Chapter 1

Erin Greer values a good joke more than boundaries. She always says that we have to keep things fun if we want our relationship to last.

So she and her childhood friend, Mark Levine, have a standing arrangement. They will orchestrate a surprise every year on our wedding anniversary—with all their friends playing along—just to see if I'll fall for it.

Three years ago, she told Mark in front of me that she regretted marrying me. When I turned to leave, she laughed and pulled me back, saying I was too easily teased.

Two years ago, she had Mark put divorce papers beside my pillow. After I signed them with a trembling hand, she laughed and said it was just a prank.

Last year, she and Mark held a fake wedding and forced me to stand beside them as the best man. When I got upset, she shrugged it off, saying I was being too serious again.

And this year, their surprise is even more outrageous.

A guilty-looking Mark stands before me, holding a prenatal test report. "Richard, I'm sorry. Erin is pregnant with my child."

Not only does Erin not explain herself, but she also stands obediently beside Mark. They exchange a look, as if waiting for me to break down in despair.

I look at their faces as they struggle to hold back their laughter, and suddenly, I feel exhausted.

This time, I don't get angry or make a scene. Instead, I take off my wedding ring. "I'm not playing along with this year's surprise."

Chapter 1

Erin Greer's smile froze.

Mark Levine stared at me. He crumpled the prenatal test report in his hand, leaving deep creases across the paper.

The others fell silent briefly before someone chuckled.

"Richard, you've gotten better at controlling your emotions this year. You don't even smash things anymore."

"Erin, you've trained him well, huh?"

Erin covered her mouth with a hand, as if she couldn't hold back anymore. "Alright, that's enough."

Mark's brows instantly relaxed, and he laughed so hard his shoulders shook. "Richard, I'm sorry. Was my acting really that convincing?"

He flipped the report to show me that it bore someone else's name.

The group burst into laughter.

Erin reached out to take my ring. Her voice carried its usual nonchalance. "Your reaction is pretty good today, but taking off your ring is a bit much."

I pulled my hand away, and hers froze midair as she frowned. "Richard Topp."

She only called my full name when she was upset with me.

Mark walked over and placed his arm around my shoulders. "Richard, don't be mad. We put a lot of effort into this. We just wanted to make your anniversary feel a little more special."

I shook him off.

He froze for a moment before whispering, "Did I go too far? I can apologize."

Erin glanced at him, her tone indifferent. "What are you apologizing for? It's not like this is the first time he's seen us act like this."

Then, she took the ring, wiped it clean, and handed it to me. "Put it back on. Stop making a fuss. Everyone's watching."

The others chimed in.

"Richard, don't be a party pooper."

"Yeah, Erin loves you so much. This is just a joke."

"You act like this every year, but in the end, nothing ever comes of it."

Mark let out a sigh and spoke up for me, "Erin, don't be too harsh on Richard. He's been wanting to start a family with you. Maybe this hit a nerve."

Erin looked at me immediately. There was a hint of reproach as well as a familiar touch of impatience in her eyes. "Mark didn't know. Don't lash out at him."

I let out a small laugh. So, they all knew I would be hurt. They just thought that, after I was done licking my wounds, I would go back to Erin anyway.

Erin placed the ring in my palm and lowered her voice. "It's our anniversary today. Don't make a scene and ruin it."

I placed the ring on the table again. "Erin, I'm serious."

Her face hardened. "What do you want?"

I picked up my jacket from the back of the chair as Mark hurried to stop me. "Richard, where are you going? You haven't cut the cake yet."

I stared at the cake with seven candles atop it. Beside each of them sat a photograph.

One was from three years ago, when I stood at the doorway of the private room, my eyes red.

Another was from two years ago, when I signed the divorce papers.

The third was from last year, when I stood beside Erin and Mark as the best man at their fake wedding.

They took pictures of me at my most humiliated moments and turned them into a keepsake.

Erin followed my gaze, her expression shifting slightly. "That was just something Mark put together on a whim. He didn't know it would bother you."

Mark immediately put on an innocent look. "Sorry. I thought it was okay because these were all the memories you two shared."

I nodded and grabbed the middle photo.

In it, my head was bowed, my fists clenched, while Erin stood behind me with a bright smile.

I turned it facedown on the table. "Take your time reminiscing."

