I wanted our first anniversary to be perfect. The table was set with our wedding china, candles flickered romantically, and I wore the dress Thomas always loved. Then his call came – another “emergency business trip” on our special day. Again.
The delivery arrived just as I hung up. A beautiful white cake with golden letters that turned my stomach: “It’s time to get divorced!” The anonymous note underneath chilled me further: “Hope you take this as well as he did.”
My mother-in-law’s excited call about a ring Thomas supposedly gave me – one I’d never received – raised alarms. Playing along, I followed her suggestion to “surprise” Thomas at his hotel. What I found instead was Gloria lounging with a gorgeous stranger, smugly admitting she’d orchestrated everything to replace me with someone “more suitable.”
Little did she know I’d had Thomas on the phone the whole time. Hearing his mother’s confession, he raced to the hotel, furious. That night, over a belated anniversary dinner, Thomas finally presented the real ring – and we made a pact to never let his mother interfere in our marriage again.
