When I overheard my husband mocking how much I’d aged since our wedding, I decided to give him an anniversary gift he’d never forget. He thought he’d outsmarted me, unaware that his biggest mistake was yet to come.

Five years ago, when Elias and I married, he couldn’t keep his hands off me. He brought flowers for no reason, kissed me while I cooked, and called me the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

But somewhere between raising two children and working full-time from home, everything changed.

Our oldest was three, and our youngest was eighteen months. Between preschool drop-offs, laundry, meals, cleaning, and sleepless nights, I barely found time to shower.

Meanwhile, Elias slept eight hours a night, spent two hours at the gym most evenings, and played video games on weekends.

Lately, he’d begun criticizing my appearance.

“You’re looking tired again. Maybe you should get more sleep.”

Or my personal favorite:

“You used to dress up for me. What happened?”

I usually ignored him. I didn’t have the energy to argue.

Three weeks before our fifth anniversary, Elias invited his friend Vance over for beers.

They sat on the patio while I washed our youngest’s bottles in the kitchen. The window was open.

“Got anything special planned for your anniversary?” Vance asked.

Elias chuckled.

“Probably just pizza.”

Then he added:

“Honestly, man, if I met her today, I wouldn’t even ask her out. She’s aged so much in just five years.”

I froze, gripping the bottle brush.

Eventually, I finished washing the dishes and went upstairs to put our children to bed.

That night, Elias asked why I was unusually quiet.

“Just tired.”

He rolled over and fell asleep while I lay awake, staring at the ceiling for another hour.

By morning, I’d decided exactly what to give him for our anniversary.

Three weeks later, Elias entered the kitchen looking particularly cheerful.

“Happy anniversary, sweetheart! How about we order pizza tonight?”

I glanced up from my coffee.

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