Erin finally stood up and clasped my wrist. "Richard, think carefully before you walk out that door."

I lowered my eyes to look at her hand. "I've thought it through."

The private room door opened. A waiter stood outside with the actual anniversary cake, staring at us awkwardly.

Written across the cake were the words, "Wishing Mr. and Mrs. Topp a lifetime of happiness together."

Erin still hadn't let go when Mark whispered, "Erin, he's not really going to divorce you, is he?"

Chapter 2

Erin pulled me back home, not saying a word during the journey. When the car finally came to a stop in the underground garage, she spoke, "You've totally embarrassed me tonight."

I unfastened my seatbelt. "Have you guys ever done anything to make me look good?"

Erin turned to me, her expression darkened. "Richard, you weren't like this before."

I had heard those words so many times before.

Whenever I didn't smile, she would say, "You weren't like this before."

When I refused to let Mark stay the night at our house, she would say the same thing. When I refused to lend them the fountain pen my father had left me so they could use it in their video, she said it again.

It was as if I had been born to be generous and sensible and to be their source of amusement.

Erin followed me into the elevator, her phone ringing constantly in the background. She glanced at it before answering.

Mark's voice came through, "Erin, are you guys home? Is Richard really okay? I'm afraid he might do something drastic."

Erin's gaze landed on me, her voice softening. "He's fine. He's just gotten worked up."

"Don't be mad at Richard, okay? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought up the subject of children."

Erin massaged her temples. "This is not your fault."

By the time she hung up, we had reached our house.

A gift box sat on the coffee table. Erin walked over and opened it, revealing a luxury watch. She picked it up, as if offering me a way to smooth things over. "I had originally intended to give this to you after the meal."

I glanced at it. It was beautiful but also completely unfamiliar. "Who picked this?"

Erin paused. "Mark has good taste, so I asked him to pick out a few options."

I nodded. "Give it to him, then."

She threw the watch back into the box. "Richard, don't try to be sarcastic with me."

I turned and walked toward the bedroom, with Erin following behind me. She tried to suppress her anger. "We've done this every year, and nothing happened. Why can't you accept it this year?"

I stopped in front of the closet. The best man's suit was still hanging inside.

That day, Mark had put on a groom's suit and asked me whether he looked handsome, while Erin laughed. "Richard, you fit right in standing beside us, like family."

Everyone burst out laughing.

I was just as calm now as I was humiliated back then.

Erin followed my gaze and noticed the suit. Her voice hardened. "I explained about this, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

She continued, "It was fake to begin with."

"But I was genuinely humiliated."

She momentarily fell silent before saying, "Do you really have to blow this out of proportion?"

I took the suit and threw it into the trash, but Erin tried to stop me. "Mark said this outfit could be used for the next themed party."

I stared at her. "So, you're keeping it just to make fun of me again?"

Erin seemed annoyed by the question. "It's just a suit."

I retracted my hand, stuffing the suit back into the closet.

Impatience was evident on Erin's face. "Richard, don't push me too far."

The doorbell rang at that moment, and she went over to the door.

Mark was standing outside, holding a cardboard box. There was an unmistakable look of guilt in his eyes. "Richard, I'm returning these to you."

Inside the box were the boutonniere and bow tie they had used as props for their fake wedding last year, along with a preserved-flower case whose glass cover was shattered.

Erin explained, "I took it last year. The glass cover broke. Mark said he'd help fix it and took it away."

Mark added, "Richard, don't get the wrong idea. Erin doesn't remember any of this. It's all my fault."

I picked up the boutonniere, and the dried flowers crumbled in my palm. It turned out I even had to reclaim my wedding keepsake from Mark.

Erin noticed my silence and softened her tone. "Since he gave them back, let's leave it at that."

In response, I dropped the ruined boutonniere into the trash bag.

Mark panicked. "Richard, that's your boutonniere!"

"It's already ruined."

Erin sneered, her eyes fixed on me. "Fine, Richard. You're determined to upset everyone today, huh?"

She grabbed her phone. "Since this bothers you so much, I'll ask everyone to come over, and I'll apologize to you before them. Would that make you happy?"

Before I could speak, she sent a voice message in the group chat. "Come to my house. Richard demands an explanation."

