Revenge of the Betrayed Husband

"I guess I'll see you later bro..." Anthony waved at Atlas as he exited the building of the factory he worked in.

"Yeah, later man." Atlas waved back at his colleague and friend without looking at him. After the day's work he was too exhausted to move anywhere but straight ahead.

Atlas lets out a sigh of relief as soon as the outside breeze enveloped him, glad that he was finally away from all that toxic chemical in the factory.

The only good thing about work these days was when Atlas got to go back home to his wife and sleep. Usually he would be on his way to his second job where he worked as a waste carrier by now but it was his day off and as much as he had pleaded with his boss to let him take up extra shifts today, he had vehemently refused, saying that he was taking too much space here and that he wasn't the only one that needed money.

It would have been funny if it wasn't completely true. Atlas was in fact always there, picking up extra shifts every chance he got. It wasn't exactly because he loved his job so much, after all, his job was to pack and dump waste, it was because he needed the money even though the pay was piss poor. He'd even gotten himself a nickname, Shift sniffer, because of how eager he was to take up extra shifts.

He was doing all of this work for one reason and it was Jessica, his wife.

Atlas walked along the sidewalk, his hands in the pocket of his worn out jeans and his eyes trained straight ahead. He couldn't wait to get home and crash. He had not gotten much sleep throughout the week. Hell, he had not gotten much sleep in years and it had begun to take a toll on his body albeit slowly.

As he continued down the busy sidewalk of Preston, his thoughts focused on getting home and falling into the arms of his wife, his phone buzzed loudly in his pocket.

Without hesitation, Atlas plucked out the buzzing phone from his pocket to check who was calling only to find out that it was simply his alarm. He'd apparently set a reminder for something he couldn't remember.

Confused as to what he had set a reminder for, he typed out his pin, opening his phone.

Atlas stopped abruptly in his tracks as soon as he saw the words ANNIVERSARY! Written in bold letters onr his screen.

"Oh shit!" He cursed, his eyes widening in shock and distress still staring at his screen.

"Don't just stop in the middle of the road like that, you don't own it, you know." an annoyed voice snapped as the owner ambled past him.

"Move out of the way!" Another voice said, ambling past tge still shocked Atlas.

"Sorry." Atlas said absent-mindedly without so much as glancing up at the stranger who had almost bumped into him. He was more concerned about the crisis in his hands.

Shit! Shit! He cursed again as he stepped to the side of the walkway. He'd forgotten about his wedding anniversary!

He ran his hands through his brown moppy hair, as he began to race frantically.

Jessica, his wife, was going to kill him.

No wonder she hasn't texted all day. She had expected him to do the texting and the way she'd spoken to him on his way to work had been off and had sounded rad bitter. He hadn't wished her a happy anniversary.

A feeling of panic came over him and without thinking he began to type out an apology to his wife, hoping to mend the situation before it got out of hand.

Abruptly, he stopped typing as an idea popped up in his head.

He could apologize now and make his wife think he'd actually forgotten about their anniversary and never hear the end of it or surprise her with flowers and chocolate and maybe wine.

It would definitely beat apologizing and admitting he completely forgot about their precious day.

But even as the idea came, the realization that he didn't even have enough money to get these things for her caused his shoulders to slump like a fish that had just been taken out of water.

He could only afford to get her a single rose or at best the cheapest bouquet there was which would still look piss poor.

Atlas ran his hands through hair again, almost pulling the strands out as an overwhelming need to yell out in frustration hit him. How could he have forgotten about a precious day like today and how come his alarm clock had not buzzed earlier?!

He hated that he couldn't afford basic things such as chocolate for his wife.

No! He couldn't go home empty handed, not after forgetting to text her all day. He knew she would completely understand but he was beginning to tire of putting her in a position to always understand. He hated that for her.

Atlas and Jessica have been together since highschool. She was the popular homecoming queen that every guy wanted to be with and he was the nerdy, poor, quiet kid that was constantly bullied for being poor.

How they had gotten together when they were worlds apart still surprised him till this day.

It had been an unsual meeting but there was no denying that day had been the best day of his life.

It had been on a rainy day when they had first interacted. He had just been beaten up by the quarterback of the football team because he had forgotten to do his assignment.

In his defense, he had fallen asleep after a long shift at the factory and had forgotten to finish his work.

