Taste Testing for My Husband’s Secretary

On our wedding anniversary, my husband, Ethan Pascal, who had never bothered to cook, made a table full of dishes for me. With every bite I took, he would ask for feedback and note it down attentively. At one point, Ethan went to the bedroom to answer a phone call from his assistant, Cecil Greene. Meanwhile, I grabbed the notebook he had left behind on the table. It contained countless details that had nothing to do with me at all. [The green beans are a bit undercooked - Cecil won't like them.] [The mushrooms are a bit too salty. Make sure not to add too much salt when making them for Cecil.] [The mutton is too gamey. Try using beef instead.] When he returned and saw me reading his notebook, he immediately told me off, "Did I say you could touch my belongings?" Just as I was about to say something, I felt a terrible throbbing pain in my head. His figure began to duplicate in my eyes. "Ethan, I don't feel so good. I think it's because the green beans weren't cooked properly..." "Alright, I'll have to write that right now. I'll try to grill them a little longer when I cook them for Cecil." With that, he ignored me and walked off toward the door while scribbling something in his notebook. "I'm heading out for a bit. I'm sure your immune system is strong enough. Just take some medicine, and you'll be fine." Before I passed out, I tried to call him again, only to get told off by him, "What's the problem? It's not like you're dying! Call me if you die!" "Ethan Pascal, I will never call you again." Chapter 1 I stared at the phone after Ethan Pascal hung up on me as his words replayed endlessly in my mind. I struggled to suppress the emotions welling up inside me. Then, I forced myself to dial the emergency number with whatever strength I had left in me. Sure enough, the emergency hotline was more reliable than he was. The doctor told me I had a case of food poisoning. Fortunately, I was rushed to the hospital in time. If it were only a few minutes later, I wouldn't be lying so comfortably in the hospital bed right now. While I was receiving an IV drip in bed, my phone suddenly rang. It took me a moment to come to. I picked it up to see it was Ethan calling. “Cecil, do you think I should add some scallions to the grilled beef?” I was taken aback by his question. After a moment, I forced a smile and told him, “Ethan, I'm at the hospital right now.” He grumbled impatiently, “Alright. Make sure you take some medicine.” Then, he quickly reverted to the previous subject, “Come on, with or without scallions? Which one tastes better?” Before I could get a word out, I heard a woman's voice in the background, “Ethan, as long as you’re the one making it for me, I don’t care whether there are scallions or not.” Then, the call was cut off abruptly. I stared blankly at the screen. Then, I received two messages from him. “A new project came up at the company, and I’ll have to work overtime. I’ll be back home tomorrow. “Get some more medicine at the hospital. I'll transfer you the money if you need it.” I felt a terrible throb in my heart when I read the messages. Overtime? And to get some more medicine at the hospital? The bar couldn’t get any lower, could it? I lay back in bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. A little girl in the adjacent bed was staring at me. When she observed how I had fallen silent, she smiled dearly and turned to me with her chin propped on her hands, “Hello. Why are you by yourself? “When my mommy was in the hospital, Daddy was with her. Where is your husband?” I looked at her and replied mildly, “Husband? I don't have a husband.” Upon hearing this, she suddenly shot up with her hand pressed against her hips and her face flushed red, “Liar! I saw it! You have a picture with your husband on your phone case!” Chapter 2 “Adults can't lie! You’re going to get Pinocchio's nose! “Your husband is so handsome! Can I see the pictures of you two together?” I was quite dumbfounded upon hearing this. It just occurred to me that despite having been together for so many years, the photo on my phone case was our only picture together. Ethan had always insisted he was not fond of pictures. That was the reason the only picture we had together was the one we took on the day we got married. The child’s mother must have noticed something was off. She proceeded to pull the girl away from me before excusing her daughter’s manners embarrassingly, “Sorry about that, it’s just kids being kids.” I brushed it off and commented no further. Then, I grabbed my phone again and scrolled mindlessly. As soon as I opened my feed, I saw a new post Cecil Greene made only a minute ago. It was a screenshot of a post Ethan had shared on his page, captioned, [Loving you was the best choice I have ever made.] I froze the moment I saw the post. My fingers were shaking when I proceeded to go to Ethan’s profile. His page was set to only display posts from the past three days. It was empty. A thought suddenly occurred to me. I found myself logging into my alternate account before directing myself to Ethan’s profile again. This time, I saw everything as clear as day. His latest post was made only ten minutes ago. He had attached two pictures to the post. One was of himself and Cecil with their cheeks pressed together, and the other was a shot of a table splayed out with a variety of dishes. I looked at the food on the table. They were the same dishes Ethan had prepared