Jake, my husband, gave me a plan to help me “become a better wife.” I was shocked. But I didn’t blow up; I went along with it. Jake didn’t know that I was about to teach him a lesson that would make him think again about how he was going to get married.

Being the calm one in our marriage has always been something I’ve been proud of. Jake, poor guy, was big on getting caught up in things, like a new hobby or an odd YouTube video that said it would change his life in three easy steps.

We were together, though, until Jake met Steve. Steve was the loud-mouthed type of person who thought being right meant they were right. They would talk over you when you tried to correct them.

He was also (who would have thought?) always single and happily gave relationship tips to all of his married coworkers, including Jake. While Jake should have known better, my sweetheart fell head over heels in love with Steve’s confidence.

I didn’t give it much thought until Jake started saying mean things.