Mag-log inLiving on my own these past few days wasn't half bad.I heard Eddie's leg injury had gotten worse. His parents had both shown up at the hospital, so Ashley had no chance to get away, let alone come home.To placate me while I was home alone, she sent me several long-winded messages explaining herself. I couldn't be bothered to read them.We were getting divorced. I'd made up my mind to leave her. Explanations didn't matter anymore.The next time I saw her, we were sitting in a courtroom.Ashley didn't look good. Furious that I'd sued for divorce, she slammed her hand on the table in front of her."Joshua, do you really have to go this far? You insist on a divorce? You insist on leaving me?"Did I ever do anything to betray you? Why does it have to come to this?"It was something so small, something we could've solved just by talking it out. Why are you leaving me?"In the face of her anger, I answered calmly, "I don't accept betrayal of any kind."You're the one who didn't wa
Ashley hesitated for a long moment but answered anyway.Eddie's anxious, choked-up voice came through the phone."Babe, where are you? Are you leaving me?"I tripped on my way to find you and tore open the wound on my leg... There's so much blood on my leg now."Can you come quick? Ashley, come find me, hurry..."Before Eddie could finish, the call cut off for no apparent reason.Ashley panicked and got ready to go back to Eddie.Before leaving, she still tried to soothe me."Honey, please don't be mad, okay? Let's talk this over properly later."I love you. I'm never going to divorce you. Honey, I'll never leave you."We've been through so much to get here. Let's not break up over something this small, okay?"If anything happens to Eddie, his parents will come after me, so he can't get hurt. But I promise there's really nothing between us!"I watched her figure grow smaller in the distance.The truth was, I wanted to tell her no. It wasn't okay. For me, it wasn't okay at
The real issue wasn't whether her heart had strayed. It wasn't whether she'd betray me, or whether she'd marry Eddie.It was that she'd been lying to me. She'd been jerking me around like a fool!Everything she'd done was for her own selfish wants.In that instant, I felt like I no longer knew the person standing in front of me.We'd shared a bed for so many years. How could she suddenly feel like such a stranger?I remembered that she didn't used to be like this. She never kept things from me. She'd always talk things through with me properly.She used to help the stray cats and dogs she came across, and people down on their luck too. Whenever she couldn't help someone in need, she'd feel sad and guilty.And now she'd lied to me like this.It was frightening. Truly frightening.I looked up, met her eyes, and spelled out every word clearly. "Let's get a divorce, Ashley. You're not the woman you used to be."Besides, you're pregnant with Eddie's baby. Once we're divorced, the
Ashley cornered me in the stairwell.She turned and shot Brett an irritated glare. "What are you following us for? This has nothing to do with you, and nobody needs you here."Brett folded his arms, unimpressed. "Who are you to tell me what to do? These are my legs. I'll go wherever I want! What's it to you?"Besides, who knows if you'll do something else to hurt my buddy?"I voiced my displeasure too. "Ashley, you kept a lover for three years. What other dirty secrets are you hiding? If you had the guts to do it, have the guts to own it!"She turned back at the sound of my voice and looked at me with a hint of sorrow. "I didn't, honey. I didn't do anything to betray you. I swear."My parents pressured me. I had no choice but to do it this way!"How could she use her parents pressuring her as an excuse?She was a grown woman. What kind of pressure could push her into cheating? What kind of pressure would make her plan to marry someone else and have a baby with him?Besides, I
Guilt-ridden, Ashley couldn't hold up under so many stares.She pushed Eddie away and came over to grab me, trying to drag me outside so she could explain.That same hand had just been touching Eddie's face. It was disgusting.I shoved her away hard and said mockingly, "What are you afraid of? If you have something to say, say it right here! Got something to hide?"And don't paw at me here. Your side piece is watching. He looks like he wants to kill me!"Brett chimed in. "Wow, you've really got some moves, playing both sides, huh?"You tricked my best friend into getting a vasectomy so you two could stay child-free, and then you tricked some idiot into having a baby with you?"As he spoke, he looked Eddie, who was sitting on the bed, up and down."Ashley, have you forgotten what you promised me and Joshua's parents back then?"And what kind of taste is this? This idiot doesn't come anywhere close to Joshua!"Eddie was so furious that he sprang off the bed and limped over to u
I caught Ashley's arm. "I'll come with you. Jessie's your best friend. How could I not go?"The moment Ashley heard I wanted to come along, panic flashed across her face, and she pushed my hand away. "You just got off work, so you must be starving. Eat first. If anything comes up, I'll call you."I don't think it's anything serious anyway. You wouldn't be much help if you came."Honey, I'll be back soon. Don't worry too much."I watched her leave and didn't press her any further.I opened my phone and checked Jessie's social media. Her latest post, from five minutes ago, was a photo of her on vacation in another state.Now I was certain. The injured person wasn't Jessie. It was Eddie.My worst fear had been confirmed, and my last shred of hope was snuffed out.Ashley and I had been together since school. We were each other's first love, and everyone around us had believed in us.We should have been a love story for the ages. We should have spent our lives together and grown ol







