The Green Tie

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My wife is a famous fashion buyer in our city. Lately, she only seems to shop at one particular vintage accessory store.

Every time she comes home from that shop, she brings me a new tie as a gift.

I used to think it was a sweet gesture of her love.

Until our wedding anniversary, when I saw a post on her Instagram that she had forgotten to hide from me:

"Life is more brilliant than fireworks because you are here!"

The photo showed her and the shop owner watching a firework display, looking incredibly intimate.

That night, she handed me the eleventh tie she had bought from him.

This time, I didn't take it.

1.

"Just leave it there."

I didn't even look up. I kept focused on the plate of extra-hot Nashville wings in front of me.

Kiki didn't notice anything was wrong. She was too busy giggling at something on her phone screen.

After a long moment, she looked up, her voice tinged with confusion.

"Wait, why aren't you opening it?"

In the past, whenever she bought me anything, I couldn't wait to rip the paper off.

I'd take photos and post them all over social media to brag about how much she loved me.

My lack of reaction today clearly felt strange to her.

"Why are you eating something so spicy?"

Kiki wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I told you I can't stand the smell of spicy food."

Her usual tone of casual criticism made my hands freeze.

A wave of nameless anger surged from my gut, making my throat feel tight.

"Because I like it."

Before we met, I put hot sauce on everything. But since being with her, I hadn't touched spicy food for seven years just to please her.

In this house, it felt like only she was allowed to have preferences.

Anything she disliked was banned from our lives.

And I was just expected to play along.

Kiki blinked, then frowned. "Spicy food causes breakouts. And the sweat makes you smell."

"Can't you be a bit more refined, like Ashton?"

I raised my eyes and stared at her calmly. A flicker of guilt crossed her face.

She brushed it off and opened the gift box herself, waving the tie in front of me.

"Look, I just bought it. Do you like it?"

Green. Again.

For the past three months, every single tie she bought me was green.

I thought they were tokens of our affection. Now I knew they were just her tally marks for being cuckolded.

"You've been really into green lately, haven't you?"

She rubbed her nose. "Green is sophisticated. It looks expensive. You don't know anything about fashion."

"Just wear what I pick for you and be happy."

I let out a short, dry laugh and said nothing else.

She probably didn't realize she always rubs her nose when she's lying.

Kiki leaned in and put her arm around my shoulder. "I'm sorry I got back late. For our anniversary, do you want me to...?"

I held up a hand to stop her. "I'm exhausted today."

Disappointment flashed in her eyes. She turned around and headed for the bathroom.

2.

She left her phone on the table. I tried my birthday as the passcode. Error.

A photo of Ashton Rhodes' birthday party from her feed flashed through my mind. On a whim, I entered his birth date.

Click. The phone unlocked.

In that second, I felt like my stomach was being turned inside out.

The top pinned chat was a contact saved as "Kiki's Puppy."

I tapped it, and the content nearly made me stop breathing.

There were graphic texts, disgusting photos, and even videos.

I fought back the urge to vomit and took pictures of the most important logs and videos with my own phone.

I wiped the history and put her phone back exactly where it was before she came out.

Before sleep, Kiki pressed her body against mine. Her hot breath tickled my neck.

"Babe, it's my peak fertility window. Are you sure you don't want to try?"

My body went rigid. I moved away from her. "No. We aren't trying for a baby, so there's no rush."

She seemed surprised, and her voice actually sounded lighter.

"You've changed your mind? I always felt we were young. Waiting a few years is better."

I didn't answer. I just closed my eyes and faked sleep.

Kiki had always been terrified of getting pregnant.

Once, she had an unexpected pregnancy and went for a medical procedure to end it without telling me.

At the time, I was heartbroken and angry. I asked her why she didn't consult me.

She lay weak in the hospital bed, her eyes red as she screamed at me. She asked if I only married her to be a breeder.

She asked if I even saw her as a human being.

Seeing her so devastated, my heart softened. I apologized over and over.

But now, I saw the truth in those chat logs.

