He Called Me Disgusting, Then Kissed Her Fork

Three years of marriage, and because my husband had germaphobia, we'd always eaten from separate dishes.

Until the day I caught him sharing a meal with his little assistant.

She'd left half a bowl of food uneaten. He picked it up and finished every last grain.

I didn't make a scene. I just organized a group dinner the next day.

When the meal was winding down, I scraped everyone's leftovers into his bowl.

"Eat up. Aren't you the one who hates wasting food?"

He didn't say a word. His little assistant was the one who lost it first.

"Mrs. Matthews, you've spent three years as a housewife, never once checking a price tag, all because of Mr. Matthews's generosity."

"And now you're humiliating him in public over something so trivial? How ungrateful can you be?"

I wasn't angry. I just said, "You're fired."

My husband, who had always been the picture of composure, slammed his palm on the table and turned on me for the first time in our marriage.

"Judith Randall, you have no right to fire my employees!"

I let out a quiet laugh. Once a man goes bad, there's no point keeping him around.

Worst case, I'd just recruit another one.

My husband called out of nowhere to say he was working late and couldn't make it home for dinner.

As luck would have it, my best friend had just texted me, so we decided to grab barbecue together.

As we passed a restaurant, she pointed at the table near the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Doesn't that guy look like your husband?"

I looked closer. Even though it was just a view of his back, I recognized Bruno Matthews instantly.

Across from him sat his new assistant, the one who'd joined the company less than a month ago.

Ellie Butler's brow furrowed slightly as she stared at the half-finished bowl of egg fried rice in front of her, looking troubled.

Bruno saw the look on her face and smiled indulgently. He reached over, took her leftover rice, and shoveled it into his mouth in a few quick bites. Not a single grain remained.

I froze.

Bruno had severe germaphobia. In three years of marriage, we had never once shared a dish.

One time I'd picked up a piece of fish for him and forgot to use the serving chopsticks. He dumped the entire bowl of rice along with the fish straight into the trash. The whole plate of fish I'd touched? He didn't take a single bite.

Even in the bedroom, he insisted on multiple layers of protection. Three years of marriage, and we still hadn't been able to have a child.

I pushed the door open and walked in, my eyes fixed on the empty bowl in front of him.

"Was it good?"

The tenderness in Bruno's eyes dissolved into panic.

"Honey."

"Ellie couldn't finish all that rice, and I didn't want it to go to waste, so I helped her out. Don't overthink it."

"I thought you said you were working late tonight. Finished already?"

"There were some last-minute changes on the project, so we didn't need to push through after all."

"Mrs. Matthews, you've never worked a day in your life. Last-minute changes on projects happen all the time."

I turned to Ellie. "Did I ask you? Keep your mouth shut."

Ellie's face crumpled into a look of wounded innocence.

Bruno grabbed my hand. "Come on, honey. The girl was hungry, so I took her out for a bite. We're just work partners. Don't scare her."

Ellie tugged gently at Bruno's sleeve. "Mr. Matthews, I'm full. Could you drive me home? It's hard to get an Uber at this hour."

Bruno looked at me. "Honey, you're not upset, are you? How about I drop Ellie off first?"

"Go ahead."

Bruno left with Ellie without a backward glance.

I acted like nothing had happened and went on eating and shopping with my friend.

The next day, right before the end of business, I walked straight into the executive suite.

"Everyone, stop what you're doing. We're leaving early today. Dinner's on me!"

Nobody moved.

Not until Bruno said, "Go ahead, everyone. You're dismissed."

Only then did they set down their work and follow me to the restaurant.

It was a wonderful dinner.

Once the last person set down their chopsticks, I spoke up. "Everyone's finished, right?"

They all confirmed they were done.

I flagged down a waiter and asked for a large bowl, then placed it in front of Bruno.

I stood, went around the table, and scraped everyone's leftovers into that bowl. Half-eaten rice, gnawed bones, wilted greens, sauce-smeared scraps. The bowl filled up fast.

Bruno stared at me, confused.

I smiled at him. "Eat up. You hate wasting food, don't you? So go ahead and finish what your colleagues left behind."

The temperature in the private dining room dropped about twenty degrees.

Bruno's expression darkened. "Honey, I'm already full."

"You're not leaving this room until that bowl is empty."

Ellie shot to her feet. "Mrs. Matthews, you've spent three years as a stay-at-home wife, buying whatever you want without ever checking the price tag. All of that was thanks to Mr. Matthews."

"And now you're humiliating him over something this petty? You really don't know your place!"

I looked at her flushed little face and laughed.

"Go on, sweetheart. Eat." I turned back to Bruno. "You had no problem eating Ellie's leftovers, but everyone else's are suddenly beneath you? That's a pretty interesting double standard."

Bruno looked at me, then at the heaping bowl of scraps.

He hesitated. Then he picked up his chopsticks and started shoveling food into his mouth.

Ellie shrieked. "Mr. Matthews, stop! You're going to destroy your stomach!"

