At the dinner table, my wife Maya's guy best friend Derek was flushed red from drinking. He threw his arm around Maya's shoulders, his eyes hazy with alcohol as he reminisced about the past. "Maya, do you ever think about it? If we hadn't broken up back then, our kid would probably be in school by now, right?" My fingers tightened around my glass. Derek noticed the change in my expression. Not only did he not back off, he actually made a "tsk" sound and pulled Maya even closer. He looked at me provocatively. "Oh, Ethan, bet you didn't know Maya and I used to date, huh?" "Look at her being all secretive about it. Could it be... she still has feelings for me?" Before Maya could explain, I laughed. I cut off his drunken rambling, my voice not loud, but clear enough to carry through the entire private room. "How about we wait until Maya and I finalize our divorce, then you can shoot your shot?" "After all, jumping straight from one relationship to another looks pretty bad." **[Chapter One]** The air in the private room instantly froze. The music, the laughter, the drinking games—everything stopped abruptly. All eyes turned to me, filled with shock, confusion, and a trace of excitement at the drama. Maya's face turned deathly pale in an instant. She shoved Derek away violently, staring at me in disbelief. "Ethan, have you lost your mind? Do you even know what you're saying?" Derek was stunned too, sobering up considerably. He dropped his arm, his eyes full of bewilderment. I smirked, drained the rest of my drink in one gulp. The liquor burned like fire from my throat down to my stomach. I stood up, looking down at them. "Was I not clear enough?" "Divorce." "Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock. Meet me at the courthouse." With that, I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair and walked out without another glance at her. Maya's shrill voice followed me. "Ethan! Stop right there! Explain yourself!" "It was just a joke! Are you seriously overreacting like this?!" I didn't stop. Didn't turn around. Overreacting? When she said she wanted "our own place in the city," I worked myself to the bone, juggling three jobs until I landed in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer. When she said she wanted "a wedding to remember," I took every penny my parents had saved for retirement and gave her the ceremony she called "the day of my dreams." Because of this so-called "guy best friend" of hers, we'd fought countless times. I compromised again and again, believing her every time she said, "We're just friends." Now I could see—I'd been lying to myself all along. Outside the restaurant, the evening breeze hit me, and that burning sensation in my chest finally started to fade. My phone began vibrating frantically. It was Maya. I declined the call. She called again. I declined again. After several rounds, my phone went quiet. A SnapChat message popped up. Maya: "Ethan, what the hell is wrong with you? All because of Derek's drunk comment? Since when did you become so petty?" I stared at those words and let out a cold laugh. A drunk comment? If I hadn't installed that hidden camera in the private room beforehand, if I hadn't received those photos from the private investigator this afternoon, I might actually have believed it was just a "drunk comment." I opened my photo album, looking at picture after picture of the two of them kissing outside a hotel, making out in a car. My eyes stung. I sent her a message back. "Tomorrow. Nine o'clock. Court-house." "Don't be late." "Oh, and here's a little something for you." I selected all those photos, packaged them up, and sent them at full resolution. On the other end, complete silence. **[Chapter Two]** The next morning at 8:50, I arrived at the courthouse right on time. The sunlight was a bit harsh. I lit a cigarette and waited quietly. At exactly nine o'clock, a taxi pulled up by the curb. Maya got out, her eyes red and swollen, her face heavy with exhaustion and haggardness that even her carefully applied makeup couldn't hide. She rushed up to me, her voice hoarse. "Ethan, we need to talk." "The photos... the photos are photoshopped! Derek was just messing around with me!" I exhaled a smoke ring, watching her pathetic performance. "Oh? Really?" "So the hotel booking records were also a joke? And the $5,200 he transfers to your bank account every month—that's a joke too?" Maya's face went ashen. Her lips trembled, unable to form a single word. I crushed the cigarette butt in the trash bin and pulled out the documents I'd prepared from my briefcase. "Divorce agreement. I had a lawyer draft it." "You committed adultery during our marriage and misappropriated marital assets. By law, you should leave with nothing." I paused, looking at that face that once made my heart race. "But for old times' sake, I'll be fair. The condo we bought after marriage is worth $300,000. I paid the down payment, we split the mortgage. The condo goes to me, but I'll reimburse you for your portion of the mortgage payments in cash." "You keep the car. We split the savings fifty-fifty." "Pretty generous of me, don't you think?" Tears immediately streamed down Maya's