Chapter 1: The Slap That Changed Everything

I leaned in, unable to resist, and pressed my lips to my wife’s neck—then, out of nowhere, she slapped me. Hard. From the woman who’d never even raised her voice.

My ears rang, and for a second, I wondered if the world had tilted. We’d been together for years and she’d always been gentle. My hand flew to my cheek, not sure if I was more stunned by the pain or the shock. The bedroom seemed to hold its breath—a new, awkward distance humming between us.

Confused and hurt, I tried to make sense of it in our group chat. I opened up, my heart pounding, desperate for someone to tell me I wasn’t losing my mind.

It was the old college crew, plus a few randoms—guys who’d riff on anything at 2 a.m. I started typing a rambling account, then hovered over the send button, almost deleting it. Did I really want to look weak? But the sting on my cheek won out, and finally, I hit send. The blue light from my phone was the only thing cutting through the dark living room. My hands trembled so bad I almost dropped my phone.

The replies came fast—everyone telling me to ditch her, to give up trying. The jokes hit hard:

“Bro, you must’ve triggered some kind of booby trap.”

“Right? Maybe she’s still hung up on her first love.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a big deal if a woman lets you touch her neck? Looks like you’re just the backup plan, man. LOL.”

“Bro, is this some Twilight-level drama or what?”

Memes flooded in—Drake shaking his head, a vampire biting a pillow, cry-laugh emojis everywhere. Normally, I’d laugh with them, but tonight I just felt raw and exposed. My face burned. I hovered over the keyboard, unsure what to say, when a different kind of message popped up:

“Does your wife have a red line on her neck?”

“If she does, you’d better run.”

A chill crawled up my spine. It was such a weird question—so out of step with the banter, it made me stop and stare.