ManyWriters

“I didn't realize you were in a conference. You said you'd dedicate three days to me, but you've been in meetings constantly. How frustrating.”
During the company's regular online meeting, a voice from a young woman appeared on Ryan Carter's display.
She didn't seem to realize what was happening and was acting coquettishly with Ryan as if no one was around.
The colleagues who were just making noise suddenly quieted down, as if they were all waiting for my reaction - Ryan's wife.
Everyone wants to see my jokes.
This time, I remained calm. I calmly said to the colleague, "Please continue and ignore any interference."

A Conference Call Affair

He was likely surprised when I ended the call, prompting him to send a message clarifying his points once more.


I chose not to engage, responding with a brief "Understood."


My disinterested response clearly upset him.


[Ryan, I'm not interested in debating this.] I typed before muting notifications for his conversation.


At that moment, I received a new friend request.


The profile picture showed a small rabbit. I accepted the request.


The new contact remained silent after connecting.


Upon viewing her latest image, everything became clear. It was a recent selfie of the woman I had glimpsed on Ryan's screen earlier. She was pictured with his laptop, captioned: [Whoops, I interrupted sweetie during his conference, but he wasn't cross with me.]


Her actions were obviously meant to get a reaction from me, but I didn't remove her. Instead, I quietly observed.


The post that struck me most was from my birthday. Ryan, who claimed to be away for work, appeared in a photo with her. They were seated in the middle of the group, with the woman wearing a tiara and looking ecstatic. One of Ryan's friends commented: [You two seem so content. Ryan's forgotten all about me.]


I could sense his happiness through the screen. I suddenly recalled how on my birthday, I had waited at home for his return, repeatedly calling him to no avail.


When he finally answered, he sounded irritated and just told me to go to bed. My call must have disrupted his enjoyment.


I couldn't help but laugh at myself cynically.


Chapter 2