Chapter 3

I had just finished tying up the trash bag when more than a dozen people filed into the living room.

Erin sat on the couch, her expression cold, while Mark stood beside her, looking like a child who had done something wrong.

The moment their friends walked in, they started blabbering.

"Richard, we're practically family. Is a public shaming session really necessary?"

"Erin even went to the trouble of calling us here. You should appreciate that."

"Fine. We'll apologize. Who wants to go first?"

They didn't sound like they were here to apologize. Instead, it sounded like warm-up banter before another game.

Erin looked at me. "They are all here. You can speak now."

I stood beside the coffee table where the ring lay.

Someone noticed it then and joked, "Wow, he still hasn't put his ring back on! He's really holding onto that grudge today."

Mark immediately spoke up, "Stop egging him on. Richard is really mad."

But the more he tried to talk them out of it, the louder their mockery grew.

One of them, named Nathan Ziegler, connected his phone to the TV. "How about we do a replay and see exactly at what point Richard lost his cool?"

The TV lit up, showing the private room from earlier that evening.

Mark was holding the prenatal test report, and I was standing in front of him, looking pale. Erin stayed silent, merely looking at me with a smile.

Nathan paused the video and pointed at the TV. "Erin couldn't keep a straight face here. She was trying so hard not to laugh."

Everyone broke out laughing.

Erin frowned. "Nathan, turn it off."

Nathan ignored her and resumed the video. It showed me taking off my ring and telling them that I was not playing along anymore. The camera wobbled for a moment, capturing Mark nearby, trying to suppress a smile.

Group chat notifications kept popping up across the top of Nathan's phone screen.

"Richard's acting is really good this time."

"Erin, your husband is quite something."

"I bet 100 dollars that they'll make up by tomorrow."

Erin stood up abruptly and switched off the TV. "Enough!"

The group fell silent.

I looked at her. "You think that's enough too?"

She avoided my gaze. "They just took the video for fun. No one actually wanted to hurt you."

"Oh? So that makes it okay to keep hurting me?"

Nathan mumbled, "Richard, why are you making such a big deal out of this? We didn't post the video publicly. I only sent it to our group chat."

Mark's face paled. He instinctively glanced at Erin.

I caught it, and so did she. Her voice dropped. "Mark, you posted the video?"

Mark clenched his fists. "I posted it to my Instagram Story, which was visible only to friends, and deleted it soon after."

Erin's expression darkened. "Who told you to post it?"

Mark looked upset. "I thought everyone would find the video funny. I didn't expect Richard to be so bothered by it."

Erin closed her eyes in irritation. Then, she looked at me. "He's already deleted it. Stop dwelling on it."

She said it again.

When Mark damaged my computer, she told me to let it go. When he joked at my promotion party that I had gotten ahead by riding on Erin's coattails, she told me to let it go. When he dug out my test reports and showed them to their friends, joking that he should start preparing to be a godfather, she still told me to let it go.

I suddenly realized that Erin did understand boundaries after all. She had simply allowed others to step on mine.

I walked over to the entryway and grabbed my car keys.

Erin immediately stopped me. "Where are you going this time?"

"To the hotel."

"For what?"

Mark pulled on the hem of her shirt. "Erin, stop arguing with Richard. I'll leave. This is all my fault."

He turned too abruptly, stumbled, and bumped into the coffee table. The ring rolled off and landed beside the trash bag.

Erin steadied him almost instinctively. "Be careful."

The others surrounded him.

"Mark, are you okay?"

"Did you sprain your ankle?"

"Erin, quick. Check on him."

I bent down to pick up the ring, but Mark stepped on it first. As if he hadn't noticed, Mark said remorsefully, "Richard, please don't leave. I'm really sorry."

I looked at the sliver of silver beneath his shoes.

Erin followed my gaze and frowned. "Mark, lift your foot."

Mark hurriedly stepped back, revealing the ring that had been crushed out of shape.

Silence enveloped the living room.

Erin picked the ring up. "I'll get it fixed tomorrow."

I took it from her and looked at the date of our wedding engraved on the inside of the band. Now, the numbers were crooked. "No need."

Erin looked at me as I threw the deformed ring into the trash bag, along with the suit and the ruined boutonniere.