face. She grabbed my arm, crying and begging. "No! I don't want a divorce! Ethan, I was wrong, I was so wrong!" "It was a moment of weakness! You're the one I love!" "Give me one more chance, please? I'll cut Derek off completely!" Gently but firmly, I pried her fingers off one by one. "Maya, it's too late." "When I found out you used the money we'd been saving for a car to buy him the latest phone—it was already too late." "When I found out you lied about working overtime but were actually celebrating his birthday—it was already too late." "When I saw that hickey on your neck and you told me it was a mosquito bite allergy—it was already too late." With each statement, her face grew paler. By the end, she was trembling all over, as if all the strength had been drained from her body. "Sign it." I handed her the pen. "Don't make me make this any uglier than it needs to be." Her gaze fixed on the words "marital infidelity" in the divorce agreement. Her body swayed, nearly collapsing. Maya eventually signed. She knew that what I had on her was enough to destroy her reputation completely. Walking out of the courthouse, our marriage certificate replaced by divorce papers, I felt an indescribable mix of emotions. Relief, but also a hint of emptiness. Three years of my life, all fed to the dogs. I'd just gotten in my car when an unknown number called. I answered. An arrogant male voice came through. "Is this Ethan? It's Derek." I said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "So you and Maya got divorced?" "Well, well. Got some balls, I'll give you that. But hey, you actually did us a favor." "Maya's at my place right now, crying her eyes out. Breaks my heart to see her like this." "Come on, man, why be so petty? She just made a mistake that all women make, you know?" Listening to his twisted logic, I was so angry I laughed. "Done?" Derek paused. "Huh?" "If you're done, I'm hanging up. I don't have time to listen to dogs bark." With that, I hung up and blocked the number. I hit the gas, merging into traffic. This wasn't the time for wallowing in self-pity. The revenge had only just begun. Did Maya think that once we divorced and split the assets, this was over? How naive. **[Chapter Three]** I pulled out another phone and dialed a number. "Hey Ryan, how's that thing I asked you to look into coming along?" Ryan was a private investigator I'd met while working on a project. The guy had connections everywhere. "Ethan, my man, it's all handled. That Derek guy—looks all respectable on the outside, manager at some investment firm, but his ass is dirty as hell." "He's been using his position for insider trading. Made about two hundred grand illegally. I've compiled all the evidence and emailed it to you." "Oh, and he's not just messing around with Maya. He's got several girls on the hook, including one who's his boss's daughter." My eyes went cold. "Thanks, Ryan. I'll transfer the money to you right away." I hung up and opened my email. An encrypted file sat there waiting. Derek. Maya. Your "good days" are just beginning. I didn't release the evidence right away. Bullets should be saved for the most critical moment. First, I called Maya's parents. The phone had barely connected when my mother-in-law—well, former mother-in-law now—blasted through with her familiar booming voice. "Ethan? What's going on with you and Maya? Why aren't you answering her calls? Are you bullying her?" I spoke calmly. "Ma'am, Maya and I are divorced."Silence on the other end for a full ten seconds. "Di... divorced? Why?! Weren't you two doing fine?" "You'll have to ask your wonderful daughter about that." "You can also ask her who Derek is." With that, I hung up. I could imagine the chaos erupting in the household right now. Next, I printed out hundreds of copies of the intimate photos of Derek and Maya, along with screenshots of their hotel booking records. All anonymous. Then I drove to the school where Maya worked. She was a dance teacher at a private elementary school. She'd always been most concerned about her "gentle and refined" image. I didn't go inside. I just stood at the school entrance, distributing these printed "evidence" copies to the parents picking up their kids. "Free entertainment. No need to thank me." The parent chat groups exploded. "Oh my God! Isn't this Miss Maya who teaches our kids?" "Holy crap, she looks so innocent, but she's playing these games?" "Who's this guy? He doesn't look like her husband!" "Tsk tsk tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover. How can someone like this be a teacher? Don't want her corrupting my kid!" Public opinion can be a knife that kills. I wanted her most precious reputation to rot completely. After finishing all this, I drove away, my mission accomplished. Halfway there, I got a call from my mom. "Son, you and Maya... you really divorced?" I made an affirmative sound. On the other end, my mom sighed. "It's for the best. That kind of woman doesn't deserve my son." "I always felt something was off about the way she looked at you, like she had ulterior motives. But you wouldn't listen." "Come home. Mom will make you your favorite dishes." Warmth flooded through