ Snapchat group. At the same time, I used spyware to monitor their conversations, saving screenshots of every piece of evidence. Daniel sent her a picture. I opened it to find a revealing white lingerie set, all innocent-looking lace and barely concealed temptation. Daniel: “Your outfit should arrive soon. I’m coming over the day after tomorrow. Remember to put it on for me!” Chloe: “You’re so naughty, hubby! Always teasing me. Fine, I’ll wear it. Keep making lots of money so you can spoil me!” Daniel replied with a leering reaction sticker. The next afternoon, a package arrived at our house. When I opened it, I found that very same white lingerie set.