He had been walking under the rain with a bloody nose and shirt back home when he noticed Jessica parked just outside his house with the hood of a car open and a disgruntled look on her face.

Confused, Atlas had walked up to her and she had glanced up at him, a distressed look on her face.

"Everything okay?" He had asked her against his better judgment. He knew well enough to never speak to the popular crowd except spoken to by then but he couldn't just ignore her.

"No, my car... it won't start." She had pointed at thel herb car.

Her soft but clear voice had done something to him that day but he had refused to acknowledge it at that time.

"I have tried reaching my dad but he's not picking up and the stupid thing won't start no matter how much I try." She had whined, almost at the verge of tears.

"Oh, I can take a look at it for you." Ii had shrugged.

She had looked at him with so much appreciation in her eyes that he had been ready to do anything for her in that moment. The truth was that he had always had a little crush on her. Hell, every red blooded male and even female in and outside school had had a crush on her. She was the definition of soft and feminine beauty mixed with brains and she was a sweetheart.

He had taken a look and realized that her car engine was overheating and invited her into his house against his better judgement.

She'd been surprised about his living condition then. Even then, it had been bad. He had been living with his mother in a one bedroom studio apartment with his mother who at that time had been doing her best to put food on the table and send me to school while working four jobs.

Her reaction had not been one of disgust like Atlas's other classmates, they were one of sympathy. The look had somehow hurt worse than the look of disgust he was used to.

She had asked me about so many questions that day that at some point began to piss him off but he had answered them because for some reason he wanted to give her everything she asked for. She'd told him a few details about herself too and they had both bonded to their shared love for comic books.

She had left his place after the rain had subsided but not before thanking him for helping her out with her car.

At that time, Atlas thought he'd never see her again after all what would a beautiful girl like her want with him but when she had come to school the next day with a full basket of groceries for him, he had been surprised and from there their friendship had not only grown but it had blossomed into something beautiful.

When the first started hanging out, he got beat up several times by the popular crowd warning him to leave her alone but their anger and prejudice had only made him even more stubborn. He'd been a loner before Jessica and he wasn't about to let her go because of a few beatings. It wasn't like they'd stop anyway.

One day, he was bear up so bad that he'd lost a tooth, that was the day Jessica had gone to the principal to report all of the bullies that had been bullying him. He'd pleaded with her not to but she'd refused saying that 'i refuse to lst them treat you like this any further."

At that time, he had been so scared that she would only make things worse and probably put a target on her back but she hadn't cared a single bit.

Ever since that day, Atlas knew that Jessica was the one.

They'd first kissed on prom night. He had been planning to start home but she'd come to pick him up as her date in a fancy limo. Atlas had been so shocked. Even his mother had been surprised.

When they had gotten to school, everyone had stared at both of them in shock. They eventually ditched the party and went to the roof top to watch the stars.

They'd talked about everything and just when words failed Atlas, Jessica had grabbed him and kissed him. Ever since then, they'd been together as a couple.

Deciding that she deserved to be spoiled, Atlas ran down to the floral shop. He didn't mind spending his entire life savings on her, which wasn't much to begin with, just to make her happy. She had been there for him even when he had nothing to offer, hell, he still had nothing to offer and she was still here. She was the only reason he was working this hard, she and his mother.

Atlas was smiling ear to ear as he got to the front door of their apartment. Yes, he had taken a risk by buying her a big bouquet of flowers and some scented candles and food, knowing that they were struggling right now but she was worth every penny. He would just have to work triple shifts and get two extra jobs so they could meet up with the expenses in the house. He'd sign his soul to her if he could. That was how much he loved her.

He opened the front door to their apartment, it was eerily quiet, almost like she wasn't home but he knew there was no way she'd leave the house without telling him, especially since it was their anniversary.

"Jess!" He called out her name, a huge smile plastered on his face but there was no answer.

"Jess, I got you something."

He yelled out in a singsong voice as he walked through the house looking for Jess. Finally, he headed to the kitchen to get himself some water to drink. He was parched after all the running he'd done just to get home early.

He gently placed the stuff in his hands on the kitchen island.

As he did, he noticed a Milan document lying on the counter. He walked towards it and opened the document in it.

His eyes widened and his stomach twisted painfully as he read in bold letters divorce papers.

Jessica had filed for a divorce.

Atlas stared at the document, unable to believe what he was reading. This couldn't be real! He thought. There was no way this was real.

