Chapter 7: Hamster Confessions & Happy Endings

During my recent vacation, I spent time with Maple as she prepared to give birth. My social feed was all cat photos. Even with Caleb abroad, he'd comment on nearly every post. Our mutual friends all started gossiping, asking if Caleb was whipped. We'd hidden our marriage so long—who would've thought everything would come out because of this?

When Caleb came home, he brought goat milk powder and cat food for Maple.

"Savannah, I've got half a month off."

I played dumb. "So?"

"So I've got plenty of time to sort things out between us."

Ever since the divorce drama, he seemed to have changed—less mild-mannered, more assertive.

"I suggest you watch what you say, or..."

Caleb grinned and tickled my waist. I shrieked and jumped away. He watched me flail and laughed in triumph.

"So, Savannah, what are you hiding from me?"

"Got a secret boyfriend on the side?"

I could tell he was teasing, so I refused to answer.

"Really not going to say?"

He stood up, eyes lingering on my waist.

"Oh, forgot to mention—I invested in the media outlet that leaked our marriage."

So basically, he'd been behind it all along.

"You set me up!"

"Yep."

Caleb grabbed me, his hand sneaking around my waist.

I pleaded, "Stop, I'm ticklish!"

"Then spill. I promise I won't get mad."

He finally let go and patted the seat next to him.

"Come on, tell me—what could possibly make you want to break up?"

I took a deep breath. "Maple ate the hamster you've had for two years."

Caleb loved his hamster like family. I only got to marry him because of that hamster. One day, I saw a post from Caleb about his missing hamster. Coincidentally, I opened my door to find a hamster that looked just like the one in his photo. That's when I learned that the famous movie star had just moved in upstairs. I carefully put the hamster in a cage and warned Maple not to touch it. I took some photos, cropping out Maple's hungry stare, and sent them to Caleb.

"Mr. Caleb, is this your missing hamster?"

He replied quickly: "Yes."

So, as neighbors, we started seeing more of each other. Maple liked him, so I used that excuse to mooch meals at his place. One time, during dinner at his place, my mom video-called and instantly decided Caleb was her son-in-law. What could I do? With her matchmaking energy, I worried she'd line up a whole roster of blind dates. While I was hemming and hawing, Caleb accepted the son-in-law role. We naturally ended up together and quickly got a marriage certificate. But not long after, I found a tail by Maple—looked like it belonged to the hamster. I rushed to the cage, but the hamster was gone. Poor thing, probably didn't make it.

I whispered the whole story to Caleb, shielding Maple like a mother about to be thrown out with her child.

"Maple's innocent—you can't blame her. If you want a divorce, fine, but Maple just had kittens. You can't touch her."

I'll just get a more obedient one next time! But Maple is staying, no matter what!

Caleb looked like he was about to cry. "You're divorcing me over this?"

He glanced at Maple, who looked up at him with big, innocent eyes. He flicked my forehead.

"I took the hamster that day. It's living happily at my parents' place."

"You liked a photo of it, so I thought you were interested. I figured I'd use the hamster as a reason to get close, but..."

So I'd worried for nothing.

"Caleb, you..."

He grabbed my wrist, raising an eyebrow. "What can I do for you, madam?"

Maple jumped out of my arms and scampered away. I glared at him. "So you've been scheming against me for ages, huh?"

Caleb pulled me into his arms. "Yep."

"Shameless!"

I fumed. "The older, the wiser! I can't believe you tricked me!"

He scooped me up and carried me to the bedroom. "Worked out pretty well, didn't it?"

Not long after, we won the lawsuit. Luke faced legal consequences. Before going to jail, he wanted to see me one last time—I refused. He sent word that he loved me, that it was love turned to hate. Ridiculous. Hurting someone under the guise of love is the worst crime of all.

"Who upset my wife?"

The sofa beside me dipped as Caleb pulled me into his arms out of habit.

"Want to do something fun to cheer up?"

I'm pretty sure he was doing this on purpose.

"Meow!"

Maple trotted over with her kitten, dropping it onto my lap. I smiled. "No time—I've got kids to take care of."

(The End)