"Why are you listening to her? She's a woman who doesn't earn a single cent. What right does she have to order you around?"

She snatched the chopsticks right out of Bruno's hand. "Stop eating. If she won't care about you, I will!"

"You love caring about other women's husbands that much?" I said. "Then eat it for him."

"I barely eat anything, I couldn't possibly finish that. You're just trying to make things difficult for me."

"Then shut your mouth."

I grabbed a fresh pair of chopsticks and handed them to Bruno. "Eat. You love leftovers so much, don't you?"

Bruno took them and kept forcing food down. He could barely swallow. His throat worked uselessly, and he gagged over and over.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He doubled over and threw up.

Ellie burst into tears, rubbing his back with one hand while pointing at me with the other.

"You don't deserve to be Mr. Matthews's wife! You're no help to him whatsoever. All you do is throw tantrums and drag him down!"

"I don't deserve him? And you do? Ready to take my place already?"

"Mr. Matthews and I have a perfectly professional working relationship. Don't you dare slander me!"

"Prove it. Resign."

"Why should I resign? I'm doing perfectly fine at my job."

"You're fired."

Ellie froze. Then her eyes welled up, her lip trembled, and she drew out Bruno's name in a long, pitiful whimper.

"Mr. Matthews..."

Bruno, who had never once raised his voice at me in our entire marriage, slammed his palm on the table and stood. "Judith, you have no authority to fire my employees!"

I walked straight up to Ellie and slapped her across the face. Twice.

"Tramp."

"You're right. I don't hold a position in the company, so I can't fire her." I held his gaze. "But as your wife, I have every right to slap her."

Bruno immediately pulled the sobbing Ellie into his arms. "Judith, you've gone too far!"

Perhaps earlier, when I'd caught him eating Ellie's leftovers, some small part of him still felt guilty toward me.

Now that guilt was gone.

"I've been too lenient with you. That's why you think you can do whatever you want."

"As punishment, I'm freezing every single one of your cards."

Ellie had been crying just a moment ago. But the second she heard that all my cards were being cut off, the corners of her mouth curled upward, impossible to hide.

"Oh, that seems a bit harsh, Mr. Matthews. Tonight was supposed to be your wife's treat. If you freeze all her cards, how is she going to pay the bill?"

"This dinner tab has to be at least ten thousand dollars. That's more than enough to press charges. If Mrs. Matthews can't pay, the police will probably take her in."

Bruno drew a deep breath. "Judith, apologize to Ellie. Do that, and I'll let tonight go."

"Apologize to her? Have you lost your mind, or have I?"

Ellie put on her best concerned expression and tugged at Bruno's sleeve. "Mr. Matthews, please don't fight with your wife because of me. I'm just a junior assistant. A little mistreatment is nothing I can't handle."

She turned to me, her voice dripping with sweetness. "It's all my fault, Mrs. Matthews. Please don't be angry with Mr. Matthews. Let me apologize."

She reached for my wrist as if to hold my hand, but her fingers dug in viciously, nails biting into my skin hard enough to bruise.

The pain was blinding. I wrenched my arm free.

"Get off me!"

I barely used any force, but Ellie flew backward as if she'd been shoved by a linebacker. She crashed into the dining table, sending plates and bowls cascading to the floor in an explosion of porcelain and leftover food. She went down with them, landing in a heap of grease and sauce. A shard of broken plate sliced her hand, and blood dripped onto the tile.

"Judith, you've gone too far!"

Bruno's palm connected with my face before I could blink. My head snapped to the side.

I ran my tongue over the corner of my lip and tasted copper. Something inside me went quiet. Not numb. Clear.

"Are you blind? She was the one digging her nails into me. I barely touched her. That fall was an act!"

Bruno didn't even look at me. He was already helping Ellie up from the floor, cradling her bleeding hand. He unwound the silk scarf from his collar and wrapped it carefully around her wound.

That scarf. I'd given it to him for his birthday. His initials were embroidered on the corner. I'd stitched them myself, one thread at a time.

Now those letters were soaked through with Ellie's blood.

"We're leaving."

He draped his arm around Ellie's shoulders and walked out without a backward glance.

The rest of the table found their excuses in record time. Chairs scraped, coats were grabbed, and within thirty seconds every last one of them had vanished.

The private dining room fell silent. Just me and the wreckage.

A waiter knocked and poked his head in. "Would you like to settle the bill, ma'am?"

I dug through my purse and handed him a card. "Yes."

He swiped it. The machine beeped.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. This card has insufficient funds."

I handed him another. Same result.

Then another. And another.

Seven cards. Every single one declined.

Bruno had actually frozen all of them.

The waiter stared at me, his professional smile wearing thin. "Ma'am, do you have any other way to pay?"

I tried calling my best friend. No answer. I sent a text. Nothing. Tried again. Silence.

The two of us stood there in the most excruciating standoff of my life.

