The Home-Wrecker Was Her Lover

“I'd been gone seven years, building our future, tending to my dying grandmother, holding onto the promise of coming home to my wife, Chloe. Then came the punch-a brutal, public assault from a man in a black baseball cap. He screamed, "You home-wrecker!" while cameras materialized, flashing like a firing squad. Reporters shoved microphones in my face, asking if it was true I was screwing Chloe Davis and getting paid for it. Chloe Davis. My wife. The questions made no sense. My attacker ripped off his sunglasses, revealing Mark Jensen, a celebrity athlete, who then threw intimate photos of him and Chloe at my feet. "I'm her boyfriend!" he bellowed to the media, pointing to an expensive watch, a gift from her. "What does a bum like you have?" Boyfriend? For years? My mind reeled. The woman I'd been married to for seven years? The confusion curdled into pure, incandescent rage. I pulled out my worn leather wallet, clutched a folded document, and held it high for everyone to see. "What are you talking about?" I yelled, my voice shaking with fury. "I'm her lawful husband!" A collective gasp went through the crowd. They'd come to expose a kept man, but the real home-wrecker was the one who threw the first punch.”