“Five Years”
But Samantha apparently couldn’t stand the silence.
“Oh, come on. It’s not like anything happened.”
I turned toward her. “Are you serious?”
She shrugged.
“People flirt. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“You’re married to my ex-fiancé!”
“And you’re married to someone who clearly enjoys talking to me.”
Mike put his phone on the table.
“Samantha, I didn’t flirt with you. I told you to stop.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You’re really going to pretend you didn’t like the attention?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why keep the messages?”
“Because you kept ignoring my boundaries, and I was worried you’d eventually lie about what happened.”
Her face reddened.
“You think I’m some kind of criminal?”
“No. I think you’re someone who refuses to hear the word no.”
The garage door opened.
Spencer returned carrying a bag of ice and several bottles.
He stopped when he saw everyone standing.
“What happened?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Samantha rushed toward him.
“Your brother-in-law is accusing me of things!”
Spencer frowned. “What things?”
Mike spoke before she could invent an explanation.
“Your wife has been sending me inappropriate messages for three months.”
Spencer said, “What?”
“She has repeatedly suggested that I leave my wife for her.”
Samantha grabbed Spencer’s arm. “He’s twisting everything!”
Spencer looked at Mike. “Did you encourage her?”
“No.”
“Then why were you messaging my wife?”
Mike picked up his phone.
“Read our conversation.”
Spencer hesitated.
Then he took it.
The room became painfully quiet.
I watched him scroll.
His expression went from confusion to disbelief.
Then anger.
He stopped at the photograph of Samantha in the red dress.
“Why did you send him this?”
Samantha folded her arms.
“Because you never compliment me anymore.”
Spencer looked up.
“So you sent it to your sister’s husband?”
“It was harmless!”
He continued reading.
A few seconds later, his face changed completely.
“What’s this about leaving me?”
Samantha said nothing.
He read aloud.
“I only settled for Spencer, Mike. But you, I can be happy with you. I am ready to leave him.”
His voice cracked on the last word.
“Settling?”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Samantha reached for his hand.
“Spencer, I was frustrated.”
He pulled away.
“You told another man you’d leave me if he wanted you?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then explain what it was like.”
She looked around the table, searching for support.
Mom finally spoke.
“Maybe everyone should calm down. This is supposed to be my birthday.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Mom, seriously?”
She looked at me helplessly.
“Please. We’ve already lost five years together. Can’t we just have one peaceful evening?”
Something inside me finally gave way.
“Five years,” I repeated.
Mom sighed. “Sweetheart.”
“No. You keep talking about those five years like we stopped speaking because of some silly argument.”
Samantha rolled her eyes.
“Here we go.”
I turned toward her.
“You slept with my fiancé while you were supposed to be helping me plan my wedding.”
Her expression hardened.
“He chose me.”
“And you married him wearing my engagement ring.”
Spencer lowered his eyes.
I looked at Mom.
“She sent me a wedding photograph just to make sure I saw it. And when I called you crying, do you remember what you said?”
I remembered every word.
“You told me that sometimes relationships don’t work out and I needed to accept that Spencer had made his choice.”
Mom’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t want you holding on to bitterness.”
“You didn’t want to deal with what Samantha had done.”
“I love both my daughters.”
“Then why was loving Samantha always more important than protecting me?”
Mom wiped her face. “I thought if I got everyone together, we could finally move forward.”
Mike spoke quietly. “Moving forward requires someone to admit what they did.”
May you like
Mom looked at him. “Samantha made mistakes.”
“She made a choice,” he corrected. “And everyone kept pretending her choice didn’t hurt anyone.”