me, my eyes getting a bit hot. "Okay." **[Chapter Four]** When I got home, my mom had indeed prepared a whole table full of my favorite foods. My dad sat to the side. Though he didn't say a word, the concern in his eyes was impossible to hide. "Mom, Dad, I'm fine." I pushed the rice around in my bowl, my voice a bit muffled. My mom served me some braised pork. "Good that you're fine. There are plenty of good girls in the world. We're not worried." "Do you have enough money? If not, Mom has some." I shook my head. "I'm good. The company has a project coming up. If it goes well, I'll get a nice bonus." After dinner, I shut myself in my room and opened my computer. I divided the evidence Ryan had sent about Derek's insider trading into several portions. One portion, I anonymously sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission's reporting email. One portion, I anonymously sent to Derek's company compliance department's reporting email. And the most explosive portion—the chat records and photos of him with his boss's daughter and several other women—I sent directly to his boss's private email. Also anonymous. For the email subject line, I made it bold and enlarged. **[A cuckold's crown for Mr. Williams. Please accept delivery.]** After finishing all this, I let out a long breath. Now, time to sit back and watch the show. Early the next morning, I got a call from my childhood friend Kyle. "Ethan! Holy shit! Dude, you're a legend!" "That whole thing with your ex-wife is blowing up at her school! I heard she's been suspended!" I smiled. "That's just the appetizer." "There's more?!" Kyle's voice was bursting with excitement. "Wait for the news." I hung up and scrolled through the local financial news. Sure enough, one story had shot to the top of the headlines. **[XX Investment Company Executive Derek S. Suspected of Insider Trading, Taken by Police for Questioning]** The accompanying photo showed Derek being escorted out of the company by two police officers, his face ashen with despair. The comments section was already exploding. "Holy crap, isn't this my classmate? He always seemed so successful!" "You never really know people. He'd do anything for money." "I heard he was also two-timing multiple women and even cheated with his boss's daughter. Is that true?" I read these comments, feeling a surge of satisfaction. Derek, this is just the beginning. Prison time—that's your true destination. With Derek arrested, Maya completely fell apart. The private school where she worked valued teacher ethics and reputation above all else. After such a huge scandal, her termination was guaranteed. She called and texted me frantically. The content went from cursing at first to desperate pleading later. "Ethan, I'm begging you, please let me go!" "I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!" "Can you please delete those photos? The school is going to fire me! I can't lose this job!" "As long as you help me, I'll do anything you want!" Looking at these messages, I only felt the irony. If you knew this day would come, why did you do it in the first place? I didn't reply to a single message. Mercy to your enemies is cruelty to yourself. Two days later, an unexpected person found me outside my company building. My former mother-in-law. She wasn't as arrogant as she'd been on the phone last time. Her face was plastered with an ingratiating smile, and she carried a basket of fruit. "Ethan, look at you, acting like we're strangers." "Even if you and Maya are divorced, we're still family, aren't we?" I leaned against the wall, looking at her with a half-smile. "Ma'am, if you have something to say, say it." Her smile stiffened for a moment, then she continued. "Well... about Maya's job situation... do you think you could talk to the principal? Didn't you have dinner with them before?" "If she loses her job, it doesn't look good for you either, does it?" I was almost amused by her twisted logic. "First, Maya and I have no relationship anymore. Her affairs have nothing to do with me." "Second, you know exactly why she's being fired, don't you? She did something wrong. I didn't make her lose her job." "Third, whether it looks good for me or not isn't your concern." "If there's nothing else, please leave. I have work to do." My former mother-in-law's expression immediately soured. "Ethan! Don't be so ungrateful!" "So what if she cheated? It's not that big a deal! Maya's young and didn't know better. What's wrong with making a mistake?" "Can't you be the bigger person? Do you have to push her to the edge like this?" I looked at her coldly. "Be the bigger person?" "When she despised me for being poor and ran off with Derek, why didn't you tell her to be the bigger person?" "When she used my card to buy things for Derek, why didn't you tell her to be the bigger person?" "Now that she's in trouble, you want ME to be the bigger person? Too late!" "Get lost!" That last word, I practically shouted. My former mother-in-law was so frightened by my intensity that she stepped back twice, pointing at me and sputtering "you, you, you" for a while before slinking away in defeat.
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