The Lobster That Ended My Marriage

On Valentine's Day, my wife, Serena Green, makes a dinner reservation for us at a romantic restaurant. She says she has a surprise for me, but she ends up standing me up when she gets called to perform an emergency surgery. I understand that this is just the nature of being a surgeon, so I celebrate the day by having dinner at the restaurant alone. As soon as I sit down, the restaurant manager greets me warmly. "Mr. Langley! Yesterday, your wife informed us that you love our newly released lobster pasta. We've made sure to prepare it for you today." My hands clench around the menu. "Is that so? But I'm allergic to shellfish. My wife should be aware of that." The smile on the manager's face stiffens. "I'm so sorry. I must've mistaken you for someone else. I'll cancel the order right away." Suppressing my suspicions, I call Serena. "Did you have dinner at this restaurant yesterday?" Chapter 1 The voice of my wife, Serena Green, came from the other end of the call. She sounded tired, like she'd just come out of surgery. "I went there with the department head yesterday. His son likes lobster pasta, so I just happened to mention it." Her tone was gentle and apologetic. "Maybe the manager misunderstood me. Don't overthink it, darling." I couldn't pick any faults with her explanation, but the unease in my heart refused to stop growing. "Okay, I understand. Get some rest." I ended the call. I wanted to drive to the hospital to see her, but then I remembered she was busy saving lives, and I started feeling like I was being too petty. Serena treated me well. Everyone considered us the ideal couple. It was only right for me to have more faith in her. Feeling weary, I went home after sending her a message. When I got back to the house, the scent of the coffee Serena had brewed that morning still lingered in the living room. I walked into her study, my eyes falling on the tablet on her desk. On a whim, I tried my birthday as the password. It unlocked. The latest photo in the album was a picture of the two of us. It had been taken outside our home just earlier today. Serena was smiling sweetly, and I had my arm around her waist. We looked like a blissful couple. I checked the recently deleted photos. Immediately, I saw one that featured a hand with prominent knuckles holding a fork, twirling lobster pasta from a plate. The background was a booth at that romantic restaurant. But that wasn't my hand. I kept scrolling, my fingers trembling so much that I could barely hold the tablet. There was a scheduled reminder in her notes app. It read, "Next Wednesday, take Mike for a follow-up appointment." Who was Mike? I searched through her entire contact list, but there was no one by that name. Then I heard the sound of the door being unlocked. I swiftly turned off the screen and put the tablet back where I'd found it. Serena hugged me from behind, resting her chin lightly on my shoulder. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Didn't I tell you not to wait for me?" Her voice was almost coquettish. I turned and smiled as though nothing had happened. "I was looking at our old photos. You looked so beautiful in them." "My husband is the most handsome man, too." Serena laughed and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. "Alright, go to bed early." She walked toward the bedroom, and I followed. I was going to ask her about the photo, but when I turned my head, the coat hanging on the door caught my attention. The corner of a white piece of paper was sticking out of the pocket. I walked over and secretly pulled it out. It was a receipt from a cafe for two cups of coffee. One was Serena's usual order of iced coffee, while the other was a latte with extra sugar. Serena never drank anything sweet. She said it was too cloying. I really wanted to find an excuse to convince myself that maybe it was for work, but who would go to a cafe alone in the middle of the night and order two cups of coffee? I stood in the doorway, watching Serena brush her teeth in the bathroom. Her once familiar figure now looked foreign to me. "What are you staring at, darling?" She smiled at me through the mirror. "Nothing." I slipped the receipt back into the pocket. "I was just thinking about the meeting tomorrow, and I'm a little worried about it." "Don't worry about a thing. You're the best at what you do." She walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist. As she leaned against me, I breathed in the faint scent of disinfectant on her. How far had they gone? I couldn't sleep a wink that night. The next day, I headed to the hospital under the guise of bringing her a homemade lunch. I just wanted to see who this incredible man who stole her from me was. Even if I had to lose, I wanted to know I'd lost to someone worthy. The elevator stopped on the second floor, where the surgical department was. I carried the insulated lunch container toward Serena's office. Just as I turned the corner, I saw a handsome young male nurse standing outside her door. He was holding a cup of warm water as he knocked on the door. "Dr. Green, it's time for you to