Anniversary gift.

“Sign these,” Ben handed Meera a brown envelope.

Eagerly opening it, Meera smiled as the guests in the living room cheered the couple on in excitement.

It was their third year anniversary and they were holding a little gathering with family and friends in the couple’s matrimonial home.

“Aww...” someone purred.

“If my future husband is not like Ben, I’m not marrying him.”

“I’m about to cry out of jealousy, wish my husband was as considerate and romantic as Ben. The love he has for Meera is immeasurable.”

“Meera is so lucky. I’m sure she got a land or some share transfer this time.”

The people’s words became distant as Meera’s smile slowly slipped away when she saw the bold letters on the front page:

[ DIVORCE PAPERS ]

“Anything you want for compensation, you’ll have it. I— ”

“I– I don’t understand,” Meera cut him off while staring dumbly at the papers in her hands. It was supposed to be her third year anniversary gift… what is the meaning of this?

The cheering guests held their tongues and inched closer to Meera, trying to see what was written on the papers to make Meera lose her smile, while Ben looked on like a drenched chick. But unfortunately, none of them could see beyond the white papers before Meera slammed them close.

“I’m sorry, Meera… you can call me a jerk, yes I am. But I can’t continue to lie to us anymore.”

Staring at her confused face that was slowly turning blank, Ben sighed and gently tugged at his tie to loosen the knot– he was choking. “I tried to make it work,” he added.

“What is going on?” some of the guests whispered.

Suddenly, a fifteen year old boy yanked the papers from Meera and read through them. The more he read, the redder his face became. His anger flared and as he was about to lash out, Meera suddenly laughed out loud.

“Hahahahaha… You got me, damn! You win. I must admit, this is the best prank you ever pulled. Hahahaha– “

Hearing the contagious and cute laughter, the guests joined in to have a good laugh even though they had no idea what was funny.

Of course, Meera and Ben were known pranksters. They would prank each other with unimaginable things each time and that was what many of their fans loved about them.

“This is not a prank, Meera, I’m serious.”

Meera did a double check on him. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t smiling. His eyes were red and he seemed to be helpless.

He was telling the truth.

“What is this about?!” Meera asked quietly. She didn’t know what she was feeling at the moment. She felt he was going through something tough.

To Meera, Ben was the most loving person any woman would wish to be with. He was kind, humble, romantic, funny, and well-mannered.

The two of them were best friends before they got married, so they knew each other’s Dos and DON’Ts like siblings and made sure never to cross those lines.

So, why was he divorcing her when she never did anything to upset him? A few hours ago, he delivered her this anniversary cake. They spoke on the phone like newly wedded couples, so why this now? What went wrong?

“I’m sorry, Meera,” he uttered as tears pulled in his eyes.

This was getting more serious than she thought. Meera closed the distance and hugged him. Her husband would never cry in front of others. For him to do this, he must have encountered something he couldn’t handle.

Her heart broke when he didn’t hug her back. Swallowing the urge to cry, she consoled him, “Shhh… Don’t say anything. I’ll dismiss everyone and we’ll sit and talk this through.”

Without waiting for him to speak, she glanced around, their friends and family were looking on with baffled faces. Camera was rolling. Although they were public figures with millions of understanding fans, It wouldn’t be good if her husband’s weakness goes public, so she waved at their crew: “Turn off the camera and everyone please, excuse us.”

“No,” he suddenly pulled away from her and created a distance between them. He wiped his tears and pointed to the divorce papers, “please sign that and let’s call off this sham of a marriage.”

Everyone gasped in alarm except for two other guys who glanced at each other and shrugged.

This news came as a big shock to their crew who had turned off the camera. What would they tell their fans?

Ben and Meera are big time celebrities who got famous by putting their lives out there for the world. From when they were high school students, the two created a channel where they did cute things as friends. They practically grew into the wonderful people they were in the eyes of the public, which was why, when they got married, it didn’t take them much effort to win the ‘perfect couple’ title for three years straight, which was why, hearing the abominable word felt like a weird imagination to them.

Meanwhile, the fifteen years old David couldn’t hold back and yelled, “Brother-in-law, what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“Don’t talk to my husband like that!” Meera glared at her younger brother who was holding the divorce papers.

“I– “ he wanted to protest, but seeing the dangerous look in his sister’s eyes, he apologized and lowered his head, “I’m sorry.”

Others who wanted to get involved all shut their mouths and continued to watch the drama play out.

Meera turned to her husband of three years and asked, “Do you want to embarrass us in front of everyone? Then go ahead, but I need to know what I’ve done to deserve a divorce.”

“You did nothing wrong, it was my fault. I caused it, so I don’t blame you. Just sign those and– “

“You better start talking, Ben!” Meera suddenly lost it. Her heart was about to explode from beating faster than usual. He was implying that she did something that warranted the divorce but from her memory, she couldn’t remember doing anything wrong.

“I’m sorry– “

“Don’t apologize!” she screamed. “Explain yourself, otherwise, I won’t sign those papers.”

David gazed around, seeing everyone was still present and were waiting with eagerness to know what his sister had done, he barked at Ben, “I refuse for you to humiliate my sister in the presence of everyone. Send them all away, otherwise, I’ll tell your fans what you’ve done to my sister!”

David knew how much Ben treasured his reputation so the threat would certainly work.

As he thought, Ben sent everyone away, but the only person who refused to leave was Meera’s best friend, Maria.

“Everyone is gone, don’t you think my friend deserves to know why she’s getting divorced?” she questioned.

“What more do you want him to explain? He doesn’t want your friend anymore because… I’m back now!”