I have been married to Max for three years, and we dated for two years before that. His family had this wonderful tradition where Max’s parents, his two brothers, and their partners would all get together for dinner once a month.

They had a particular restaurant they loved with warm lighting and cozy but fancy chairs that made every dinner feel special. I loved these gatherings. The warm buzz of conversation, plates clinking, and laughter filling the air made me feel like I truly belonged.

Until I didn’t.

Recently, the monthly dinners stopped and were replaced by Max’s sudden weekly work outings.

“Sorry, honey. This project is taking longer than I expected. I have another dinner with the partners and my coworkers again,” Max said one evening, adjusting his tie in our bedroom mirror.

I sat on the edge of our bed, watching him. “That’s the third time this week. Is everything okay at the office?”

“Yeah, yeah. We just need to close this deal, and these people love talking about business while eating, so I can’t skip these,” he clarified but wouldn’t meet my eyes in the mirror.

This had never happened before. While I wasn’t suspicious of him exactly, something felt off. We’d been having some relationship issues lately, nothing major, just that distance that sometimes creeps in when you both get too busy with life.

Our easy conversations had shortened, and our usually comfortable silences had become awkward.

“Maybe we could have dinner together tomorrow night?” I suggested. “I could cook that pasta you like.”

“I can’t tomorrow. There’s another meeting, and I’m sure it’ll go long.” He kissed my forehead quickly. “Don’t wait up.”

I let him go without another word because honestly, I knew the project was real. But I was starting to feel… lonely.

One evening, days later, I got tired of sitting alone at home, so I decided to meet my girlfriends at a local café. I was laughing with them and thinking about how long it had been since I felt so lighthearted when I turned to the window.

The restaurant across the street was Max’s family’s favorite spot for monthly dinners. The food there was incredible. Maybe, for our next girlfriend gathering, I would suggest going there instead.

As I stirred my latte, Sarah, my best friend, was telling a story about her newest dating disaster.

“So then he tells me his pet python is actually in the car and would I like to—” She stopped mid-sentence. “Ada? Are you okay?”

I wasn’t listening to her. A familiar silhouette had caught my eye, and I finally noticed that, through the restaurant’s wide front window, sat my husband. But he wasn’t with colleagues. He was surrounded by his entire family, laughing and talking like it was a usual dinner… like I wasn’t missed.

My coffee turned bitter in my mouth. “I… I need to go,” I mumbled to Sarah, throwing some cash on the table. I considered confronting them but ultimately decided to go home.

The following week, when Max said he had another work dinner, I waited 30 minutes before getting in my car and following him. I parked down the street from the restaurant and waited.

Sure enough, I saw them all arrive in their separate cars and go inside. They sat in the corner, right by the window again, as if no one was missing.

I got out of the car and went into the restaurant discreetly for a better view.

Roseanne, my mother-in-law, was passing around a basket of garlic knots. Daniel, Max’s eldest brother, was showing something on his phone that had everyone laughing. Even Franklin, Max’s other older brother, and his fiancée Karina were there, looking at ease despite their perpetually stalled engagement.

“Can I help you?” the hostess appeared in front of me, making me jump.

“No, I… I just remembered I forgot something in my car,” I stammered, backing away before anyone noticed me.

Outside, I leaned against the brick wall, taking a deep breath. What could I do now?

And then, Karina came out, clutching her phone in her ear. She hadn’t noticed me. When she finished her call, I approached her.

“Why wasn’t I invited?” I asked. “What happened to the monthly dinners?”

She jumped and turned. As soon as she noticed it was me, her eyes turned cold. “Sometimes you don’t belong here,” she said, then walked to the door, giving me a parting blow, “Some of us have been part of this family longer than you.”

Her words stung, and I drove home in a daze, barely seeing the road through my tears. But anger replaced hurt because Max clung to the excuse of meeting work colleagues the following Saturday.

When he left, I followed only 15 minutes later, and I burst right inside the restaurant.

“So the family gatherings are just happening without me from now on?” I asked, my voice carrying over their laughter.

They all froze. Max’s face went pale. Robert stopped mid-bite of his pasta. Olivia, Daniel’s wife, suddenly became very interested in her water glass.

