When Wyatt found out his wife Brooke was cheating, he did not rage. He saw a chance.
He already knew their marriage was empty. She worked late, sent secret texts, and took sudden “business trips.” What kept him quiet was fear. A divorce would leave him broke. Brooke’s paycheck kept the roof over their heads.
Then one day he found a restaurant receipt in her jeans pocket. The name printed on it stopped him cold. Reid M. A wealthy family friend.
Wyatt searched her phone. The passcode was their wedding date. Inside were texts full of kisses and hearts. But one message to her friend froze him more than the affair itself. Brooke had written, “I still love Wyatt. But we needed the money. Reid is a way to keep going.”
Reid was in love. Brooke was stringing him along. Wyatt saw his opening.
He called Reid. “I know about you and Brooke,” he said. “You want her, you can have her. But I need something. Fifty grand. Then I’ll file for divorce.”
At first Reid balked. Then he went silent. Forty-eight hours later, Wyatt’s account balance jumped by $50,000.
Wyatt packed a bag and waited for Brooke. She walked in to find divorce papers on the table.
“It’s over,” Wyatt said. “I know about Reid.”
She begged, but he felt nothing. He walked out, leaving her crying on the couch.
That night in a cheap motel, his phone lit up with messages. Brooke. Reid. Brooke again. He ignored them until one came through that made him pause.
“I’m sorry. I really did love you.”
He replied once. “I know. But sometimes love’s not enough.”
Then he shut off his phone. For the first time in years, Wyatt felt free.
