On our anniversary night, I stood in my best dress, every detail of the evening perfectly in place. The table was set, candles flickered with a soft glow, and I had spent the day preparing Thomas’s favorite dish—duck à l’orange. I’d even found time to buy the designer tie he once admired in a shop window, thinking it would be the perfect surprise.
Then my phone rang.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Thomas said, his voice casual. “I’m halfway to the airport.”
Startled, I asked, “Airport? For what?”
He mentioned an emergency meeting with clients and brushed off the date. When I reminded him it was our anniversary, he hesitated, then said he’d make it up to me when he returned. I tried to keep my voice steady, but inside, I felt the weight of disappointment.
Not ready to let the evening unravel, I sank into a warm bubble bath to collect my thoughts. That’s when the doorbell rang. Still in my towel, I opened the door to find a delivery man with a large white box wrapped in a red ribbon.
“Special delivery for Anna,” he said with a smile.
Back at the table, I untied the ribbon, curious. But inside the box was a cake with an unexpected message written in gold: “It’s time to get divorced.” Beneath it, a small card read: “Hope you take this as well as he did. XOXO.”
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