My Fiancé Kissed His Secretary, I Kissed His Rival

When my asthma seized my lungs, Rodney James was at the center of the banquet hall, dancing close with his secretary, Amelia Harding. Even as I foamed at the mouth and slipped into unconsciousness, he kept his arms around Amelia and kissed her.

On the drive home, I found a diamond ring in the glove compartment. Before I could say a word, Rodney snatched it away with a frown and said coldly, "It's not for you."

I went stiff. I understood at once. That ring was a gift for Amelia.

I nodded, pointed at the bridal shop up ahead at the intersection, and said calmly, "Pull over, please."

Since he had betrayed me, there was no reason to hold the wedding at the time we'd booked.

I would cancel the custom gown and vanish completely on the wedding day.

The moment I stepped into the bridal shop, Rodney got out of the car and came after me.

He flung a woman's coat into my face. "Minnie Fox, do something about that filthy habit of yours, always leaving your junk lying around."

Rodney was a neat freak. He never allowed a single thing of mine to be left behind in the car.

I glanced at the coat on the floor and said flatly, "It's not mine."

At those words, his expression eased. Without the slightest disgust, he bent down, picked up the coat, and folded it neatly.

I knew. The coat was Amelia's.

Every time Amelia "accidentally" left something behind, it set off a hysterical fight between Rodney and me.

This time, though, I didn't say a word of complaint. I turned and gave the clerk my phone number.

The clerk beamed. "Perfect timing, you two. Your custom gown and suit are both finished. You can try them on."

Before I could refuse, the man who'd just blown up at me for nothing walked stone-faced into the fitting room.

Ten minutes later, I stood before Rodney in the gown.

The corner of his mouth twisted. "Tacky beyond words."

I didn't argue with him. I simply asked the clerk to take my picture.

At that, Rodney's face soured with impatience, and he moved to pull me in for a photo together.

Just then his phone rang. Amelia's personal ringtone.

She was crying to him that her favorite coat had gone missing.

If some kind soul found it and returned it right away, she would give herself to that person, body and soul, faithful unto death.

He hung up. He didn't even change out of the suit. He left in long, hurried strides.

Listening to the sound of the car fading into the distance, I picked up the scissors and, without a moment's hesitation, cut the gown to shreds.

At one thirty in the morning, while I was packing up my personal things, a message came through.

It was from Rodney: Out drinking.

Eight years together, and the man had finally bothered to report his whereabouts.

I glanced at the cleaning gloves on my hands and didn't reply.

Once the trash was bagged, I took a hot shower and was asleep the second I hit the bed.

When Rodney came home the next day, he caught me on my way out to take out the garbage.

He looked at me strangely. "Is your phone broken?"

When I shook my head, his brow knit on instinct.

I knew why he was asking.

In the past, whenever he stayed out too late, I'd send message after message, call after call, never tiring of it.

But last night, his phone had been frighteningly silent.

Just as I was about to step outside, Rodney asked again, "Minnie, where did our photo on the wall go?"

I looked down at the trash bag, about to tell him the truth, when his phone buzzed.

The next second, he shoved past my shoulder, pressed the voice button, and talked as he walked inside.

"Easy, sweetheart. The moment it's ready, I'll bring it right over to you."

Hearing the water start running in the bathroom, I went on downstairs to throw out the trash.

On my way back up, my blood sugar crashed.

Drenched in cold sweat, I got home, grabbed the fried-egg toast off the table, and had barely taken a bite when Rodney's voice came, thick with resentment.

"Minnie, were you starved to death in a past life?"

I watched him drop the toast I'd bitten into, plate and all, into the trash can.

My eyes went hollow as I asked him, "I cooked for you for eight years. When my blood sugar crashes, I'm not even worth one bite of the breakfast you made?"

Rodney's gaze was hard and cold. "You ill-bred thing. Taking what isn't yours without asking is stealing."

With that, he pulled on his suit jacket and slammed the door behind him.

Facing this fresh round of cold cruelty from Rodney, I instinctively picked up my phone and opened his profile.

I saw he'd changed his background photo. It was a picture of Amelia mugging for the camera in cat ears.

I gave it a like, then quietly unpinned him from the top of my chats.

By noon, I was still at work.

I'd arranged to meet a real estate agent to look at apartments. The moment I stepped into the elevator, I ran straight into Rodney and Amelia.

