Chapter 3

Calvin slammed his hand down on the nightstand. "Enough!"

I didn't flinch. I didn't even blink.

"What are you so angry about?" My temper sparked. "You can make breakfast for a female coworker for three years, but I can't have lunch with a male coworker? So you get to set all the rules? Everything you do is fine, but everything I do is wrong?"

"Because I never did anything to betray you!" he snapped.

"And neither did I," I shot back. "When have I ever cheated on you?"

He was silent.

I threw off the blanket, slipped on my slippers, and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" he called after me.

"Why do you care?" I replied flatly without looking back.

Calvin said nothing, but I heard his footsteps right behind me as I walked out of the bedroom.

"Where are you going this late? Don't go out!"

I stopped at the front door, changed into my shoes, and picked up my car keys.

"Why are you going out now? Just calm down."

"I am calm," I said, opening the front door. "Calmer than I've ever been."

Then I walked out and shut the door behind me.

In the elevator, I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were a bit red.

When I stumbled upon that message last week, I spent the entire afternoon sitting on the couch, crying until my eyes were swollen.

The moment Calvin came home from work, I handed him the phone.

I expected him to explain who the woman was and why she'd been texting him. Instead, the first thing he said was, "You went through my phone?"

He didn't care about my feelings. What bothered him was that I'd looked through his phone.

At that moment, I knew our marriage was over.

I drove around until I found a hotel and checked in. The room was small but clean. I lay in bed, staring at the warm yellow glow of the ceiling light.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated with a text from Calvin. "Where are you?"

I didn't reply.

Another message came through. "Come home. Let's talk this out."

I ignored that one, too.

Ten minutes later, the third message came. "Do you really have to make such a big deal out of this? It was just breakfast."

I flipped my phone face down on the nightstand and went to sleep.

The next morning, I got ready and went straight to work.

By the time I left the hotel, the sun was already up. I squinted in the bright morning light and realized I'd slept more peacefully than I had in years.

I was all by myself, but I didn't have that constant feeling of unease weighing on me anymore.

When I got out of my car and walked to my office building, I stopped in my tracks.

Calvin was standing right outside, holding an insulated bag.

The moment he saw me, he hurried over and held it out to me. He said softly, "I made you breakfast—fried eggs, bacon, and that avocado sandwich you like. I'm sorry. Forgive me, okay?"