Chapter 4

Erin stood in the kitchen doorway at 6:00 am while I was making coffee. She hadn't slept well the night before, so her long hair was disheveled, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Richard, I was too harsh last night."

It was one of the few times she had ever lowered herself like this.

In the past, whenever she did this, I would swallow all my grievances and let them go. This time, I merely poured the coffee into the cup and nodded.

Erin took a step closer. "I'll have the ring fixed, and I'll have someone recreate the boutonniere too."

"You can't replace that."

Erin fell silent.

On the table, her phone vibrated, and I caught sight of Mark's name. She declined the call. Within two seconds, it rang again. Erin answered this time, lowering her voice. "What is it?"

Mark's anxious voice came through the phone, "Erin, my parents saw the video. They called me shameless and told me to get out. I don't know what to do."

Erin glanced at me. "I'll go over later."

I picked up my coffee.

She said, "I need to take care of this."

I asked, "Do you remember what today is?"

Erin paused.

Today was supposed to be the day we went in for our IVF evaluation. All these years, I had always wanted a child. Erin used to say there was no rush. Later, she said life was already too boring to take on the responsibility of having a child.

After the fake wedding last year, I became depressed for a long time. She comforted me and promised that we would seriously start trying for a baby after our anniversary this year, and I believed her.

The appointment slip was still stuck to the refrigerator.

It was evident that Erin had just remembered. "We can still make it this afternoon."

I looked at her. "We have an appointment at 9:00 am."

Erin frowned. "Richard, Mark is pretty shaken up right now."

"So?"

Her voice turned frosty. "Can you stop comparing everything to him? Something might happen to him."

I laughed. "Something could happen to me too."

Erin froze.

I pulled open the drawer and took out the appointment slip. "The doctor said I've been under too much stress these past two years, and my test results aren't good. Did you know that?"

She swallowed hard. "You didn't tell me."

"I did." My eyes focused on her. "You were just too busy discussing the schedule for that fake wedding last year with Mark and the others."

Erin's face turned ashen.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it. An upset-looking Mark stood outside, his hair a mess. He immediately grabbed Erin's arm. "Erin, I don't have anywhere else to go."

Erin instinctively clasped his hand, then placed her other hand on his back. Her gesture was so practiced that my eyes stung.

Mark saw me and hurriedly pulled away. "Richard, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Erin said, "Let him stay at our place today."

"Our place?"

She didn't look at me. "Just for today."

Mark spoke softly, "I can sleep on the couch. I won't be a bother."

I looked at him. "No need for that."

A hopeful glimmer appeared in his eyes. Erin also let out a sigh of relief.

I walked into the bedroom and took out my suitcase.

Erin's expression changed. "Richard, what are you doing?"

As I took a few of my clothes out of the closet, I said, "I'm leaving."

She tried to stop me. "You're leaving home over something so small?"

"I'm not." I sidestepped her. "I'm separating from you."

Mark fell silent.

Erin seemed genuinely hurt for the first time, her voice dropping. "Say that again."

I finally looked at her. "Erin, we're separating. My lawyer will contact you about the next steps."

She stared at me before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Lawyer? Richard, are you playing along with this year's theme?"

I didn't respond.

Erin kicked my suitcase. "If you're done throwing a tantrum, let's go to the hospital. I'll accompany you."

Her phone rang again. This time, it was from Mark's mother. When Mark noticed the caller, he trembled in fear.

Erin went over to the balcony. "Hi, Mrs. Levine."

I picked up my suitcase.

Mark stood behind me, asking softly, "Richard, you're not going to leave, are you?"

As I zipped the suitcase up, he continued, "You always say you can't stand these pranks, but Erin always manages to sweet-talk you into forgiving her."

I looked at him. A trace of provocation remained in his eyes, and the corners of his lips curved into the faintest of smiles.

"You can't live without Erin."

The balcony door opened, and Erin said, "Richard, we'll go to the hospital another day. Mark's parents are coming over. I need to settle this for him."

I nodded.

Erin thought I had given in, her features softening. "Go rest in the room. Let's talk again after I'm done settling this."

She realized something was wrong and hurried after me as I headed for the door. "Richard."

I unlocked the door. The mover I had booked the night before was standing outside. He glanced between us. "Mr. Topp, should I start?"

The color slowly drained from Erin's face.

I placed the keys on the entryway table. "Yeah."