His Betrayal, Her Revenge

Sophie Hayes could barely contain her excitement as she drove towards her husband’s office. Today was their fifth wedding anniversary and although he had told her he was going to be working late, she decided to surprise him with a beautiful homemade cake. It was their tradition. Every anniversary, they shared cake, smearing each other's faces with the cake icing while laughing and messing around like kids.

Afterwards, they usually had dinner somewhere romantic, during which Gabriel always surprised her with the most amazing gifts. Last year, he gave her the most beautiful diamond necklace, which she was wearing right now, together with the pretty red dress that he told her made her look ‘dangerously sexy.’ She had worn it just for him. She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror. A pale-skinned, dark-haired woman stared back at her. Her makeup was flawless, her lips a deep shade of red. Tonight was going to be special.

He had been quite busy these past months as he had a huge deal he was trying to close with some Chinese investors and so she decided to bring the party to him instead. Their four year-old-son, Nathan, was with his nanny, and so they could have the evening to themselves.

As she got to the reception area of the building, Gabriel's assistant, Claire, immediately stepped out from behind the desk, blocking her way.

“ Mrs Hayes, you’re here” she said and gave her a smile that looked fake.

“Hi Claire, is Gabriel in?” Sophie asked

“Uh.. yes. I’ll just give him a call to let him know you’re here” the assistant said. She looked panicked and Sophie wondered what was going on with her.

“That won’t be necessary. I want to surprise him” she said cheerfully and smiled, walking past the desk.

She immediately started moving towards his office. As Sophie got closer, she heard some voices coming from inside the office. Someone was screaming. No, not screaming. Someone was grunting.

Sophie slowed down but kept moving. She carefully opened the door to Gabriel’s office and saw him leaned over his desk and naked from the waist down. The office was dimly lit, the blinds drawn and she could see files scattered all over the floor. But she could make out the figure of Gabriel, leaning with one hand on the table and thrusting against a woman who was bent over the desk in front of him and with her legs wide open. The woman was moaning in pleasure and screaming at him to continue and Gabriel thrusting harder and faster. He had not seen her yet as his back was still turned to her.

Sophie’s mouth fell open in shock. The cake fell out of her hand, making a loud sound as it hit the ground. Gabriel immediately turned towards her direction. And that was when Sophie saw the woman in front of him, she would know that long blonde hair anywhere.

Olivia.

Sophie staggered as her legs went weak, her breath caught in her throat and she felt like she was choking. Her gaze locked with her best friend, Olivia, lying on Gabriel’s desk, her lips still pressed into his neck with Gabriel’s hand gripping her waist. The raw image seared itself into Sophie’s mind, an image she probably would never be able to erase.

This couldn’t be happening

She felt like screaming but she felt like she had lost her voice and her senses. Nothing was making sense to her. Maybe this was just a nightmare and she would wake up from it soon.

This could not be happening. Olivia has been her best friend since they were teenagers. She was the only constant person in her life since her parents died years ago. She was like a sister to her.

And now she was here…doing this.

Gabriel looked at her over his shoulders , there had only been a flit of surprise for a second on his face before she saw something that looked like anger. It was almost as if he was angry that she had interrupted them. As if she was only a bother.

“Sophie, Aren’t you supposed to be home with Nathan?” he said, his voice impatient.

Sophie’s throat tightened but she forced out a whisper.

“Gabriel, what is this? Her voice cracked, weak. Her eyes darted to Olivia. “Olivia… how could you? ” she whispered, her voice trembling.

Olivia’s eyes sparkled with something that looked like amusement. “Happy anniversary Sophie” she said softly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sophie suddenly felt the anger burning in her veins . Her fist clenched. She wanted to scream, to slap Olivia across the face. To grab her by the hair and drag her off that desk and out of the office like this slut she was. How could she do this to her ? She had trusted her. She trusted Olivia with her life and always confided in her about everything and now she turned around to stab her in the back.

“I trusted you” Sophie said, as she felt a tear roll down her face.

Olivia slowly straightened up, moving to Gabriel’s side like she belonged there. “Oh Sophie darling, you really didn’t see it? Olivia titled her head, smirking as she draped herself in Gabriel’s arms like a trophy. “You always played the saint. The perfect wife. But you were so boring. So predictable. You handed him to me, darling”

Sophie looked at Gabriel expecting him to say something, anything, but he didn’t utter a word, he just kept tracing his fingers down Olivia’s neck and kissing her exposed breast as if Sophie wasn’t even in the room.

Sophie was trembling now and she could literally hear her heartbeat in her ear, drowning all rational thoughts. All she could feel was raw burning anger. She looked at the cake scattered at her feet, the words “happy anniversary honey” smeared across the floor. She felt like a fool.

There was a small cake knife on the floor, the knife they were supposed to use in cutting the cake. She suddenly felt like grabbing it and charging towards Olivia with it but she felt frozen in place. She had been so stupid, telling Olivia everything about her life, how Gabriel was beginning to get distant and how she was worried he wasn’t in love with her anymore. She had been vulnerable with the monster that was supposed to be her best friend. It was Olivia’s idea that she surprised him at work on their anniversary.

“I can’t believe you would do this, and on our anniversary” she said to Gabriel, tears streaming down her face. She knew her mascara had run down her face, and the make-up she had spent so much time on was now smeared all over her face. “What about our plans? She said, her heart breaking

“Well, plans changed” Gabriel said, without a drop of remorse in his voice

“And you..” she turned to Olivia “you knew I was supposed to surprise him today. You knew what today was”

Olivia shrugged “Yeah.. I just figured it’d be more fun if I surprised him first”

“How long has this been going on for?” Sophie asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She wanted Gabriel to tell her that it was a mistake. That it was a one time thing, a moment of weakness that would never happen again.

“Six months,” Gabriel said flatly. “But if we’re being honest, we’ve been crazy about each other long before that and it was just a matter of time before this happens anyways.

“But why…” Sophie said, her voice pleading “is it me? Was I not good enough for you?”

Gabriel stood up and moved towards Sophie. He looked at her, his eyes cold.

“You make a good wife Sophie. But good isn’t enough anymore”

And with that, he turned his back to her. Just like that.

Sophie had heard enough. She stumbled out of the office, her eyes clouded with tears. She didn’t care how she looked and ignored the concerned look people gave her as she went down the hallway, down the elevator and outside into the open.

By the time she reached outside, she realized she was still holding an anniversary note she had written for Gabriel. A sweet note for her supposedly sweet husband.

She shredded the card into a hundred pieces, crying as she did so. She discarded it into a waste basket close by and slowly collapsed to the ground.