for me today. The caption read, [Happy Birthday. I would do anything for you.] There was also a pinned post on his page. It was a picture of him and Cecil from three years ago. After staring at the picture for a while, I proceeded to extract the picture we took together from my phone case. It was a nearly identical picture with us standing in the same background, but that was the extent of the similarity. In the picture with Cecil, he was smiling tenderly. In contrast, he looked annoyed in the picture with me. I remembered we even had a scuffle on the morning of the picture. My fingers were shaking when I scrolled through his profile. He had been making posts nearly every day, sometimes even several posts a day. I clicked on a random one and was met with a picture of him and Cecil kissing under a burst of fireworks. I remembered that day. It was New Year's Eve. I had been waiting for him for ages with a bouquet of flowers in the square, all just for him, to send me a text telling me he was working overtime and that I should head home to get some sleep. This whole time, he was in the same square as I was. While I was shivering in the cold with a bouquet in my hands, he was hugging and kissing another woman. I clicked another post. It contained a picture of them sharing an affectionate kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel. I remembered the day as well. I had a terrible fever and was trying to ask him to bring some medicine home for me. It took countless calls before he picked up at all. In the end, he ended up bringing a pack of digestive supplements home. Now that I had seen the post, I realized that the pack of pills wasn’t even meant for me. He was only buying them for Cecil and got some extra for me as a matter of convenience. My eyes were reddening when I clicked on yet another post. It was one of him taking Cecil's dog to the vet for deworming. I remembered that day too. It was a day I would never forget. My grandmother was sick and was on her deathbed at the time. Before her passing, she held my hand tightly and expressed her wish to see Ethan one last time. I called Ethan again and again until he finally picked up. When he finally did answer, he grumbled impatiently, “I have something urgent at work and had to leave for a business trip out of town. What do you expect me to do? I can’t rush back.” Chapter 3 All that time when I was calling Ethan, he was at the veterinary hospital across from the hospital I was in. My heart dropped when I looked at the endless series of posts on his feed. Time and time again, my constant patience and understanding were rewarded by betrayals. Suddenly, a message from Cecil popped up on my phone. [Hey Venice, I was eating with Ethan when we remembered you were hospitalized, so Ethan asked me to transfer you some money for some medicine. [Ethan says that if I don't transfer the money, you might start throwing a tantrum. Go ahead and take the money.] I jerked my lips when I stared at the ten dollars she transferred to me. Then, I proceeded to transfer the money back to her. [No need for that. Go ahead and buy yourself a birthday present with the money. [Besides, that’s about all you’re worth anyway.] Within a minute after I sent the text, Ethan called me. The call had barely connected when I heard him shouting into the phone, cutting off whatever I was going to say, “Venice, what’s your problem? “Cecil was considerate enough to send you the money to get some medicine. Not only are you not grateful for it, but you’re even giving her attitude! “I’m giving the phone to her now, and you better apologize to her properly. It's her birthday today, so make sure you don’t ruin it for her!” I strained a smile when I listened to the accusations he was launching at me. Then, I retorted wryly, “Why should I apologize?” “Venice, what’s your problem? “When did you turn so mean? You should know Cecil came from a poor family. Why would you use it against her? “You need to apologize to her right now!” Upon noting my prolonged silence, Ethan began to rage again, “Fine! So you won't apologize, is that right? “In that case, don’t you dare spend a single cent of mine anymore since you have such a low opinion of the money Cecil gave you! “I’ll think about forgiving you if you come to your senses and apologize to Cecil! You have some self-reflection to do!” With that, he hung up before I could get a word out. Within ten minutes, I received subsequent messages on my phone notifying me that Ethan had canceled all the credit cards registered under my name. I slumped back in the hospital bed and looked out the window with a wry look in my eyes. The little girl in the ward stared at me the whole time. After a moment, she asked empathically, “Did you have a fight with your husband? “Why was he so angry? Was it something you did?” I forced a smile and remarked faintly, “Sometimes, you don’t have to do anything wrong for someone else to decide that you’re guilty.” The child stared at me blankly, “I don't get it! Anyway, all I know is what Mommy tells me about how the most important thing is that I be free and happy!” I was floored by what she said. All I could do was look at her with an astonished expression. She was right. Freedom and joy were the most important. I lay back down on the bed and looked outside again with a desolate look in my eyes this time. Soon, all the exhaustion of the recent days caught up to me. I drifted off to sleep. When I opened my