The Anniversary Secret

On the night of our fifth wedding anniversary, I set the table, lit the candles, and waited on the couch for my husband to come home.

As I scrolled through my feed to pass the time, a message notification popped up–from his old classmate, Susie Cartman.

"Angela, thanks to Calvin's seed, I can finally have my own baby."

The message came with a selfie–her grinning at the camera, holding up a medical slip in one hand, flashing a peace sign with the other.

I touched my stomach, where our child was quietly growing.

Calvin… Did you really think everything in life would always go your way?

I slipped the pregnancy report back into my bag, my hand instinctively resting on my stomach.

To the little life inside me, I whispered an apology.

I had planned to share the good news today. Calvin Leeroy had longed for this child for so long.

It seems he would rather that Susie Cartman be the one to give him a baby.

That explained why he had been smiling at his phone so often as of late; his heart was already elsewhere.

When I stayed silent, Calvin transferred money to me, just as he always did.

In his eyes, I was nothing more than a dull, predictable housewife–someone who could be placated with cash.

He lay down beside me, reaching out to pull me into his arms. His warm breath should have made me shiver with tenderness, but all I felt was cold.

Once, I would have broken down, demanded to know why he was entangled with another woman, why he kept hurting his wife again and again.

How could a man as educated as he was even consider something as absurd as giving his seed to another woman to have his own child?

At this point, though, I just shifted slightly, avoiding his touch.

He noticed and tried to soothe me.

"Honey, you've misunderstood. Susie and I are like siblings. Nothing else would ever happen between us. Her grandmother was my mentor–it was her dying wish that Susie have a child. With this child, she'll have someone to depend on. Once it's done, I'll never see her privately again, alright?"

I still did not answer.

His patience snapped. His voice rose sharply.

"Angela Irwin, I'm talking to you! What's with that attitude? It's just an IVF procedure–why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

With that, he threw off the blanket, yanked on his clothes, and stormed into the guest room. Before slamming the door shut, he spat out one last sentence, "I could've kept this from you. The only reason I told you was out of respect."

The door rattled with the force of his anger, leaving me sitting there in silence.

I had prepared for this anniversary for so long, only to end up with this.

Was it because I loved him too much? Was that why he dared to treat me this way?

No matter how much I