That baby wasn't an accident. She lost it during one of their aggressive "workout sessions."

The medical procedure was a necessity because of the damage they caused.

I felt like my heart had been hacked into pieces, raw and bleeding.

In the dead of night, she quietly got out of bed and left the room.

I snapped my eyes open, then squeezed them shut.

I was done. I wanted a divorce.

3.

Maybe it was a guilty conscience, but when I woke up, she was already back with breakfast.

"Did you see anything interesting on social media yesterday?"

She asked casually, but her eyes were darting toward me, checking my reaction.

I acted normal and took a sip of water.

"I didn't really check my phone yesterday. Why?"

She rubbed her nose. "Nothing. Just asking."

Ha. How pathetic.

I had already checked her profile this morning. That post was gone.

She was testing to see if I'd caught her.

I wasn't going to show my hand yet.

My phone buzzed with an email from overseas.

It was from Professor Robert. He was officially welcoming me to join their research institute in London.

During a previous exchange conference, Robert had offered me a spot with incredible pay and benefits.

When Kiki found out back then, she covered her face and cried.

"Are you really going to abandon me too?" she had sobbed.

Looking at her like that, my ambition died instantly. I stayed for her.

Yesterday, before Kiki came home, I sent Robert an email.

I told him I was ready to join his team.

I always wanted a bigger stage.

I had suppressed my dreams for Kiki for years. Not anymore.

4.

I walked into the Director's office and handed in my resignation.

Old Bill sat in silence for a moment, looking at me with a complicated expression.

I knew what he was thinking. He knew how many opportunities I'd turned down for Kiki.

I had rejected a prestigious position in D.C. just to stay in the same city as her.

Now, suddenly wanting to move across the ocean seemed bizarre to everyone.

"Is everything okay at home?" Bill asked.

I shook my head. "No, I just got an offer from an international lab. I want to give it a shot."

He didn't push. He pulled a file from his drawer and handed it to me. "Sign here. Fly high, kid."

"There are only four days left in the month. Get your handovers done quickly."

My phone vibrated. A new friend request on WeChat.

The profile picture was a woman's lower back. She had a bright red snake tattoo.

It was identical to the one on Kiki's back.

She insisted on getting that tattoo when we got married.

She said it represented my zodiac sign and she wanted a mark of our love on her skin forever.

I hesitated, then hit "Accept."

I clicked the profile. There was only one postDa photo.

It was a tattoo of a ram on the inner thigh. The caption read: "A New Beginning."

Immediately after, a voice recording was sent to me.

I played it. Kiki's heavy moans instantly filled my ears.

"Ashton... I'll give you everything he has. I only love you."

I played that recording on a loop, mechanically.

I was searching for a hint of a lie in that voice of betrayal.

But there was none. It was pure, raw deception.

"Cal, why are your eyes so red?"

My colleague, Mark, snapped me out of my daze.

I realized my eyes were wet. Tears were falling without my permission.

I forced a yawn. "Didn't sleep well. My eyes are just killing me."

5.

I sat there scrolling through my old texts with Kiki.

From the early days of sweet romance to the current coldness, the change was obvious.

Once, she would share every little detail of her day with me.

She'd act cute to ask for gifts or send stickers to make me laugh.

Now, our conversations were nothing but polite, short sentences.

Even those were becoming rare.

I laughed at myself and tossed the phone aside.

Kiki didn't come home until 1:00 AM.

Seeing me still on the couch, she looked startled. "Why are you still up?"

She started taking off her clothes, getting ready to shower as usual.

I pointed to the ram tattoo clearly visible on her inner thigh.

"I thought you said tattoos hurt too much and you'd never get another one?"

She panicked, trying to cover it with her hand. Her eyes darted around.

"I just... I liked the design suddenly. Wanted to try it."

I didn't expect the truth, but hearing her lie so easily still felt like a needle to the heart.

I twisted my lips into a smirk. "It's not even that pretty."

She rolled her eyes. "You have no taste in aesthetics."