eyes again, it was the nurse who woke me up to tell me to settle the hospital bills if I wanted to remain hospitalized. As I candidly handed over my card, I suddenly remembered Ethan had suspended all of my cards. With that, I made a face and remarked, “It’s fine. I’m going to get discharged today.” Then, I heard someone yelp, “Are you getting discharged today?” The child from the neighboring bed came hopping into the room. She was carrying a tiny robot that seemed oddly familiar to me. “Hey, kiddo. Where did you get that robot?” Chapter 4 “This? There was this man whose wife was hospitalized, and he gave a robot to all of the kids so that we would keep our voices down and not disturb his wife. “Do you like it? If you do, I’ll give it to you! “Huh, strange. Come to think of it, that man kind of looks like the man in that picture on your phone case…” Every word she said made me grow more desolate. When she stopped speaking, I felt as if my strength had been drained and that I could not remain standing. I staggered backward and slumped into the bed with my face deathly pale. I was more than familiar with the robot. After I started dating Ethan, we dedicated ourselves to inventing a high-sensitivity special-purpose robot. Developing a high-sensitivity, special-purpose robot had been our shared dream for years. It was partly influenced by the fact that I carried a rare, hereditary genetic disease. I remembered how Ethan had expressed to me with tears in his eyes, “With my company and your technical knowledge, we’re going to develop a robot that can detect genetic disease. You’re going to live forever.” After countless attempts over many years, we finally managed to deploy the robot a year ago. One significant aspect of the robot was that once it was activated, it could never revert to factory settings. For a while, I had been looking for a suitable chance to test the robots. Just like that, Ethan had given away the handful of prototypes we had. When I finally composed myself, I reached for my phone with trembling hands and dialed his number. After it rang for what seemed like ages, the call finally connected. His voice was very disgruntled, “What is it? Have you finally come to your senses? Are you going to apologize? “One more thing, did you intentionally not tell me about the green bean poisoning? Because of you, Cecil ended up getting green bean poisoning! It’s all your fault!” Upon hearing his blatant accusations, a dreadful look surfaced in my eyes. I lamented, “I already told you I caught green bean poisoning. That was why I wanted you to take me to the hospital! Do you remember what you told me then?” I had been with him for a long time and always submitted myself to his will. My sudden rebuttal must have come across as rather jarring. After a prolonged pause, he launched into another sermon, “That’s not the same thing! You can hardly compare yourself to Cecil! “She’s always had health issues, and it could have killed her! You’re as healthy as an ox, so you’ll be fine! Besides, you’re okay now, aren’t you? “Alright, that’s enough bickering from you. I'm sure you know how busy I am, so if you’re not going to apologize, I'm hanging up!” I looked at the robot the child was holding and blurted out, “Did you give away my robots?” “Yeah, what about it? It’s just some robot. You can just make a couple more, can’t you?” His stark indifference caused all the pent-up emotions inside me to surge quickly. I cried out, “Ethan, you should know how the robot’s features are essentially useless if you activate them mindlessly like this! You just flushed a decade’s worth of effort down the drain!” “Venice, what’s your problem? Why are you yelling at me over something like this? It’s just a robot. Quit being dramatic! “And since we’re on that subject, there was something I needed to tell you. The robot development project will be suspended from now on. After Cecil is discharged, you can hand over the project to her.” “Why?” Ethan must have sensed how rattled I was and produced a long sigh. Then, he explained with rather patronizing patience, “Cecil is new and could use the opportunity to prove herself. You've been with the company for almost a decade, so you’ll be fine without it.” Chapter 5 “Quit being jealous of her and look after her. She’s younger than you. “Anyways, that’s enough talking. I have work to do.” Before I could even get a word out, he hung up on me. I sat by the bed with my hands clenched tightly into fists while I fought to suppress the turbulent emotions in me. The pain was clear in my eyes. I never, ever expected Ethan to turn out like this. He was the man who once told me he loved me with tears in his eyes. He vowed that he would see the robot through to development with me, no matter what, and that he wanted me to live a long and healthy life. Here he was now, questioning my worth. I shook my head to shrug off the terrible thoughts swirling in my mind. Then, I got up to pack my belongings before walking out of the ward. As soon as I stepped out of the ward, I noticed none other than Ethan’s figure from behind. He was attentively helping Cecil keep her balance. Though I could not see his face from my angle, it was telling how much he cared for and worried about her. Then, he seemed to have sensed my gaze and suddenly turned around. Our eyes met in an instant. A trace of panic appeared in his eyes the moment he saw me. I ignored him and continued marching outside. To my surprise, he