No Ring For The Brainless Cow

On my birthday, I was holding my positive pregnancy test, wanting to give Landry Hayes a surprise.

Instead, I walked right into his passionate confession to his female assistant.

Inside the private lounge, he was gently kissing Cynthia Rivers on the forehead. He was sliding a ring onto her fingerDthe same ring I thought was supposed to be my birthday gift.

"Cynthia, just wait for me to squeeze one last fortune out of her. Then I'll come back and give you the most lavish wedding imaginable."

"I don't believe you. I bet you can't bear to leave her."

"The only one I've ever loved is you. As for her, she's nothing more than a brainless cash cow."

I fought back the tears that were threatening to spill over. I turned and fled as if my life depended on it.

When I got home, I found a set of divorce papers tucked away under the desk.

My world crumbled. I dialed my father's number with trembling fingers. "Dad, don't send the investment. I'm shutting down the company."

"Sweetheart, what happened? That company is your life's work. Why are you closing it?"

My father's anxious voice came through the cold receiver. I didn't want him to worry.

I sniffled and forced my voice to stay steady. "Dad, I'm fine. Just do as I say."

After hanging up, I saw a text from my best friend.

"Let me guess. Is Landry putting that wedding ring he owed you on your finger right now? Is he whispering sweet nothings in your ear?"

"Honestly, he's so clumsy. He didn't hide the gift well enough, and you found out early. But after all these years, you two still act like newlyweds. I'm so jealous!"

I looked at my bare fingers, not knowing how to reply.

In everyone's eyes, Landry Hayes was head over heels for me.

But his so-called love was a marriage without a ring, without a dress, and without a ceremony.

It was him telling me he'd announce our love to the world, yet only letting me tell my one closest friend.

It was him promising to help me build my company, while shamelessly draining my funds under the guise of love.

It was him swearing he loved me while kissing another woman and calling her his only true soulmate.

I closed my eyes, trying to hide the bitter self-mockery.

Fine. If that's how it is, I'm done with the company. And I'm done being his wife.

I stood up and walked toward his desk. Just as I reached for the divorce papers, the front door opened. Landry was home.

"Babe, why are you home? I thought you were working late tonight."

He kicked off his shoes and hurried over, pulling me into a tight embrace.

His chest was still warm, but I no longer felt any heat from it.

"Your hands are like ice. You're sitting here in the dark without the heater on again. You really worry me, you know that?"

He was still playing the part of the doting husband. The better he acted, the more terrified I felt.

How deep must a man's malice be to fake love this convincingly?

I didn't return his hug. I gently pulled my hands away from his grasp.

"Weren't you supposed to meet a client today? Why are you back so early?"

"The meeting didn't go well. We barely spoke before he left. My wife is the real starDyou can handle even the toughest clients. I'll have to rely on you even more in the future."

But we didn't have a future.

I grit my teeth, wanting to throw everything in his face. But before I could speak, his phone buzzed.

"Your reservation for the 'True Love Ferris Wheel' starts at 10 PM tonight. Please bring your soulmate for the ride of a lifetime."

Landry's expression froze instantly. I remembered that night three years ago.

He had a fear of heights, but he had held me tight in front of that Ferris wheel. He told me, "On your birthday in three years, I'll take you on the most romantic ride in this city."

Three years had passed in the blink of an eye. But his true love was no longer me. Or perhaps, it never was.

"Babe, look! I planned this surprise for your birthday. Let's go!"

We had booked it together, but now he was claiming it was a surprise. I didn't call him out. I just nodded quietly.

Ending things on a Ferris wheel sounded poetic enough.

After the attendant verified my ID, I turned to look at Landry.

He was staring at his phone with a radiant, genuine smile. In all my memories, I had never seen him look that happy.

"Sir, may I see your ID?"

Landry snapped his phone shut, his smile vanishing as he looked at me with faux regret.

"Honey, an emergency just came up on a project. I have to go check on it. You go ahead and ride. I'll pick you up when I'm done."

He turned and left before I could even respond.

I watched his retreating back. My heart felt like it was being shredded by the winter wind.

The attendant asked cautiously, "Ma'am? Do you still want to go up?"

"No, thank you."

I pulled the pregnancy report out of my bag. I crumpled it up with the tickets and tossed them into the trash can by the road.

