The Period Insult That Exposed His Secret

1 My period lasted over two weeks due to hormonal issues. Luke’s childhood friend Cassidy smirked, “Poor Luke, with a wife you can’t even use.” Our friends laughed. I replied sweetly, “Why would he be miserable? He’s happy to have a break from his little blue pills.” The room fell silent, then erupted in louder laughter. Luke lost his smile. “What are you talking about?” “I’m not making it up,” I said innocently. His ears reddened as he whispered, “That was one time! It’s private!” “And my hormones aren’t private?” I shot back. A friend teased, “Secrets? Is the missus complaining?” Still angry Luke had shared my health issues, I scoffed. He panicked. “Enough! She’s sensitive and just getting back at me.” “Right,” I said with a wry smile. “Just getting back at him.” My tone made it seem like I was saving his face. His friends exchanged knowing glances. Then Cassidy spoke up. “I can vouch for Luke’s stamina. He doesn’t need help.” I gave her a long, hard look. Her comment stunned the table into silence. The guy who had been teasing Luke earlier even tried to rein her in. “Cassie, are you insane? You’re going to wreck Luke’s marriage.” He then turned to me. “Reina, Cassie’s always been one to speak without thinking. Don’t take her seriously.” I crossed my arms, the fire I had just managed to bank flaring up again. Cassidy. I remembered her. She had always used a loud, “I’m just one of the guys” personality to mask her complete lack of manners. On my wedding night with Luke, she was the one who insisted we play some vulgar party game involving a banana. She’d grabbed one, and before she could shove it between Luke’s legs, his face had darkened. “Cassie, that’s enough.” Luke, at least back then, had the decency to shut it down immediately. I had let it go, dismissed it. But now, with this new stunt, it all came rushing back. Luke was about to speak. I beat him to it. “What? Did you two sleep together or something?” A blush crept up Cassidy’s neck. She had started this, but now that I’d called her bluff, she looked flustered. “No! Of course not.” The blush on her face deepened. The silence in the room was deafening. Luke’s voice suddenly sharpened. “Reina, that’s enough. Don’t be so aggressive. My friends have loose lips, that’s all. Let it go.” He shot me a look of clear disapproval. A bitter laugh escaped me, my anger spiking. “So now I’m the one being aggressive?” Seeing a full-blown fight was about to erupt, his friends quickly tried to mediate. “Cassie, just apologize to Reina, and we can all move on.” “Yeah, this is on you, Cass. Look, you’re causing a crisis in Luke’s marriage.” Cassidy pouted and mumbled an apology in my direction. I was cornered, hoisted on a pedestal of supposed magnanimity. I had no choice but to drop the argument with Luke.

2 Near the end of the night, I got up to use the restroom. Halfway there, I realized I’d forgotten a pad. As I walked back to the private room to grab one, I heard their voices drift out. “Over half a month without, huh? Ash, you basically a monk?” “No wonder Cassie was asking. I’m also wondering what the point of you getting married was.” “So is it true what your wife said? You really need the pills?” The room was filled with laughter, the tension that had been present when I was there completely gone. Cassidy’s voice was petulant. “Hmph, not a single one of you stood up for me just now, and here you are, running your mouths.” “Who told you to say something so reckless?” “Yeah, nobody was gonna touch that line.” “How would you know about Luke’s performance anyway? Did you test it out for him?” The jokes were getting more and more out of line. Cassidy’s voice held a trace of coyness. “Don’t be ridiculous.” But the friends, sensing blood in the water, pressed on. “So how do you know? Spill it.” “It was… back in college, we all went swimming together, remember? Luke was wearing swim trunks… it was… really obvious.” She stammered through the explanation. Her answer was met with a roar of laughter. “Cassie, you’re not telling us everything. Why were you staring there when you were supposed to be swimming?” “Ash, man, you got married too soon. It’s obvious Cassie’s been waiting to pounce.” Luke’s voice, laced with a helpless laugh, cut in. “Alright, alright, that’s enough. My wife’s here tonight, so rein it in. She can’t take a joke.” The mention of my name plunged the room into silence. Then, someone spoke up. “Man, you just can’t bring wives to guys’ night.” “If only all women could take a joke like Cassie.” “But seriously, Ash, how obvious are we talking?” There was a scrape of a chair, as if someone had stood up abruptly. “I’ll show you just how obvious it is right now.” Amid a chorus of whoops and hollers, I pushed the door open. Cassidy was draped over Luke, one of her hands frozen on his belt buckle. Any closer, and she would have been touching the very thing they were all talking about. Caught red-handed. They both looked mortified. A faint blush colored Cassidy’s cheeks. Luke frantically yanked his belt out of her grasp. “Wait, honey, let me explain.” I crossed my arms. “Explain what? Go on, let her pull it down. Let’s all have a look.” My words seemed to short-circuit his brain. “What?” I sneered. “Isn’t it so obvious? Let her unbuckle it so everyone can see just how obvious it is.” Cassidy didn’t dare make another move. I walked straight up to Luke, hooked a finger in his belt, and gave it a tug. He knew what I was about to do and jerked back, clamping a hand over his buckle. Any shred of guilt he might have felt vanished in an instant. “Alright, stop it. Aren’t you afraid of making a scene?” Making a scene? Who was the one making a scene here? “A minute ago, before I walked in, you were all having a grand old time talking about how she was checking you out. That wasn’t making a scene?” “Oh, so you guys talking about it is fine, but me asking you to show everyone is embarrassing?” No one at the table dared to speak. But I could feel their eyes on me. It wasn’t the cautious respect from before. It was annoyance. I had ruined their fun, again. My words left Luke speechless. The atmosphere was thick with tension. And, of course, it was Cassidy who spoke first. Her voice was a kitten’s mewl, dripping with fake contrition. “I’m so sorry, Reina. I really don’t know what’s okay to say and what isn’t. If I’ve upset you, I’ll just… I’ll leave.” She grabbed her purse and started for the door. Immediately, the other friends grabbed her arm, a flood of comforting words pouring out. “Cassie, you don’t have to go. We all know what you’re like.” “Yeah, Cass, it was just a joke. No one’s holding it against you.” “If anyone should leave, it shouldn’t be you.” One of them actually said it out loud. I raised an eyebrow at him, then looked back at Luke. “So, I guess that means I’m the one who should go?” Two can play at this game. I grabbed my own bag and made a show of rushing out. Not a single one of those hypocritical friends moved to stop me. It wasn’t until I reached the ground floor that I heard hurried footsteps behind me. Luke, after some deliberation, had decided to catch up. “Reina, don’t be angry.” He grabbed my arm, forcing me to turn and face him. Before I could say a word, I saw Cassidy scurrying down the stairs behind him. She was holding Luke’s phone. “Luke, your mom just called. She said she wants us to come to your parents’ place for dinner this weekend.” Cassidy placed the phone in Luke’s hand. Her eyes flickered towards me. A clear provocation. “Okay, thanks.”