Amelia's hair was loose and tangled, and Rodney was tying it back into a ponytail for her.

The instant she spotted me, Amelia planted her hands on her hips, stuck out her lower lip, and started tattling.

Minnie, you're just in time. Look at Rodney, would you?

He pulls my hair all day long, like some little boy who never grew up. He's such a pain.

Before I could say a word, Rodney pinched the tip of Amelia's nose, all flirty teasing.

Careful, kiddo. Your nose grows when you tell fibs.

Once he'd teased the color into Amelia's cheeks, the man finally deigned to glance my way.

Minnie, it's not often we run into each other. Come grab lunch with us.

Same building, different companies, for five years.

Rodney had never once asked me to lunch on a break.

And yet every single day, Minnie used to post on social media about every lunch Rodney had ever shared with her.

The memory surfaced, and I gave a small smile.

You two go ahead. I've got things to do.

He hadn't expected me to refuse. The displeasure had barely crossed his face when the elevator lurched hard and plunged into darkness.

I switched on my phone flashlight and saw Rodney with his arm around Amelia, murmuring softly to calm her.

Before long, the elevator came back to life.

When we reached the ground floor, Rodney offered to give me a ride.

Before I could answer, Amelia suddenly fainted.

At that, the man shoved past me without a second thought, hauled Amelia onto his back, and rushed her off to the hospital.

I quietly picked up my shattered phone, hailed a cab, and went to look at apartments.

That evening, Rodney personally delivered a box of dessert to my desk.

Half an hour earlier, I'd seen Amelia's latest post.

Loving someone is like keeping flowers. Baby can't finish it all, just can't finish it

The photo showed an entire table of French pastries.

I thanked him and left the dessert box unopened.

A flicker of confusion crossed Rodney's eyes.

Minnie, why are you being so polite with me?

I didn't answer him directly. I only said,

If there's nothing else, I need to go print some documents.

By the time I came back with my printed resignation letter, Rodney was already gone.

He'd left a sticky note.

Telling me to come find him upstairs once I'd wrapped up.

I peeled off the note and tossed it out along with the dessert.

I walked into my boss's office and handed in my resignation.

He tried to talk me out of it for a long while, but seeing that my mind was made up, he finally accepted the letter.

By procedure, once I finished out the week, I'd be free to go.

At ten that night, Rodney called me while I was out at a dinner.

A male coworker picked up by mistake.

When the phone was passed to me, Rodney's voice was terrifyingly cold.

Minnie, where the hell are you this late at night?

I answered him, Out.

Send me your location. I'm coming to get you now.

With that, he hung up on me.

I sent the location and stayed until the place closed for the night.

Rodney never showed.

I opened Amelia's feed, and sure enough, there it was: a post about her being sick and hooked up to an IV.

I took a cab home alone, washed up, and went to bed.

A little after three in the morning, Rodney came in worn and travel-stained and shook me awake, hard.

He said to me coldly,

Minnie, I'm hungry. Make me a bowl of wontons.

He didn't like shepherd's purse, and he hated wontons even more.

I knew the one who wanted them was Amelia.

I went to pry Rodney's hand off, and my fingers brushed the scar on the back of it.

The year the school auditorium caught fire, if it hadn't been for Rodney, I'd probably be a corpse by now.

Trading a life debt for one bowl of wontons. If anything, I was the one coming out ahead.

Seeing me change my clothes without a word and get ready to head out, Rodney grabbed my arm.

His voice carried a rare hint of unease.

Actually, maybe just wait till morning to make it. It's not like

I cut him off and asked quietly,

Besides the wontons, is there anything else she wants to eat?

He was silent for a moment, then let go of my hand.

He said, No.

The sky was just beginning to pale when the man appeared at my door, a thermos of food in his hand.

"Minnie, I have to fly out of the country next week.

I'll squeeze out some time this Saturday to have dinner with your parents, talk about our marriage"

I cut him off before he could finish.

"No need."

Rodney went visibly still. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I smiled and lied. "They're traveling out of state. They're not back yet."

He kept his eyes fixed on me, like there was more he wanted to say. Lucky for both of us, his phone rang.

He couldn't shut that door fast enough.

Friday. My last day.

The moment I stepped out of the office, Rodney hauled me into his car without a word of explanation.