He re-read the document again, his hands shaking in the process and he hadn't been mistaken. These were divorce papers and Jessica had filed for it.

"You are home early."

Jessica's voice took him by surprise.

He glanced up to find her staring at him, a resigned look on her face.

She was holding a laundry basket in one hand with only a few clothes in it.

"What is the meaning this?" Atlas asked, his voice strained as he put up the divorce papers for her to see.

Jessica let out a sigh and dropped the basket of clothes close to the entrance of the kitchen.

"They are divorce papers, Atlas, isn't it obvious from what you read."

"I don't understand..." Atlas confessed.

"Is this some kind of a joke? One of your silly pranks?" He said as he took a step closer to her.

Jessica was known for playing random pranks on him but they were usually funny, this however wasn't.

With an even more passive look, Jessica answered, "It's not a prank. I've been thinking about it for the past couple of months now and well, I finally came to it."

Her composure scared Atlas. She was never this composed unless she was being serious. Jessica was the kind of woman to laugh at her own jokes and ruin surprise parties because of her inability to keep secrets and how excited she got about them. She was from a rich home and had the etiquettes and composure of the queen of England among people she wasn't familiar with but never to him, this look she was giving him was unfamiliar and he didn't like it.

Atlas blinked at his wife, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Is this because I didn't wish you a happy anniversary? Is that it?" Atlas demanded for answers as he walked closer to where she stood. For some reason she was keeping her distance from him and Atlas didn't like that. In fact none of what was happening made sense.

"Of course not Atlas."

"Then what is it? Because I don't get it. I thought we were fine. I thought you loved me."

"That's just the thing Atlas. We are not fine. We haven't been in months." Jessica explained, staring at her husband.

"Is there somebody else?" Atlas blurted out, rationalizing on the spot that that could be the only reason she was taking a decision this drastic.

"This is ridiculous..." Jessica started to say when a man walked up behind her.

"Everything okay in here?"

The man asked.

Atlas stared at the topless man that had just entered his kitchen, a confused look on his face.

"Hey, everything is fine. We are just talking." Jessica smiled up at the man.

"Who the hell are you?" Atlas growled, his eyes glaring daggers at the blonde man staring at his wife. The man looked familiar but Atlas couldn't for the life of him remember where they'd met.

"Jessica, who is this man? His he the reason you want to call out marriage quits?" Atlas looked to his wife, he was doing his best not to walk up to him and pinch him across the face.

"Do you want me to throw him out, Jess?" The man asked Jess, ignoring Atlas altogether.

"That won't be necessary Lucas."

"Alright then."

"Here is your shirt." Jessica handed the man the shirt in the laundry basket on the floor.

Lucas muttered a thank you.

"Do you mind giving us some space so we can discuss. I'll talk to you later." Jessica said to the man, a look of reverence on her face as she gazed up at him.

"Of course. Call me if you need anything" Lucas said and almost immediately disappeared through the living room and outside the house.

"Is he the reason You are doing this, Jessica?"

"Oh can you shut the fuck up with this bullshit already. I'm not divorcing you because of anyone. I'm divorcing you because I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of constantly being responsible for us. I'm tired of my friends going on expensive dates and trips while my husband can't even afford to pay rent. I'm tired of my sisters constantly making snide remarks at me for being poor. We've been together for six years and have been married for two yet there's still no sign of growth from you. I'm sorry but I can't keep doing this."

Jessica yelled, her eyes blazing. It was clear she'd had this on her mind for a while and the realization made Atlas stomach twist in pain.

Atlas stared at her, his heart shattering into pieces as the words sank in and replayed in his head.

He had always feared this day would come but he had not imagined it would be so soon, Maybe he had and he just believed he still had time.

"I'm sorry." Jessica choked out, her once composed face now streaming with tears.

"But I need to move on, I need to pursue my career and I need to find myself and unfortunately it's not with you."

Atlas did not realize he was crying too until his eyes began to blur with the tears.

"No," Atlas said, shaking his head as he walked towards his wife.

"You are not thinking straight, we can still fix this."

Jessica moved backwards, not wanting anything to do with him.

"I've never thought more straight in my life. There's nothing you can do to change my mind."

Atlas was beginning to hyperventilate, he needed to wake up from this nightmare. Not only was his wife divorcing him, she was in love with another man who she was clearly sleeping with.

This wasn't happening! He thought, his stomach twisting in pain and his heart shattering into several million pieces.