Before I could reply, her phone rang.

She answered, and her face turned pale. She started frantically putting her clothes back on.

She messed up the buttons twice. The zipper got stuck.

"Work emergency. I have to go to the office."

Watching her scramble felt pathetic.

"Can you stay?" I asked. My voice was dry.

Kiki looked up, stunned.

I almost never stopped her from doing anything. In all our years, I stayed out of her work life.

A moment of hesitation crossed her face.

For a heartbeat, I thought she might actually stay.

But then, the phone rang again.

She grabbed it like it was a lifeline and answered without even checking the ID.

"Ashton, wait for me! I'm coming right now!"

She ran out the door without looking back. She even forgot her purse.

I booked a flight for three days from now.

I also set a timer on my phone for a seventy-two-hour countdown.

6.

Kiki didn't come home that night.

At 7:00 AM, my phone buzzed. A text from Kiki.

"Sudden business trip. Be back in three days. I'll bring you a gift."

Right after that, a message from the stranger on WeChat popped up.

"Tie number twelve. This one is deep green."

Below it was a screenshot of a hotel penthouse booking. A three-day stay.

I screenshotted everything. I felt strangely calm.

Maybe this marriage should have ended a long time ago.

I had just been lying to myself, refusing to face the rot.

I got up, got dressed, and walked into a law firm.

Leaving the lawyer's office, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

When the news of my resignation hit the office, my colleagues insisted on a farewell dinner.

Usually, I'd make excuses to go home to Kiki. This time, I said yes.

I had skipped so many social events just to take care of her.

My coworkers used to roast me for it. They said I was too talented to be tied down by one woman.

I used to tell them, "She's my life. If I don't look after her, who will?"

Thinking back on those words made me want to gag.

I drank a lot that night. Everything became a blur.

People were giving me toasts, but I couldn't hear a word they said.

Drunk and reckless, I called Kiki.

No answer.

I called again. Finally, she picked up.

Before I could say anything, I heard the unmistakable sounds of intimacy.

It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over me.

A man's voice panted, "Who do you love? Me or Silas?"

Then Kiki's voice came through, trembling but certain.

"I love you. Only you..."

I don't remember when the call ended.

I just remember standing in the cold wind, letting the tears fall silently.

I had been acting strong for two days, pretending I was fine.

I told myself I'd end this with dignity.

But hearing those words from her own mouth broke my mask.

What makes a person feel distant isn't time.

It's the few things that can never be undone.

7.

Forty-eight hours left. Enough time to erase our life together.

I watched as every item that symbolized our "love" went into black trash bags.

I tore our wedding photos into tiny pieces. They looked just like our marriage.

Then, Ashton sent me a location pin.

It was a five-star hotel right next to our apartment complex.

I was suspicious, but I grabbed the divorce papers and went anyway.

When I reached the hotel, the sight took my breath away.

A massive LED screen was looping photos of Kiki and Ashton.

I tried to tell myself it was just a party.

But then I saw Kiki's circle of friendsDthe people we both knewDarriving one by one.

My last shred of hope popped like a balloon.

The lights dimmed, and words appeared on the screen:

"Welcome to the Engagement Ceremony of Kiki Sterling and Ashton Rhodes."

My brain felt like it exploded.

When we got married, we were broke. We only had a small dinner with family.

I suggested a real wedding many times later.

Kiki always said it was a waste of money. She said ceremonies were meaningless.

Now, she had organized this lavish event for another man.

8.

Ashton stood on stage in a sharp tuxedo.

But my eyes were locked on Kiki.

She wore a pure white gown, her face glowing with a happy smile.

The screen kept scrolling through their curated photos.

She was whispering sweet things to Ashton, her eyes overflowing with love.

I stood in the crowd, a mocking smile on my lips.

I gripped the divorce papers and walked toward the center of the stage.

The room went silent. Whispers started spreading like a tide.

The sudden commotion forced Kiki and Ashton to pull apart.

She turned around. Her smile froze, replaced by pure terror.

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