"I will pay. Just give me a moment."

The waiter had already lost patience. He lifted his walkie-talkie. "Manager Wu, we've got a dine-and-dash situation up here."

The hotel manager arrived with a police officer in tow.

"Miss, you'll need to come with us."

I tried to explain. I told them who I was, that my cards had been frozen, that I could get the money. They looked at me the way people look at anyone making excuses in a police station lobby.

I was taken to the station to give a statement. That was when my best friend finally called back.

Twenty minutes later, she burst through the doors, settled the bill, and I was free to go.

I stood outside and looked back at the police station entrance. A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Me. The sole heir to Skyward Group. Hauled into a police station because I couldn't pay a dinner tab.

If word got out, people would laugh themselves sick.

I used to dream of being the perfect little wife. Now it turned out that being a perfect little wife was harder than running a corporation.

I'd chosen wrong from the very beginning.

When I got home, a pair of women's heels sat by the front door.

The exact pair Ellie had been wearing tonight.

Bruno heard me come in and stepped out of the bedroom. Our eyes met in the hallway.

I didn't say a word. I pushed past him and walked straight into the bedroom.

Ellie was standing there, bare-legged, wearing Bruno's white dress shirt. The hem barely grazed her hips, and the lace edge of her underwear peeked out beneath it.

She was toweling off her hair, clearly fresh out of the shower. My shower. The master bathroom.

"You send your own wife to the police station, then bring your assistant home. Really stepping up your game, Bruno."

"Don't get the wrong idea. Ellie got something on her clothes, and the hotel was close to the house, so I brought her up to shower and change."

"You don't like other people touching your things, so I let her wear mine."

He said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. Like I was the one being unreasonable.

"You're a germaphobe, Bruno. You insist our laundry be washed separately. But now your shirt's on her back. So the germaphobia was only ever about me, is that it?"

Ellie put on that same saccharine act. "Mrs. Matthews, please don't misunderstand. Mr. Matthews said he was giving me this shirt. He won't be wearing it again."

"Did I ask you? My husband and I are talking. Stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong!"

Ellie's eyes glistened, her lip trembling with practiced hurt. "I just didn't want you to misunderstand Mr. Matthews."

"How thoughtful of you."

Bruno turned on me. "Judith, enough! You threw your weight around at the restaurant, and now you're starting in at home too?"

I matched his volume. "You think I wanted any of this?!"

Ellie tugged at Bruno's sleeve. "It's fine, Mr. Matthews. She's your wife, after all. I'm just an assistant. A little mistreatment won't kill me."

"Wife or not, that doesn't give her the right to treat you like this!"

"Let's get a divorce, Bruno."

He froze. "What did you just say?"

"I said I want a divorce!"

"Over something this trivial, you want a divorce?"

"You think this is trivial?"

"Nothing happened between me and Ellie. She's a young girl just starting her career. I looked out for her a little. What's wrong with that?"

"I don't want my man looking out for another woman. It disgusts me."

Something snapped in Bruno, like a cornered rat whose tail had been stepped on. He exploded.

"Fine! You want a divorce? Then you walk away with nothing! My money, my house, none of it has anything to do with you. Without me, you won't even be able to afford your next meal!"

He snatched up his phone and called his lawyer, barking orders to draft divorce papers.

The agreement arrived in no time.

I didn't think twice. I signed.

Bruno saw my signature and didn't hesitate either. He scrawled his name right below mine.

Ellie was barely containing her glee. "Judith, now that you and Mr. Matthews are divorced, I wonder how you'll even afford to eat."

I pointed at the door. "Get out."

"Why should I? Mr. Matthews hasn't told me to leave."

"Bruno and I haven't filed the papers yet. That makes me the lady of this house. Get out. Now."

Bruno pulled Ellie into his arms. "This house is mine. If anyone's leaving, it's you."

He called the staff over and ordered them to throw all my belongings out. Everything I owned ended up piled by the front door like a small mountain.

I didn't rush. I didn't panic. I pulled out my phone, opened a group chat, and typed a single message.

Uncles, I'm divorced. Bruno threw me out of the house.

The chat erupted instantly. Messages flooded in one after another.

This Bruno actually dared treat our precious niece like this? Seems like the good life made him forget who he really is.

We put him where he is. We can just as easily tear him back down.

Treating our Judith like this? The man must have a death wish!

...

Enough talk, everyone. Move.

I stood at the gates of the villa, watching the messages roll in, one after another.

Ellie was standing in the doorway too, arms crossed, watching me. "Still here? Can't bring yourself to leave?"

"After all, once you leave, forget about living here. You probably won't even get another look at a mansion this grand."

She was still gloating when a procession of vehicles from the prosecutor's office pulled up the drive.

The cars rolled to a stop in front of the villa. Bruno and Ellie both froze.

Several prosecutors stepped out.

"We are hereby seizing this property in accordance with the law. Nothing inside may be removed."

They walked to the front doors and affixed official seals across them.