drink some water." His voice was gentle and bright. The door opened. The moment Serena took the cup from him, I saw the tenderness in her eyes. Chapter 2 Serena's tender gaze as she looked at the nurse was familiar—I had seen her look at me that way before. I also spotted a flicker of something that felt like a mix of obligation and indebtedness. Why was that there? When I opened the door to Serena's office, she panicked for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. With a smile, she introduced him. "Darling, this is Michael Chase, a new nurse at the hospital." Michael? That sounded like someone who'd be called Mike. I set down the lunch container and smiled. "You sure know how to take care of the people you work with, Dr. Green." Michael's ears reddened, and he quickly left the office. "What brings you here today?" Serena walked over, wanting to hug me. I took a step back. "I missed you." As the words left my mouth, I couldn't help but be aware of how much of a mockery they were. … When I got home, I immediately contacted my best friend, Denny Hughes. He worked in the hospital's administrative department and had the best connections for getting information. "Help me look into a nurse in the surgical department. His name is Michael Chase." An hour later, Denny sent me a message. "This Michael is no ordinary person. The whole hospital is talking about him. Apparently, he saved Serena's life before." What? He saved her life? I kept reading the rest of Denny's information. Five years ago, Serena had been in a serious car accident and suffered a ruptured major artery. Michael happened to be passing by and used his first-aid knowledge to save her. Because of that, Serena took special care of him, right down to the smallest detail. Everyone in the department praised her for being a good person who repaid those who had helped her. But after seeing what Denny found out, I felt my entire body go numb. I was the one who'd saved Serena five years ago. At the time, I was still in college when I happened to pass by the scene of the accident. I used my own handkerchief to press down on her wound until the ambulance arrived. I didn't leave until the emergency responders brought her into the ambulance. The bitter irony hit me. Being married for years was apparently nothing compared to a lie. … When Denny and I met up, he looked at me in concern. "You don't look too good. What's going on?" I shook my head. "Let me see Michael's Instagram." Denny nodded and opened it on his phone. It was filled with pictures of his daily life with Serena. He'd taken a photo of the company Serena and I founded together. The caption read, "She said this is the empire she has built for me." I'd designed the company building myself, but Serena never said anything of the sort to me. There was another photo of the custom fountain pen I had given Serena. He was holding it in his hand and captioned it with, "Using her pen to write my name." My hands began to tremble. The most devastating one was from the day I was hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. Michael had posted a selfie. In the background was Serena as she gently tucked the blanket around him. The caption read, "She said I'm her source of light. I can't afford to get sick." That day, Serena had told me she was going abroad for an urgent medical symposium and wouldn't be able to contact me for three days. But in reality, she had been in the VIP room one floor above me, taking care of another man. I had been downstairs by myself, hooked up to an IV drip and curled into a ball from the pain. The nurse had told me that since my wife was abroad, it was perfectly normal for no one to be there to take care of me. At the time, I even felt bad that she had to work so hard. "This bitch!" Denny slammed his hand on the table in outrage. "Serena Green is a monster!" Once upon a time, she'd said to me that I was the only person she'd ever take care of. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. Soon, the tears followed. I'd finally learned just how stupid I'd been this whole time. … I didn't make a scene. I only wanted a peaceful divorce, so I calmly began gathering evidence. I found the luxury apartment Serena had rented for Michael. It was just a short distance from our home. The rent was 25,000 dollars a month, and she had signed a one-year lease. She had also funded overseas treatment for Michael's younger sister, who was in poor health, and that added up to over a million dollars. I stared at the bank statements. The money had been transferred from our joint account under the guise of an investment in medical research. We'd opened this account two years ago, ostensibly to set aside money for our future child. She had taken the money meant for our child and used it to support another man's family. I sat in front of the computer, my fingers trembling as I went through the transfer records one by one. … It was time for the hospital's annual sterile-procedure assessment. Michael had previously failed three consecutive times. According to hospital regulations, he should have been fired. I stood