In a sudden turn, my wife ended our two-decade-long marriage overnight, leaving only a bottle of floor cleaner and a note behind

I picked up the bottle, my hands trembling slightly. The note was in Elise’s neat handwriting, eight words that made my stomach drop:

“Keep it shiny for the next one! Goodbye!”

“What does this mean? Elise?” I called out again. “This isn’t funny!”

I grabbed my phone and rang her. But the call went straight to voicemail.

“Elise, please, what’s going on? Just… just call me back. Please.”

I tried her sister next. Caroline answered on the third ring.

“I know she’s been planning this, Johnny. She made me promise not to tell you.”

“Planning? For how long?”

“Three months. Maybe longer.”

“And you didn’t think to warn me?”

“She’s my sister, Johnny. What was I supposed to do?”

I ended the call, my hands shaking. Three months? She’d been planning to leave me for three months, all while sleeping beside me, sharing meals, and discussing our future?

Sitting there in our half-empty bedroom, memories flooded back. Twenty years ago, Elise and I were inseparable.

We met at my cousin’s wedding. I’d given a best man’s speech that had the whole room laughing, and she’d sought me out afterward, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

We were THAT couple — the ones who could finish each other’s sentences, dance in grocery store aisles, and make our friends roll their eyes with our inside jokes. Everyone wanted what we had.

Her favorite perfume still lingered in the air, a ghost of her presence that made everything feel surreal. I didn’t understand why Elise left me.

“What did I do wrong?” I asked the empty room. “What did I miss?”

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