It was what many people would consider love at first sight… Of all the people in that superficial friend group of hers, she was the most beautiful with her genuine smile and alluring blue eyes… I knew… I just knew right then and there that I had to have her. That I had to make her mine. But I was so scared that she would spurn me so instead of going up to her in person, I wrote a brief little note on a napkin and had the waiter take it to her. It worked like a charm. She left those wretched friends of hers and joined me at my table. It was then learned that her name was Lily. A fitting name for such a beautiful woman. We spent that night in utter bliss. Just talking and laughing as though we were the best of old friends. It was heavenly.

...

It wasn't too long after that when we started to officially date and oh did her friends hate that. They did not approve of her dating someone like me - a badly scarred leather clad freak with a lengthy record. Lily didn't seem to mind, though. She didn't see me as they did. She saw me as someone worthy of love. Her love in particular. And oh did I love her just as much in return. I would have given anything to ensure she stayed happy forever. Lily was my world and I was her sun and everything was wonderful.

...

When I finally got up the nerve to propose, it was Easter and I had placed the ring in an egg which I then hid within our apartment. Her face when she finally found it will forever be burned into my memory. Lily was so happy that I didn't even get a chance to actually say the words. She tackled me to the floor. Whispering yes over and over again as she showered me in kisses… Kisses I was more than happy to return… Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day tangled up on the dusty hardwood floor…

Our wedding ultimately ended up being a small affair since I didn't have very many friends and my family had disowned my ages ago and hers still didn't really approve of our relationship. It was heartbreaking to see my new wife so down. So much so that I did everything in my power to make our honeymoon the most memorable weeks of our lives… I succeeded admirably… Lily resumed being her cheerful upbeat self and things resumed being wonderful after that.

...

They say all good things must come to an end eventually and of course they just had to be right… Whoever they are… Four years after we had gotten married, Lily began to keep odd hours. She'd come home from work later than usual and make up excuses as to why. And like the fool I was, I took it all smiling because I didn't want to believe for one second that she'd really cheat on me. That she would never in a million years break my heart like that. I was such a fucking idiot. I managed to get my hands on her phone one night while she was asleep and found a series of texts between her and her boss. Raunchy and explicit texts. The oldest of which dated back to our honeymoon. I was livid. My eyes saw red and when I finally came to my senses I was on top of Lily, my hands were still firmly clamped around her pale slender neck, and there was no more light to be had in those hazel eyes I had fallen in love with. I had murdered the one person who had ever shown me any kind of love and compassion. And yet… Yet I didn't feel anything… I was just numb. Numb to everything. As I sat there, just staring into her lifeless eyes, the wheels in my head began to turn. I realized Lily wasn't the only one at fault. It was that damn boss of hers. He needed to pay as well and I knew just how to do it. I finally released my hold and got off Lily. The first part of my plan was going to be messy and I needed to ensure no one got suspicious before I actually did anything.

...

The next morning, I called in for Lily - informing her bastard lover that she wasn't feeling well. The idiot actually believed me. With that done, I went to the garage where I had stashed Lily's body in the chest freezer for the time being. I then covered the floor with painter's plastic and got out the tools I normally reserved for breaking down deer carcasses. I knew from basic high school biology that human anatomy was far different than that of a deer's but at least I had some ideas as to what I was doing. Once everything was in place, I got to work… I took Lily's body from the freezer and laid it out on the plastic. She was still just as beautiful as she was before I choked the life from her and just seeing her face was almost enough to make me not go through with it. But then I remembered what she had done to me… The way she had blatantly destroyed my trust and shattered my heart… She deserved it and her lover was just as deserving as what I had planned for him… I took Lily down to bare bone and entrails then I carved the meat down to where it could be properly run through the meat grinder - whistling a merry little tune as I did so.

...

When I was finished, I wrapped the meat chunks in a careful little bundle and headed back inside to the kitchen where the grinder awaited… The sick squelching noise it made as it did its job was like music to my ears. It was invigorating. Soon the hunks of meat resembled finely ground hamburger and I finally knew just what dish to serve Lily's lover. Spaghetti. It was the first meal Lily and I had ever fixed together and it seemed only fitting that she be a literal part of the last meal I'd ever fix… Her boss sent her a text while I was in the middle of cooking… The timing of it was too perfect. Pretending to be Lily, I sent him a response - lying and stating that I had faked sick because my dutiful husband was going out of town and I was preparing a romantic evening for just the two of them. The idiot once again bought the lie. What did Lily even see in the man? He seemed so fucking dense. Well she didn't see anything anymore and soon… Neither would he…

...

That night, at around seven-thirty, I had just finished setting the table when Lily's boss arrived. Bastard strolled in like he owned the place and I realized then that it probably wasn't the first time he had been in my home. Fucking prickstain. Fucking whore. I heard him approaching the kitchen/dining room and immediately ducked into the pantry. Through the slats in the door, I watched as he first read my card and then happily served himself - covering the noodles with lots of the special sauce I had concocted just for him… I waited until he was just about finished before I finally made myself known.

"Hello, Prichard."

"Caleb!" He was up out of his seat in a heartbeat, "W-What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just the usual," I gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, "I mean last I checked this is my home, so I think the real question is… What are you doing here, hm? And just how long have you and my wife been fucking around behind my back?"

"Caleb, please, it's not what you think," Prichard proclaimed as he backed slowly towards the door, "Me and Lily are in love and we were going to tell you. I swear we were."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you were," I didn't believe him for a second, "Tell me something," I pulled my hunting knife from the waistband of my jeans, brandishing it to where he could plainly see it, "Did Lily ever tell you why I had been incarcerated for most of my adult life?"

"S-She said it was an attempted murder charge," Prichard's panic was clearly growing, "That you had nearly beaten a man to death."

"That's right, I did do that," I confirmed without hesitation, "You see, the truth is, it wasn't just any man I beat half-to-death. It was my own father. Bastard had been screwing around with the eighteen year old neighbor girl, so I put his ass in the hospital. Would have been the morgue if my mamma hadn't come home when she did."

"I see," Prichard was slowly starting to piece things together, "Caleb, where's Lily?"

"You wanna know the first meal me and her ever fixed in this house?" I inquired in response, "It was spaghetti," I casually revealed when he didn't respond, "Good old fashioned spaghetti with homemade noodles and sauce. A nice hearty meat sauce to be exact. An old family recipe. Just like what I fixed for you tonight… Only trouble is, it's not deer season and I'm afraid I didn't have any other kinda meat… So, I improvised with what I had on hand…"

"Oh God," It finally clicked and Prichard doubled over as he threw up everything he had just consumed, "Y-You monster. You sick fuck."

"I dunno what your problem is… I thought you liked the way she tasted!" I attacked him then.

Tackling him to the floor as Lily had done to me when she accepted my proposal all those years ago. Prichard tried to fight back, to fend me off, but in the end it was pointless. I was so much stronger than he was. I overpowered him with the greatest of ease. The coroner report later stated that I stabbed Prichard over thirty times but I don't remember doing that much. I guess I must have blacked out after I did it. So, that's my story. The reason why I'll never breathe free air for the rest of my godforsaken life. Do I have any regrets? Just one… Lily… If I could go back in time, I would have never written the note that brought us together in the first place…