Landry didn't stumble home until the early hours of the morning. He stank of bourbon and leaned his full weight on me the moment he walked in.

"I told you to wait for me. Why did you come back on your own?"

Normally, I would have hurried to get him a glass of warm water and scolded him for drinking too much.

This time, I just pushed him away.

"I didn't feel like waiting."

Landry's body stiffened, but then he grabbed my wrist.

"Why are you being so cold today? I drank so much for these clients I can barely stand. Don't you even care about me?"

He didn't even bother to hide his lies well. I looked at the faint lipstick smudge on his collar. It was tragic and hilarious at the same time.

"I'm tired. I want to sleep."

Landry thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. You need your rest so you have energy for work tomorrow."

"Go on then. I won't pester you."

He stood up shakily. He was telling me to go earn more money, but he dressed it up as concern.

I looked into his eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Was it really a client you were seeing?"

His drowsy face instantly cleared. He stood up straight.

"Are you spying on me?"

"We've been married for years. Don't you trust me at all? I'm out there killing myself for your company, and you're being this petty?"

I hadn't even accused him of anything yet.

I watched the veins bulging in his forehead. I swallowed my disappointment and turned toward the bedroom.

After a few steps, Landry wrapped his arms around me from behind.

Maybe he realized he overreacted. He whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted. My temper got the best of me."

His hand accidentally brushed against my lower belly. I flinched.

Thinking of the tiny life that hadn't even formed yet, I murmured, "What if we had a child"

"No!"

He rejected the idea too quickly, too firmly. In that second, years of bottled-up resentment came flooding back.

Landry let go and turned me around to face him. He cupped my face and tried to explain. "I just can't bear to see you go through that kind of pain, sweetheart."

I already had my answer. The hesitation I felt because of the baby vanished.

"Fine."

A man like him didn't deserve a child of mine.

Finally sensing my mood was off, Landry changed the subject. "You've been working so hard lately. Weren't you looking for new investors this week?"

There it was. The real reason he was playing nice.

"I didn't find any," I said shortly.

The atmosphere in the room turned icy. I looked Landry in the eye and asked, "Landry, if my company goes under one day, would you leave me?"

A flash of panic crossed his eyes. He quickly recovered. "How could your company fail? Stop overthinking things."

I smiled faintly. "Right. Go take a shower. It's late."

The moment the water started running in the bathroom, his phone buzzed on the table. Several messages popped up from a contact named "The One."

I didn't hesitate. I picked it up. The passcode was 0823Da date I'd seen him use before.

Looking at the profile picture, I confirmed it was Cynthia Rivers.

"You must be exhausted after spending the day with me. Get some rest, babe."

"When are you finally going to marry me? I hate having to sneak around. It makes me feel so small."

Below that was a photo of Cynthia lying in bed in a silk nightgown, faking a pout for the camera.

I scrolled up. There were several transfers of fifty thousand dollars each.

"It's getting chilly. Here's a little something for my girl to buy some warm clothes."

He threw around tens of thousands like it was nothing. Yet, for our last anniversary, I had to beg him for ages just to get a fifty-dollar bouquet.

Back then, I didn't care about the money. I was just happy he remembered. Now, I felt like a fool.

I put his phone back and sent a text to my company's accountant.

"Audit every single account in the company. Do it privately. Report back to me this weekend."

Since the company retreat was the next day, I temporarily put the divorce on hold.

Landry said he needed to head out early to check the reservations. I didn't leave until the evening.

But when I reached the venue, I hesitated. I didn't know if I could pretend everything was fine in front of everyone.

Just as I was about to turn back, I saw Cynthia Rivers rushing toward the entrance.

Even though it was autumn, she was wearing a tiny, revealing dress.

"Oh, Boss? Why are you standing out here? Isn't Landry hosting a cocktail party inside?"

She approached me with her head held high. Her tone was mocking, nothing like the shy assistant she pretended to be at the office.

"Something came up. Have fun."

Even then, I was trying to keep some shred of dignity for the sake of our history.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Cynthia, why aren't you here yet? I haven't seen you all day. Do you want me to come down and get you?"

Landry's voice was crystal clear. He sounded more affectionate than I had ever heard him.

