My husband and I had our 2nd anniversary. I surprised him with the smartwatch he wanted, his favorite dinner, and candles. When we exchanged gifts, he handed me an envelope in handwriting I didn\u2019t recognize.<\/p>\n
I opened it. It was a breakup letter. Not even written by him.<\/p>\n
At first I thought it was a joke. He just smiled and kept eating his mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n
My hands started shaking. It was signed by him but clearly written by someone else. The words were cold and formal:
\n\u201cI care about you deeply, but I don\u2019t think this marriage is working. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up. \u201cIs this a joke?\u201d<\/p>\n
Calmly he said, \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to tell you, so I asked a friend to help put it into words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had someone else write our breakup?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re emotional. I knew you\u2019d take it badly if I told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood up. \u201cYou think this feels better?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u201cAt least you can read it a few times and process it. I didn\u2019t want a scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted. I\u2019d just made him dinner and bought the watch he\u2019d wanted for months.<\/p>\n
He admired it on his wrist. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect you to go all out.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when something in me shifted. He didn\u2019t respect me enough to end things face-to-face\u2014 not even enough to write his own letter.<\/p>\n
I left that night and drove to my sister\u2019s apartment. I didn\u2019t cry. I was too stunned.<\/p>\n
The next morning he texted a list of things he wanted back:
\n\u201cMy blue hoodie. My passport. The Xbox.\u201d<\/p>\n
No apology. No explanation. Just bullet points.<\/p>\n
My sister read it and said, \u201cWhat a clown.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. The story doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"