Spencer frowned.

“What kind of accusations?”

Before Samantha could continue, Mike spoke.

“Your wife has been sending me inappropriate messages for the past three months.”

Spencer stared at him.

“What?”

“She’s repeatedly suggested that I should leave my wife and begin a relationship with her.”

Samantha grabbed Spencer’s arm.

“He’s making it sound worse than it was!”

Spencer looked at Mike.

“Did you encourage her?”

“No.”

“Then why were you talking to my wife?”

Mike picked up his phone.

“Read the messages yourself.”

Spencer hesitated.

Then he took it.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

I watched his eyes move across the screen.

At first, he looked confused.

Then surprised.

Then furious.

He stopped at the photograph of Samantha wearing the red dress.

“Why would you send this picture to him?”

Samantha folded her arms.

“Because you never compliment me anymore.”

Spencer looked up slowly.

“So you decided to send it to your sister’s husband?”

“It was just a picture!”

He continued scrolling.

A few moments later, his face changed again.

“What is this about leaving me?”

Samantha went silent.

Spencer read the message aloud.

“I settled for Spencer, Mike. But with you, I think I could finally be happy. I’d be willing to leave him.”

His voice trembled.

“Settled?”

For the first time that evening, I almost felt sorry for him.

Samantha reached for his hand.

“Spencer, I was upset when I wrote that.”

He pulled away.

“You told another man you’d abandon our marriage if he wanted you?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Then tell me what it is.”

She looked around the room, hoping someone would rescue her.

Finally, Mom spoke.

“Perhaps everybody should calm down. This was supposed to be my birthday celebration.”
I stared at her.

“Mom, are you serious?”

She looked exhausted.

“Please. We’ve already spent five years with our family divided. Can’t we have one evening without fighting?”

Something inside me finally snapped.

“Five years,” I repeated.

Mom sighed.

“Honey, please.”

“No, Mom. You keep acting like we haven’t spoken for five years because of some ordinary disagreement.”

Samantha rolled her eyes.

“Oh, here we go again.”

I turned toward her.

“You started a relationship with my fiancé while you were supposed to be helping me prepare for our wedding.”

Her face hardened.

“He chose me.”

“And then you married him wearing the engagement ring he’d originally given me.”

Spencer stared at the floor.

I looked back at Mom.

“She deliberately sent me their wedding picture. She wanted me to see that ring on her finger. And when I called you crying, do you remember what you told me?”

Mom’s eyes filled with tears.

I remembered every word.

“You said relationships sometimes fail and that I needed to accept Spencer’s decision.”

“I didn’t want you spending your life feeling bitter,” she replied.

“No. You didn’t want to acknowledge what Samantha had done.”

“I love both my daughters.”

“Then why did protecting Samantha’s feelings always seem more important than protecting mine?”

Mom wiped her cheeks.

“I thought bringing everyone together would help us finally move forward.”

Mike spoke quietly.

“People can’t move forward until they’re willing to acknowledge the harm they’ve caused.”

Mom looked toward him.

“Samantha has made mistakes.”

“She made deliberate choices,” Mike replied. “And everyone has spent years pretending those choices didn’t hurt anyone.”

Samantha slammed her palm onto the table.

“This is unbelievable! You’re treating me like some kind of monster because I sent a few messages!”

Spencer looked at her.

“Do you even understand what you’ve done?”

She turned sharply.

“Don’t start with me.”

“No,” he said. “I want you to answer something.”

His voice was shaking.

“Did you ever really love me?”

For the first time, Samantha appeared uncertain.

“Of course I did.”

“Then why did you tell Mike you settled for me?”

She said nothing.

Spencer stepped closer.

“Was our marriage ever actually about loving me? Or did you just want something your sister had?”

Samantha glanced at me before looking back at him.

“I loved you when we got married.”

Spencer’s expression changed.

“When we got married?”

“You were different back then!”

“How?”

She laughed bitterly.

“You had goals. You took me to nice restaurants. You bought me beautiful things. You made an effort with your appearance.”

He stared at her.

“And now?”

“Now you come home exhausted, complain about expenses, and expect me to be satisfied with a completely ordinary life.”

Spencer stepped backward.

“Is that really how you see me?”

She shrugged.

“I’m thirty-one, Spencer. I don’t want to spend my entire future struggling with money.”

I watched his expression collapse.

Five years earlier, Samantha had persuaded him that he deserved someone prettier and wealthier than me.

Now she was telling him he wasn’t successful enough for her.

The irony was painful.

And suddenly, something became perfectly clear.

Samantha didn’t genuinely want Mike because she loved him.

She wanted the happiness and stability she believed I had.

She’d seen my husband treating me with kindness and respect, and she wanted to take that away from me too.

Apparently, Spencer reached the same conclusion.

He stood quietly for a moment before turning toward me.

“I’m sorry.”

I looked at him.

“For what?”

He swallowed.

“For everything I did five years ago. I behaved selfishly. I knew you were devastated, but I cared more about what I wanted than how badly I was hurting you.”

I’d imagined hearing those words countless times.

In some versions, I’d shouted at him.

In others, I’d explained every sleepless night and every moment of humiliation he’d caused.

But standing there with one hand resting on my pregnant belly, I realized something unexpected.

I no longer needed anything from Spencer.

Not an explanation.

Not revenge.

Not even his apology.

Still, I appreciated that he’d finally acknowledged what happened.

“Thank you for saying that,” I replied quietly.

He nodded.

Then he turned toward Samantha.

“I think we need some distance from each other.”

Her eyes widened.
“Are you leaving me?”

“I can’t stay here tonight.”

She gave a nervous laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Spencer picked up his jacket.

“Maybe I am. But I need time to think about our marriage.”

Then he walked out.

Samantha stared after him.

A moment later, she turned toward Mike.

“This is all your fault!”

He shook his head.

“No. I didn’t make those promises to Spencer. You did.”

Then she pointed at me.

“And you! You always find a way to make everything about yourself!”