“Ada, I can explain—” Max started, standing up.

“Save it,” I said, lifting my hand. “I thought I was part of this family. I thought that’s what this ring meant. But I guess I was wrong.”

“Oh, sweetheart, no,” Roseanne said quickly, reaching for her purse. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled out an envelope. “We weren’t going to show you this yet, but…”

“Mom, wait,” Max protested, running his hand through his hair. “This isn’t how I wanted—”

“It’s time,” she said firmly. “We can’t let her think we don’t want her… here, Ada, dear.”

I took the envelope, biting my lip as I opened it. Inside were two plane tickets to a beautiful island resort, along with hotel reservations and activity bookings.

“What is this?”

“Max came to us about planning this surprise for you,” Roseanne explained as her eyes softened. “He wanted to do something special to reconnect with you. He’s terrible at keeping secrets, you know, so we had to be careful.”

“I noticed things weren’t right between us,” Max said quietly, moving closer to me as a smile formed on his face. “The way we barely talk anymore, how we’re like ships passing in the night. I wanted to make it better, but I’m terrible at planning this stuff. I needed help, and everyone had different ideas, so it took longer than I expected.”

“You could have just talked to me,” I said quietly, looking at the tickets. “Lying to me about work meetings…”

“I did have many work meetings, but at the restaurant bar over by the office. This is only our third time meeting about this, and today, they were supposed to help me plan how I was going to surprise you,” he continued. “But you’re right. I should’ve talked to you instead. I’m sorry.”

“I thought your family didn’t want me around anymore,” I mumbled through a tight throat.

“I’m so sorry,” Max touched my face. “I should’ve realized. I’m really awful at surprises, but I wanted our spark back. I want us back.”

“Oh, darling,” I finally smiled, though my eyes were still teary.

Max kissed my cheek as the others smiled, but a harsh laugh cut through the moment.

“Oh, this is just perfect,” Karina spat. She stood up, her chair scraping against the floor. “Nothing like this has ever been done for me, even though I’ve been with Franklin much longer. But precious Ada gets a whole vacation planned by the entire family?”

“Karina, please,” Franklin said, reaching for her arm. “This isn’t about you.”

She yanked away. “It’s never about me, is it? Eight years I’ve been with you, Franklin. Eight years! You won’t even set a date for our wedding, but your whole family will gather to plan a trip for her?” She grabbed her glass of soda, her hand shaking, and turned her hateful gaze to me. “That’s why I told you, you don’t belong here!”

As she moved to throw the drink at me, Max acted quickly, pushing me behind him. The soda splashed across his shirt and face. There were collective gasps from everyone in the restaurant.

“Karina!” Roseanne shouted.

“Don’t you ever speak to my wife like that again,” Max said in a low voice while wiping his face. “I don’t care what’s going on between you and my brother. Ada will be treated with respect!”

Karina stood there, stewing, while the entire restaurant went silent except for the soft music playing overhead.

With a heavy sigh, Franklin stood slowly. “Karina,” he said, “I think… I think this is why I can’t set a date. This isn’t working. It hasn’t been working for a long time, has it?”

“What? What are you saying?” Karina whispered.

“I’m saying I can’t marry you. Not when you’re so angry all the time, so jealous of everyone else’s happiness. That’s not the person I fell in love with, and that’s not who I want for this family.”

Her face crumpled with sadness at first, but then, as she saw everyone staring at her, pure rage gathered in her eyes. Her face reddened, but in the end, she only grabbed her purse and ran out of the restaurant.

“I should go after her,” Franklin said, but he didn’t move.

“Let her go,” his father, Robert, said quietly. “Some things need to end without much explanation.”

We were frozen for another second until Roseanne asked me to sit down. Dinner resumed, and Max told me everything he had planned for our trip and who had pitched in with ideas.

After that night, Franklin and Karina broke up for good. It was apparently ugly, but Franklin was sure of his decision.

The monthly family dinners were scheduled once again, as if nothing ever happened.

Eventually, Max and I went on that island vacation and managed to rekindle our love. It felt like a second honeymoon.

But we also learned to talk more and to share our fears and hopes. We never lied to each other that way again, even while planning surprises.