The sweet taste of revenge

Miranda woke up and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was 11:00 pm, and she had only been asleep for an hour, but something felt wrong. When she looked at Peter's side of the bed, she noticed it was empty and decided to see where her husband had gone. She crept down the stairs and looked in his office and the family room, but he wasn't there. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard a muffled voice from the garage and stopped to listen. Her heart sank as she realized he was at it again. She asked herself how many times she was going to catch him cheating before she walked out the door. There wasn't anything holding her back from leaving because they didn't have children, and she was financially stable before she met him. Also, she had been through this at least twice in the last three years. The last time she caught him, he broke down and cried, saying he would never let it happen again. He blamed his father, who cheated on his mother and then told him it was something men did, and it didn't really mean anything. He refused to go to therapy but promised he could overcome his demons on his own. Miranda was forgiving, but now she felt like she was just being a fool.

Miranda put her ear to the door leading to the garage to see if she could make out what he was saying and heard the end of the conversation.

"Of course, baby. I can be there Friday night. I'll tell her I'm having dinner with a client and I'll be late. Make sure you order food to your condo because I don't want to waste any of our alone time sitting in a restaurant."

She could hear a female talking, but it was very faint. Then she heard Peter say, "All right, I'm going to bed to dream about you. I'll call you tomorrow."

When Miranda heard that, she turned and ran back up the stairs. She wasn't going to confront him again. This time, she would play it differently.

Peter crawled back into bed while Miranda pretended to be sleeping. She hoped he wouldn't hear how heavy her breathing was from running up the stairs and realize she was awake, but thankfully, he fell right asleep.

She lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, utterly void of all emotions. There would be no more crying and carrying on. Miranda was done giving him that power over her. This time, she would find a way to make him pay for his betrayal in another way.

Miranda woke up before Peter and went downstairs to make breakfast and have coffee before she left for work. She doubted that she had slept more than a few hours, but she was feeling good about her decision on how to navigate her exit from this marriage. As she sat down at the island in her kitchen, she heard her husband come from behind her saying, “Good morning, my beautiful wife. How are you this morning?”

Miranda struggled not to throw her spoon at him, but she held her temper and smiled back, saying, “Good morning, darling. It’s a beautiful day. Can I get you a coffee?”

Peter responded, “No, I’m heading to the office early, and I’ll grab something on the way. Are you going into the store today?”

 Miranda owned a high-end clothing boutique in their town, which was very successful and had been her labor of love for the past fifteen years.

“Yes, but not until later. I have some things to do around the house, and Chloe will open for me today.”

“That sounds good. I’ll be home for dinner tonight; however, I have a meeting with a client on Friday, so I’ll be late.” Peter responded.

Miranda’s back was to Peter, and he couldn’t see the anger on her face as she smiled and said, “Ok, I’ll make plans for Wednesday night then. Be careful driving. I’ll see you tonight.”

Peter approached her and leaned in for a kiss. Miranda closed her eyes and kissed him back, trying her best not to react. Once he was out the door, she opened her laptop and started looking for apartments. Pulling this all together by Friday would take a miracle, but she was determined to get her revenge.

Miranda lived in an apartment when they met and moved into Peter’s house after they married, so she never really had an emotional attachment to this place. She did a few things to make it feel more like her home but never really went too far because they planned to sell it and find something else. However, they both ended up being too busy with their careers for the last five years to take the time to make that happen.

“Bingo! Miranda said aloud, “This apartment is perfect. It’s vacant, close to town, and I know the owner of the building. I’m sure she will help me move this along quickly and keep it quiet.” She closed her laptop after writing all the information down so she could call and put things in motion. For a quick second, she felt a pang of guilt and thought to herself, “What if I’m wrong? What if I do all of this, and he really has a meeting with a client?” She shook her head from side to side vigorously to get rid of those thoughts. Miranda knew what she heard in the garage and recognized the patterns. It was time to stop making excuses for him and stand on her own. The one thing she knew for sure was she didn’t want to spend her life with someone who cheated, and she had to leave before it became easier to stay.

The week went quickly, and by Thursday, Miranda was amazed at how much she had accomplished. She had everything worked out with the landlord and could take possession of the apartment on Friday. When she confided in her best friend, Vivian, about her plan, she wasn’t shocked to hear her say it was about time. Vivian told her that everyone in town knew he was a philanderer but kept it to themselves for fear of hurting Miranda. While this should have made her decision easier, she couldn’t help but feel even sadder about how someone who said he loved her could be so duplicitous in the marriage.

When Friday morning came, Peter woke up singing and headed to the shower. Miranda got up and went downstairs to make him coffee. She wanted him to be shocked when he walked through that door tonight. Vivian met her at the apartment on Thursday to help her get some deliveries and assemble an air mattress that would have to work until the rest of her furniture could arrive. They both kept repeating, “Thank goodness for the internet,” because they could order almost everything she needed from her phone.

“Good morning, my beautiful wife,” Peter said as he swept into the kitchen and picked up his coffee. He smelled of expensive aftershave and wore a custom-tailored suit. He was pulling out all the stops for this new girl.

“Good morning! You look extra handsome today and smell delicious. It must be a very important client,” Miranda said with a smile, trying not to sound sarcastic.

“You are right. He is very important. You know how it is in advertising. You have to wine and dine them so they feel special and want to give you their business.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll get all the business tonight, darling,” Miranda replied.

“Fingers crossed. Now don’t wait up for me. I’ll be late. See you in the morning.” Peter said and kissed Miranda, oblivious to what was about to happen.

As soon as he left, Miranda pulled out all their suitcases and called Vivian.

“He’s gone. You can come over and help me pack. I really appreciate your help.” She went to their bedroom and started packing all her belongings in the suitcases. She even loaded giant trash bags with everything that couldn’t fit in the suitcases. It took the two women four hours to get everything packed and loaded into their cars and another four to get Miranda as organized as possible in her new place. They ordered Chinese takeout, opened a bottle of wine to celebrate Miranda’s independence, and talked about how they would love to see Peter’s face when he walked in the door. While having Vivian with her to get through this night was helpful, Miranda knew there would be many emotionally challenging days ahead when Peter found out she left.

It was two in the morning when Peter turned his key in the door. His suit was rumpled, but he had showered at the girl’s house to ensure the smell of what they had been doing was gone. As her walked through the house, he felt something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but it almost sounded like his footsteps echoed. When he walked into the bedroom, he saw the bed hadn’t been slept in, and Miranda’s closet doors were open, showing everything had been removed. He looked at the bed and saw a note addressed to him.

“Peter,

I know where you were tonight. For the past three nights, I have heard you talking on the phone in the garage late at night. I will no longer be a fool or the wife who has everyone talking behind her back. I have moved out of the house and on with my life. I will have a lawyer contact you next week. I don’t want anything from you, only what was mine before we were married. I’m sure you and your new girlfriend will have a happy life together until you start cheating on her, too.”

Peter threw the letter on the bed and sat down. He never saw this coming or expected her to be the one that would get revenge. She waited all week and never let on that she knew. He knew it would be futile to try and talk his way out of it again because he had hurt her so many times before. He went into the kitchen, poured a drink, and started to cry.