Chapter 6 - The Unraveling of Mark
By the time Mark got back to his office, his life was completely falling apart.
He worked as a mid-level sales manager at a tech firm.
He had always felt inadequate compared to my military rank, which was why he constantly belittled my career.
He needed to feel like the "man of the house."
Now, he had nothing.
He sat at his desk, his hands shaking as he stared at his computer screen.
His phone buzzed. It was Jessica.
“Mark! The police were just here! Emily is evicting us?! Tell me this is a joke!”
Before he could reply, another text came in.
“You told me this house was yours! You told me you had money! If I’m homeless by Friday, we are DONE.”
Mark slammed his fist onto his desk.
“Carter!” a voice barked from the doorway.
It was his boss, Mr. Henderson. He did not look happy.
“My office. Now.”
Mark stumbled into the glass-walled office, feeling like he was walking to the gallows.
“Take a seat,” Henderson commanded.
“Look, sir, if this is about my quarterly numbers, I’ve had a lot of personal stress—”
“This is about a phone call I just received from the corporate legal department,” Henderson interrupted.
Mark froze.
“It seems,” Henderson continued, “that someone has placed a massive lien on your wages for unpaid joint marital debts and back-owed childcare.”
Mark felt the room spinning. Emily’s lawyer moved fast.
“Sir, my wife and I are going through a messy separation. I can handle it.”
“You can't handle it here, Mark,” Henderson said flatly.
“You've missed your quotas for three months. You’ve been using company hours for personal hotel visits—which IT flagged on your corporate card.”
Mark opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He had used the company credit card to pay for his motel hookups with Jessica.
“You’re fired, Mark. Hand over your badge and clear out your desk.”
In less than 24 hours, Mark had lost his wife, his son, his house, and now his job.
He walked out of the building carrying a small cardboard box of his belongings.
It started to rain.
He pulled out his phone and called Jessica.
It went straight to voicemail.
He called his mother.
“Mark!” Linda cried through the phone. “What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?!”
“I don't know, Mom,” Mark sobbed, leaning against his cheap sedan.
He finally realized the magnitude of his mistake.
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He had traded a loyal, brilliant, powerful woman for a cheap thrill.
And the cost was absolutely everything.