caught up to me and took my hand from behind. He scowled with a note of disapproval, “What is it? Did you stalk me all the way to the hospital only to leave without saying anything? “Were you going to ask me about the project? “I’ll have you know again that I am going to transfer the project to Cecil. Meanwhile, why don’t you go stand by the door? The security had something personal come up and needed to be relieved for a bit.” Upon noticing my insistence on silence, a disgruntled look surfaced in his eyes. “Venice, you’ve been getting upset very easily lately. Are you going through early menopause? “You're not angry because of Cecil, are you? There’s nothing to worry about. She’s only my employee. That’s all. I was only looking after her because I felt bad about leaving her all by herself. “Is a boss not supposed to look after his employees?” I was getting a sense of whiplash when I observed how self-righteous he was acting. When did he turn into someone like this? Everything started to change from the moment Cecil joined the company. “Yes, there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing,” I replied dryly. All I wanted was to get out of here. With that, he released me and asked in a skeptical voice, “You really think so?” When I nodded perfunctorily, his expression softened, and he seemed satisfied with my response for once, “Great, don’t overthink it. Anyway, that’s enough talk for now. I’m going to go check on her. “Wait for me at home. I have something to speak to you about.” With that, he turned around and headed back to the ward without sparing another look at me. While I was on the way home, I watched the scenery outside the window rushing past when an indescribable throb of pain shot up from the bottom of my heart. A suffocating sensation overtook me. Upon arriving home, I slumped into the couch, only to immediately notice a diary tucked in the corner. I picked it up out of curiosity and started flipping through it without a thought. When I read the contents, I soon found myself sitting up straight. Ethan never let me read his diary over the years. He told me it was a chronicle of our romance and that we could reminisce about the past once we got older. I could hardly find the courage to keep turning the pages when I read the paragraph on the page. [The other day, Venice was asking me what I would do if I met a woman better than her and who liked me as well. [I instinctively told her that she was the only woman I would love in this lifetime!] Chapter 6 [But the truth is, Cecil was the first person who came to mind.] Though it was only a couple of sentences on a page, I was bawling. Loyalty was a choice, and Ethan had made a deliberate choice to forsake it. I did not read the rest of the diary because there was no longer a point to doing so. I picked up my phone to call my best friend, Tasha Payton. “Hey! What’s the occasion for a busy woman like you to call me?” “Hey Tasha, would you please draft a divorce paper for me?” Upon noting how serious I sounded, Tasha changed her tone to match mine. “What happened?” With that, I proceeded to tell her everything that had happened recently, to which she responded with a drawn-out silence. At last, she sighed exasperatedly before expressing, “Ten years all to get to such a tragic ending. What happened to all that vow of loving you till the end? What kind of ending?” I forced a smile and commented ironically, “Divorce.” “Babe, you made the right choice. Don’t ever doubt yourself for that. You did not do anything wrong, so just leave this to me.” After hanging up, I got up from the couch and went to the refrigerator to grab a few cans of beer. When I sat on the floor, someone set off a round of fireworks outside. When I watched the flare slowly dissipate outside the window, I felt my heart was also doing the same thing. I downed one can of beer after another to numb the pain with alcohol. At one point, my head was starting to spin. That was when Ethan suddenly came home. The moment he switched on the light, our eyes met. Upon noticing the redness in my eyes, he paused for a moment to take in what was happening. Then, he snatched the drink from my hand and hissed sharply, “I told you I don’t like you drinking. Were you listening? “It seems to me you never take anything I say seriously, do you? “This is the last time. Don't you ever do this again! “Get up. Wash your face and sober up. I need to talk to you.” With that, he yanked me up off the floor and nudged me toward the bathroom. I was struggling to keep my balance at all and had to smack my face to force myself to sober up. Seeing as I had something to tell him as well, I washed my face to sober up as quickly as I could. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw him seated on the couch with an expectant look on his face. He was holding a document. “My dear, do you know what this is?” I had to do a double-take when I heard him. Although we had been together for a decade, this was the first time he had addressed me as “my dear.” “Come on! Come check out what this is!” Upon coming to my senses, I approached, still feeling quite puzzled. As I drew closer, I was struck by the overpowering smell of a woman’s perfume. I had to fight the immediate repulsion that washed over me in that moment. I regarded him coolly and tried to suggest a divorce when he suddenly handed me the document. When I finally looked at the document, I was floored. How could this be happening?