Chapter 5

I had no idea when Angeline and Shawn left, or how long I'd stood there, frozen in place.

I sat down at my desk and, by moonlight, finally opened that Pandora's box of a journal.

"May 21, 2015. I proposed to Angeline, and she agreed! I married her! I want the whole world to know. From today on, I'm done being a pathetic simp!"

"March 9, 2017. Two years into our marriage, Angeline finally had her first meal at home. She said my cooking was great! All the time I spent learning to cook finally paid off."

"August 31, 2018. While I was making dinner today, Angeline actually asked me to add some chili and cilantro. She said that since we're husband and wife, she can't always make me give in to her. She said she had to change for me, too."

"May 21, 2019. It's our fourth wedding anniversary! Angeline asked me out to a movie and even prepared an anniversary gift! After the movie, she kissed me under the streetlight."

"May 21, 2020. Angeline's been coming home more and more often lately. I asked her why, and she said she missed me…"

"October 20, 2022. Shawn's back. Angeline didn't come home the entire night."

"February 1, 2023. Angeline threw out every matching item in the house. She said they were childish."

"May 21, 2024. The smell of Shawn on Angeline is getting stronger by the day."

"December 31, 2024. Angeline and I had a fight. She said nothing is going on between her and Shawn. She also said that she was already married to me, so what more did I want?"

"March 26, 2025. Out of nowhere, Angeline looked at me and sighed. She said, 'Caleb, if you keep acting this way, what's the point of staying married…'"

Page after page of that journal held our love story, detailing how it had gone from burning hot to ice-cold and riddled with cracks.

Ten years of memories flooded my mind all at once. I remembered the day I'd written our divorce agreement by hand. I'd done it after overhearing Angeline's drunken heart-to-heart with a friend.

"Angie, Caleb's been there for you all these years. What's so great about Shawn that you still can't let him go after all this time?"

Angeline was quiet for a long time before finally saying, "There's no reason. I just can't forget him."

I'd seen the version of her that loved me most, and I knew that ultimately, that love had never been pure.

That day, I'd smoked my way through an entire pack of cigarettes while hunched over on the balcony.

…

By the time Angeline came home, I had just signed that handwritten divorce agreement.

She stood in the doorway, staring at me in silence. The two rings hidden in her palm dug painfully into her hand. She couldn't even explain it to herself—why she had wandered into a mall on autopilot and bought a matching pair of rings.

When the salesgirl asked for the size, she'd rattled off the circumference of my ring finger without missing a beat.

She walked over to me and took a few deep breaths, looking like she'd finally made up her mind about something. "Caleb, we—"

She held out her hand to me. Right before she could reveal the rings, I handed her the divorce papers.

I said firmly, "Angeline, both 30-year-old me and 20-year-old me don't want you anymore. Let's get divorced."