Inside an upscale restaurant, he cut my steak for me as he asked, "Which wine do you want?"

I scrolled through my phone, bored, and answered carelessly, "You decide."

My indifference darkened his handsome face.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one."

Even with my answer, he snatched the phone right out of my hand.

He flipped through it for a while, his eyes unreadable, then asked, "When did you change your lock screen?"

For all the years we'd been together, my lock screen had always been a photo of the two of us.

Now it was a picture of the little dog my parents kept.

I didn't feel like answering, so I simply got up and went to the restroom.

By the time I came back, Rodney was gone.

All at once, the lights in the room cut out.

A server wheeled flowers and a cake slowly toward me.

The cart had barely stopped at the table beside mine when my phone lit up.

A birthday wish from my phone carrier.

As I walked out of the restaurant, I heard a familiar, cloyingly sweet voice.

"Ahh~ Rodney, you're so strong, push me higher"

It was Amelia, perched on the swing outside the place, shrieking with delight for Rodney to send her up high.

Too greedy for her own good, she tumbled into his arms after only a couple of pushes.

They smiled into each other's eyes and clung together, reluctant to let go, and only then did they notice me standing there.

A clear flicker of irritation crossed Rodney's eyes. He looked at me, expressionless.

"Minnie, this swing is so much fun, come ride it with us"

Halfway through, Amelia's cheeks went bright red, and she shyly lowered the hand she'd had hooked around Rodney's shoulder, as if she could have stayed there forever.

"Minnie, please don't let your mind run wild. Rodney only held me to save me"

Rodney ruffled Amelia's black hair with doting fondness and gazed at her tenderly.

"Silly. What is there to explain? As long as you're not hurt."

Done soothing her, he packed away every trace of warmth and turned a cold look on me.

"You're full already?"

I didn't bother answering him. I walked toward the Ferris wheel a short distance off.

They say if you make a wish on a Ferris wheel on your birthday, it's guaranteed to come true.

Watching my back, a sneer flickered in Amelia's eyes. She quickly tugged Rodney along after me.

"Wow, a Ferris wheel, Rodney, I want to ride this too"

When the attendant said there were only two seats left,

Rodney didn't even glance at me. He took Amelia's hand and grabbed the seats first.

Twenty minutes later.

Back on the ground, the man searched the entire mall and never found me again.

Eight o'clock that night.

I walked out of the bedroom with my luggage.

I slipped a note that said just one word, Breakup, under the keys.

And I left without looking back.

At eleven that night, my phone rang.

It was Rodney.

I was in the living room talking with my parents and didn't see it.

An hour later, he called again.

I darkened the screen, powered it off, and went to sleep.

I slept straight through to noon the next day. When I turned the phone back on, I was startled by more than a dozen missed calls.

Some instinct made me open my messages.

Rodney, always so cold, had for once sent one message after another.

What's the meaning of the keys and the note?

So I forgot your birthday, big deal. Not answering my calls, ignoring my textsis playing hard to get fun for you?

Minnie, you have one hour to get your ass back here, or don't ever come back.

When I saw the timestamp on that last message, it was three hours ago.

From the bottom of my heart, I let out a breath. I moved my finger and deleted Rodney outright.

A knock came at my door.

After I said to come in, my mother carried in a glass of milk.

"Sweetheart, your stomach's sensitive. Drink it while it's warm."

Last night I'd come home suddenly with my bags, and my parents hadn't asked a single question. They just looked after me and cared for me the way they always had.

I hugged my mother's arm, sniffled against the sting in my nose, and said, "Mom, I found an apartment I like. It's small, but it's enough to keep the wind and rain off me."

She smiled warmly. "Then buy it. How much are you short? I'll make up the difference."

Even though I shook my head with a smile and told her I had enough,

my mother still transferred me two hundred thousand.

A girl with her own home and her own savings, she said, is the only one who truly has the confidence to stand on her own.

So I called the landlord right then and set up the signing for next Monday.

That evening, my father not only cooked a whole table of good food, he also bought a cream cake to make up for the birthday I'd missed the day before.

Facing the lit birthday candles,

I pressed my palms together and made my wish with all my heart.

That my parents stay healthy, and that everything turn for the better.

But not long after I blew out the candles, I received a message I never could have expected.