The Campfire Celebration ended soon after.
Everyone returned to their own tents, still unwilling to leave the excitement behind.
Once everything finally became quiet, faint voices drifted from Tent #3.
It was Brantli and Bree.
“Brantli, keep it down.”
“Someone is staying next door.”
“It’s fine.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to come out because he doesn’t want to show his face.”
“Let’s be louder.”
“That way, he’ll know this trip wasn’t a waste.”
A chill ran down my spine.
I started recording the audio.
I stayed awake all night.
Every second felt endless.
Before sunrise, while it was still dark outside, I left my tent.
I was ready to leave.
By coincidence, I ran into the man who had teased me outside my tent the night before.
“Hey, bro.”
“I stayed in another tent.”
“The noise from Tent #3 reached all the way over there last night.”
“You’re leaving this early because you can’t wait to have some fun with your girlfriend, right?”
I looked at him.
I didn’t say a word.
He scratched his head, clearly confused by my reaction.
When I got home, I took down every wedding photo in the house.
I smashed them all and threw the pieces into the trash.
The next day, Bree came back.
The kiss marks on her neck hadn’t completely faded.
When she noticed my eyes on them, she looked slightly guilty.
But she quickly calmed down and smiled.
“I got bitten by mosquitoes while camping last night.”
“You should’ve seen those mosquitoes. They were huge.”
I quietly watched her lie.
If this had happened before, I would’ve believed her immediately.
But this time, I only looked at her coldly.
“Really?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“You don’t believe me?”
I stared at her.
I looked for even the tiniest hint that she was lying.
But there was nothing.
She hid everything perfectly.
For years, I had fallen for those soft, comforting lies of hers.
I didn’t answer.
I simply took out the divorce agreement I had prepared.
“Sign it.”
“We’ll split the assets equally.”
Bree froze.
“Divorce?”
“Why are you suddenly talking about divorce?”
“Is it because of your own assumptions and suspicions?”
Suddenly, she seemed to understand something.
She wrapped her arms around mine and smiled.
“I get it now.”
“You’re upset because I didn’t spend time with you today, aren’t you?”
“Don’t be mad.”
“We still have tomorrow.”
“I’ll spend time with you then.”
I pulled my arm away.
“Sign it.”
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
“Caleb.”
“If your parents find out you want a divorce from me, they won’t be happy.”
My parents had always loved Bree.
But how much of Bree’s kindness toward them was actually real?
I placed the agreement on the table.
“Whoever you bring into this won’t change my decision.”
“Sign it.”
When she realized I wasn’t backing down, Bree’s expression changed.
“Caleb, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m not signing!”
“If I can’t make you understand, I’ll have someone else talk to you!”
She stormed into the bedroom.
Not long after, Bree’s parents arrived.
Almost at the same time, my parents arrived too.
But the moment I opened the door, Bree’s father, George, slapped me across the face.
“Caleb!”
“Caleb! I trusted you with my daughter! I thought you’d take care of her, and this is how you treat her? Are you out of your mind?”
“My poor daughter was crying so badly on the phone!”
“Now tell us!”
“Why the hell are you suddenly divorcing her?”
Bree’s mother, Iris, was furious too, standing there yelling at me the whole time.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Bree was treated like a princess in our home.”
“She never had to lift a finger!”
“But after she married you, she had to cook for you, do your laundry, and handle all the housework!”
“She was always thoughtful toward your parents too!”
“Every holiday, she bought them gifts!”
“She took care of you for three years, and now you want to throw her out? You want to make a fool of her in front of all her friends?”
After they finished, my parents looked at me seriously.
“Caleb, have things been difficult at work lately?”
“But even if they have, you can’t take your anger out on your wife!”
“George was right to hit you just now.”
“Ever since you married her, Bree really has treated us like family.”
“Don’t forget.”
“When your mother was sick and hospitalized, you were too busy with work to take care of her.”
“It was Bree who stayed by her side and looked after her.”
“When you worked late and came home exhausted, Bree stayed up waiting for you.”
“She even prepared medicine to help you feel better the next morning.”
“How could you treat her like this?”
At that moment, Bree walked out of the bedroom.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
“Caleb…”
“What did I do wrong?”
“Why do you suddenly want a divorce?”
“You just heard what your parents said.”
“I’ve always treated them like my own parents.”
“I’ve never treated them badly. Not even once.”
“And now you’re doing this to me?”
“Don’t you think that’s too much?”
I stayed silent for a moment.
Just like they said, everything Bree had done before this had always looked perfect.
There had been nothing to criticize.
If this had happened before, seeing her cry like this would have been enough to make me soften.
But now, all I could see were the images of Bree with that man named Brantli at the campsite.
Some betrayals could never be forgiven.
The fact that I had offered to split our marital assets equally and hadn’t exposed everything she had done right away was already the greatest respect I could give her.
But if she wanted to make this situation worse…
Then I didn’t need to hold back anymore.
I looked at her calmly.
“Bree.”
“You know exactly what you did.”
“Do you really need me to spell it out?”