That evening, my husband Richard was celebrating the most important event of his career. After fifteen years of working for a large construction company, he had finally been appointed CEO.
He had rented an expensive restaurant and invited colleagues, relatives, friends, and even several representatives of the company. Nearly fifty people were seated at the tables.
For the celebration, I had chosen a beautiful burgundy dress, had my hair styled, and sincerely hoped that at least on this special day, my husband would treat me with respect.
But I was wrong.
For the past several years, Richard had constantly reminded me that he was the one earning the money while I supposedly did nothing but sit at home.
“Look at my colleagues’ wives,” he would say. “One runs a store, another works in real estate. And what have you accomplished in your entire life?”
I never argued with him.
When we got married, Richard had neither money nor influential connections. He worked as an ordinary engineer, earned a modest salary, and dreamed of one day becoming a manager.
Back then, I worked too. I had a good position in accounting and actually earned more than my husband.
But when his mother became seriously ill, Richard himself asked me to quit my job and take care of her.
“It’ll only be for a little while, sweetheart. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” he assured me.
That “little while” turned into eight years.
I cared for my mother-in-law, managed the household, helped my husband with paperwork, and even spent nights reviewing the financial reports he brought home from work.
And when his mother finally recovered, I discovered that returning to my previous career was no longer so easy.
But Richard quickly forgot why I had given up my career in the first place.
That evening, he was especially pleased with himself. He accepted congratulations, hugged his superiors, and constantly talked about how much effort he had put into achieving success.
Toward the end of dinner, my husband stood up and raised his glass.
“Friends, thank you all for coming tonight! I’ve worked hard for this position for many years, but I always knew that one day I would make it!”
The guests applauded.
“And a special thank-you to my dear mother! She’s the one who raised me to be a real man!”
My mother-in-law smiled with satisfaction and placed a hand over her chest.
Then Richard looked at me.
“And of course, we mustn’t forget my wife.”
I smiled, thinking he was finally going to say something nice.
But suddenly, my husband burst out laughing.
“And now, let’s drink to my wife, who has accomplished absolutely nothing in her entire life!”
A few chuckles came from the tables.
“But she’s excellent at spending my money! Isn’t that right, darling?”
I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“Richard, please, stop,” I whispered.
But he was just getting started.
“Oh, come on! It’s a celebration! You should learn how to take a joke!”
And before I could say anything, he walked over to me and poured the entire contents of his glass directly over my head.
The cold champagne ran through my hair, down my face, and onto my expensive dress.
Several guests burst into loud laughter.
My mother-in-law started clapping too.
“That’s my son! He certainly knows how to have fun!”
I sat motionless, feeling the drops of champagne trickling down my neck. At that moment, I finally reached my breaking point and did something that left everyone in the restaurant completely stunned. 😳🫣 You can find the rest of the story in the first comment. 👇👇
Then I slowly stood up.
“Richard, give me the microphone.”
My husband smirked.
“Oh, so my little housewife finally wants to give a speech!”
He handed me the microphone and returned to his seat.
I picked up a napkin from the table, calmly wiped my face, and looked at the guests.
“I’m sorry to ruin the festive atmosphere. But since my husband has decided to talk about my achievements tonight, I’d also like to share a few things about his success.”
Richard continued smiling.
“When I quit my job eight years ago to take care of his mother, Richard promised me that we would always be a team.”
My mother-in-law stopped clapping.
“But many of you don’t know that during all those years, I wasn’t just taking care of the house. I helped my husband prepare reports, reviewed contracts, and discovered mistakes that could have cost the company enormous amounts of money.”
One of the executives sitting at a table looked up with interest.
“What’s more, three months ago, I was the one who discovered serious irregularities in the financial documents of a construction project. Richard used my calculations, presented them to management as his own work, and received his promotion.”
My husband jumped to his feet.
“Enough! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m not finished yet.”
I took my phone out of my handbag.
“This morning, the chairman of your company’s board of directors called me. He asked me to attend a meeting on Monday.”
Richard turned pale.
“Why?”
“Because it turns out you didn’t just take credit for my calculations. You also changed several figures to hide the losses on one of the projects.”
The room fell silent.
“I sent management the original documents I’d saved on my computer, complete with creation dates, our correspondence, and your messages asking me to correct the reports.”
Richard rushed toward me.
“Do you even realize what you’ve done?! They could fire me!”
I looked him straight in the eyes.
“But I haven’t accomplished anything in my life, Richard. You just said yourself that I’m not capable of doing anything.”
At that moment, an elderly man in a gray suit stood up from one of the tables. It was the chairman of the board, Mr. Carter.
He slowly placed his napkin beside his plate.
“Richard, I had hoped to discuss this matter with you tomorrow morning. But after what has just happened, I see no reason to postpone our conversation.”
My husband froze.
“Mr. Carter, I can explain everything.”
“An emergency board meeting will take place tomorrow at nine in the morning. Your appointment is suspended until the internal investigation is completed.”
My mother-in-law suddenly jumped to her feet.
“You can’t do this to my son! He’s worked so hard for so many years!”
Mr. Carter looked at her.
“And judging by the documents, your daughter-in-law has worked just as hard. The only difference is that she did it for free.”
No one was laughing anymore.
Richard stood in the middle of the room with a completely bewildered expression. Just a few minutes earlier, he had been enjoying the attention of the guests, but now he didn’t even know where to look.
I placed the microphone on the table and picked up my handbag.
“Where do you think you’re going?” my husband asked.
“Home. To pack my things.”
“You can’t just walk away!”
I stopped by the door.
“Yes, I can, Richard. Unlike you, I have nothing left to lose in this marriage.”
A week later, my husband was informed that, based on the results of the investigation, he would lose his new position. He eventually left the company.
Mr. Carter, on the other hand, offered me a job in the finance department. Not as a reward for causing a scandal, but after the company’s specialists had reviewed my calculations and confirmed my professional qualifications.
I accepted.
A few months later, Richard and I got divorced.