"I want you to come get me!" she chirped into the phone.

I just wanted to leave. But as I turned, Cynthia deliberately bumped into me, dropping her purse.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, kneeling to pick it up.

That's when I saw it. Her bag was the limited-edition designer piece I had looked at with Landry last month.

I had loved it, but I decided the company needed the money more. I put it back.

Landry had hugged me then, promising he'd buy it for me once he made it big.

I guess he made it big for someone else.

My heart grew colder. Cynthia suddenly stood up and ran past me.

"You took forever! I'm freezing!"

I turned around. Cynthia was jumping into Landry's arms.

Landry didn't notice me standing a few yards away. He took off his jacketDthe bespoke blazer I had spent thousands on for himDand draped it over her shoulders.

"I told you not to dress so provocatively. From now on, you only wear things like this for my eyes."

He pinched her nose playfully and led her into the building.

He protected her like a fragile treasure, yet he always encouraged me to wear revealing outfits to "impress" potential clients.

My body swayed. I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.

That man was my husband, yet I didn't even have the courage to confront him.

I looked down and saw a small box that had fallen out of Cynthia's bag.

They were already at that stage? I suppressed the stabbing pain in my chest and hailed a cab home.

Landry didn't come back until he was dead drunk. He collapsed on the bed and passed out instantly.

I thought he'd sleep until noon, but when I woke up, he was already making breakfast.

"You're up, honey? Go wash up. Breakfast is ready."

I felt suspicious, but I just gave a low grunt.

At the table, Landry handed me a glass of milk and a piece of toast smothered in ketchup.

"I remembered you like hot milk in the morningDit's comforting. And I know you love ketchup. Eat up, and I'll drive you to work."

I didn't say a word. I just grabbed a hard-boiled egg and started peeling it.

Landry's face darkened with every passing second. When I finished the egg and stood up to leave, he finally snapped.

"Joanna, enough! Is this because you saw me with Cynthia? I've already humbled myself to make you breakfast. What more do you want?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm lactose intolerant. Milk gives me cramps. I've never liked it. And I hate the smell of vinegar in ketchup. Landry, whose preferences are you actually remembering?"

The words hurt me as much as they were meant to hurt him.

Landry went silent. I wiped a stray tear and went into the bedroom to change.

On the way to the office, the silence in the car was suffocating.

The tension was finally broken by a phone call. "Landry, don't forget to pick me up in half an hour. I'll be at the usual spot."

Landry's face lit up instantly. His voice turned honey-sweet. "I'll be there."

I realized then that Cynthia and Landry always clocked in at the exact same time because he was chauffeuring her every single day.

"Landry!"

The car had barely stopped before Cynthia ran over. Her smile faltered when she saw me in the passenger seat.

I didn't want to deal with them. I opened the door to get out, but Cynthia slammed it shut before I could move my arm.

"Ow!"

A sharp, searing pain shot through my arm. I couldn't help but cry out.

But Landry's first instinct was to check on Cynthia.

Once he saw she was fine, he looked at me with pure annoyance. "What is wrong with you? How do you hurt yourself just getting out of a car?"

His accusation left me stunned. I didn't argue. I just moved to the back seat. "You sit here."

I had no desire to fight for a place in the heart of a man who didn't care if I bled.

Seeing them drive off together actually felt like a relief.

My arm was throbbing, but I called an Uber and went home.

On the way, the accountant sent the report.

The "miscellaneous expenses" column was filled with Landry's name.

He had almost completely hollowed out the company. My years of blood, sweat, and tears had been squandered on his mistress.

And just yesterday, another massive transfer had been made. No wonder Landry wasn't even trying to hide his affair anymore.

I took a moment to breathe, then texted the accountant. "I'm closing the company. Tell everyone they don't need to come in starting tomorrow. Full month's salary plus a bonus will be paid. You handle the filings."

I pulled my suitcase from the top of the closet. I needed to leave.

Looking inside the closet, I realized I barely had any clothes. Most of what I owned were things I brought from my parents' house years ago.

I left the suitcase. I took nothing.

On the way to the airport, as the car crossed the bridge, I pulled off my wedding ring and hurled it into the river.

Five years of love, gone. He had proposed to me on this very bridge. Now, I was cutting every tie.