3 He actually thanked her. I wrenched my arm out of Luke’s grasp. “Wow, you even know his lock screen password. I’m starting to ship you two.” His face stiffened. “Reina, don’t be ridiculous.” Cassidy hid behind Luke, her eyes gleaming with the thrill of me noticing that little detail. “Reina, it’s normal to know his password. Everyone knows Luke’s password is your birthday.” She sounded so reasonable. Luke looked even more embarrassed. I jumped in. “Everyone knows? Oh, so all his buddies can just unlock his phone whenever they want, answer his calls? His mom just called to invite the two of you to dinner. Why didn’t she invite the whole gang?” Luke took a step closer, trying to pull me away. “Don’t make it sound so ugly.” “My mom watched Cassie grow up. It’s that simple.” Cassidy stood to the side, looking anxious. “If it bothers you so much, Reina, I just won’t go.” “Oh no, don’t do that. Anyone can skip, but how could the two of you not go? If you don’t go, his mother will be so sad.” Luke tugged on my arm, signaling me to stop. I glared at him. “What are you pulling me for? Does your mother not have a son? Does Cassie not have parents? Why do they need to play happy family with someone else’s kid?” Luke’s face darkened. “Reina!” Whether it was my words that actually hurt her or not, I couldn’t tell. But Cassidy’s eyes welled up, and she turned and ran back up the stairs. Luke pressed his fingers to his forehead. “Reina, all I wanted was a peaceful dinner.” “Right. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have stopped you all from talking about me. I’m no fun. I can’t take a joke.” I looked at the blame in Luke’s eyes. It was like I was seeing him for the first time, and my heart sank. Luke was the one who pursued me. We had been interns at the same company. When we first got together, my family had a pretty good impression of him. He was smart, did well in school, and back then, he was even humble. The only thing they were concerned about was his family’s financial situation. There was no way he could afford to buy a house. Then they met his parents. After that, my parents were dead set against the marriage. My family wasn’t wealthy, but we were comfortably middle class. Luke’s parents were from a working-class background. And they had a certain… coarseness about them. We first met at a five-star restaurant. His parents were rude to the waitstaff. And when the bill came, they just sat there and watched my parents pay. Not even a token gesture of offering to contribute. What infuriated my parents even more was what happened next. At the time, Luke was renting an apartment. I would occasionally visit, and if it got late, I’d stay the night. His parents actually brought this up in front of my parents. The implication was clear: I was already one of them. On the ride home, I sat in my parents’ car. I rarely saw them lose their composure, but that day, they did. “Those people are thieves! You think they brought that up because they have no manners? No, it was a calculated move to get out of paying a dowry!” “Think about it! Why else wouldn’t they even offer to pay for dinner?” But I was blinded by love back then. I actually argued with them. “They’re just straightforward, they don’t have any bad intentions. The last time I went to their house, they said I was too skinny and made me pork knuckles.” “They probably saw you were already paying the bill and felt too awkward to say anything.” “Besides, I’m marrying Luke, not his parents.” My dad scoffed at that. “They can’t even afford a house. You’ll be crammed into some tiny apartment with them whether you like it or not!” But in the end, parents can rarely win against their children’s will. I refused to break up with Luke. My parents had no choice but to pay the down payment on a house for us. Their only condition to Luke was that he never let me be wronged. Perhaps Luke was grateful, once. But as time went on, he began to see everything my parents and I did for him as his due.