in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras and watched as Serena brought Michael into the cardiac surgery preparation room, where absolute sterility was required. She personally taught him the procedures, guiding him through them step by step. That was the hospital's sacred ground. Even the vice president of the hospital needed explicit approval from multiple senior medical staff before he could enter. But Serena had broken the principles she valued the most, all for Michael's sake. Michael's eyes reddened, his voice choked up. "Dr. Green, I'm too stupid. I'm not worthy of your guidance." Serena sighed, her voice so doting and indulgent that it made me sick to the stomach. "Don't ever say that about yourself. How could the person who saved my life possibly be stupid?" The person who saved her life, huh? I almost scoffed out loud. I was the one who saved her life, yet somehow, he was given the credit for that. Chapter 3 In the end, I still couldn't bring myself to be cruel. I wanted to tell Serena the truth. I wanted to know whether she would change her mind once she knew everything. I pulled out my phone and called her. When she saw my name on the screen, her brow furrowed, and without hesitation, she rejected the call. Then she lowered her voice and comforted Michael. "It's okay. Just keep practicing." I called again. This time, she turned off her phone. Michael looked up, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. "Dr. Green, it might be urgent." "No," Serena shook her head. "If it were someone important, I would've answered." So I was no longer important to her. I leaned against the wall, feeling as though the entire world were spinning. Serena had not only abandoned her work principles but even me, all for Michael's sake. Yet I was still foolishly holding on to hope. As I turned and walked away, Michael's grateful voice rang out behind me. "You take such good care of me, Dr. Green." "It's only right that I do," Serena replied affectionately. I walked out of the hospital into the glaring sunlight. My phone buzzed with a message from Serena. "I was in a meeting just now, so my phone was on silent. Did you need something?" After reading the flimsy lie she spun for me, I finally gave up for good. … Out of nowhere, Mom had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital where Serena worked. I stormed into the emergency department like a madman. "Serena! Where's Serena?" A nurse pointed toward the operating rooms. I staggered over and saw Serena washing and disinfecting her hands. "Serena!" I grabbed her hand. "My mom needs surgery. You have to perform the surgery yourself. Please!" She squeezed my hand, her expression more resolute than I'd ever seen it. "Will, don't worry. I'll take care of it." For that moment, she was still the woman who would risk everything for me. The surgery lasted two hours. I paced back and forth in the hallway, my palms drenched in sweat. Suddenly, a panicked nurse came running out of another operating room. "I need assistance! Michael, the surgical nurse, was injured by a surgical instrument because of a procedural error. He's bleeding heavily!" My heart sank. "The hospital's blood bank is running critically low. He's Rh-negative, and he urgently needs a transfusion!" The nurse looked at me, her eyes pleading. "Mr. Langley! You're Rh-negative too. Could you…" My entire body went cold. Serena emerged from the operating room covered in blood. She looked at me, her gaze conflicted. "Will…" Michael was wheeled out, his face pale. He weakly tugged on Serena's coat. "Dr. Green, I'm so scared… Am I going to die?" Serena immediately crouched beside him and gently took his hand. "No. I won't let anything happen to you." The two of them clung to each other, completely ignoring me. "Serena," I said slowly. "My mom is still in the operating room." She closed her eyes, her voice hoarse and barely audible. "Will, I'm begging you. He saved my life. I can't just watch him die. Your mom isn't going to die anyway, and Mike is bleeding heavily right now. You can't be so heartless, Will!" The surrounding medical staff eyed me with condemnation. "Michael is always good to everyone, Mr. Langley. You can't just let him die when you know you can help him!" "That's right. It's only a bit of blood. It's not like it'll kill you!" "How can you be so cold-hearted? How can you stand by and let a young man die?" Serena suddenly straightened up and shouted at me, "Are you going to save him or not? If he dies, I'll never forgive myself for the rest of my life! I've never asked you for anything, Will. Please, just save him. I'm begging you!" The red light above the operating room was still on. My mom was in there, her life hanging by a thread. And my wife was out here begging me to save another man. I took in Serena's reddened eyes, Michael's pale face, and the reproachful looks directed at me. So she was willing to sacrifice my mom's life for him, too. "Fine. I'll give him my blood." Relief immediately washed over Serena's face, and gratitude flashed in her eyes. But I wasn't done talking yet. "But once I've saved him, Serena, we're getting a divorce."