Chapter One: Your Insecurity Is Showing

 

Eva’s POV

“Do you have any idea how humiliated I was tonight?”

The words rip out of me, trembling with the anger I’ve been swallowing for weeks. My chest burns as I watch my husband stand by the dresser, unhurriedly removing his cufflinks like nothing happened.

His expression is calm, detached. It’s the same face he always wears when he wants to silence me without saying a word.

“It was business,” he says, his tone flat, cool, indifferent. “Stop being childish.”

Childish. That single word cuts sharper than a knife.

“Were you kissing her for business too?” I ask quietly, the question shaking in my throat.

He freezes, then turns to glare at me. “Eva,” he snaps, voice rising. “Can I have one peaceful night? You always find something to complain about.”

My lips tremble. “Always something to complain about? Are you listening to yourself? I’m your wife, Stephan. And yet—”

“Yet what?” His eyes flash, his brows arching with disdain.

The words choke me. I can feel the tears burning behind my eyes, but I fight to keep my voice steady.

“Why?” I whisper. “Every day it’s something new. Either you’re announcing to the world that you’re single, or you’re plastered across social media, drunk and surrounded by women.”

He slips out of his shirt with deliberate calm, every motion a mockery of my pain. “What does that have to do with you?”

“I was in the hospital last week,” I breathe out, barely managing to speak. “I had a fever so high the nurses called you. And you came, but not for me.”

He lifts a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you there, Stephan. Sitting by her bedside. The same woman you swore you’d cut off.”

His mouth twists into a cruel smile. “So you’re spying on me now?”

“You’re not even listening,” I shout, the words echoing through the room. For the first time, I really look at his crisp shirt, his slicked-back hair, his emotionless face. And I realize I don’t recognize this man anymore.

“I’ve listened to you rant time and time again,” he says coldly. “So no, Eva, I’m not listening tonight. I’m done listening.”

My breath hitches. “Ten years, Stephan. Ten years of my life. I gave you everything I had. My body, my time, my soul. I fought for your company, your reputation, your dreams. And in return, all I got was humiliation.”

He laughs under his breath. “All this bitterness over a kiss? Be careful, Eva. Your insecurity is showing.”

My jaw falls open. “You don’t see anything wrong with what you did? You kissed another woman while your wife was right there, watching?”

“Wife, wife, wife!” he roars suddenly,  “I’m so damn tired of you throwing that word in my face like it’s a weapon. I can’t do business because I have a wife? Is that it?”

My vision blurs. My heart aches with a pain so deep I can hardly breathe. “You’re cheating on me, but somehow I’m the one being blamed?”

His expression darkens. “Maybe if you actually went down on me once in your life, I wouldn’t have to get it elsewhere.”

For a moment, the world stops.

My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach, and every part of me goes cold.

“How dare you?” My voice cracks as I step back, shaking. “How dare you use that against me? You know exactly why I can’t—”

He raises a hand sharply. “And that’s your problem. You’ve been using that as an excuse for years.”

“An excuse?” I whisper.

“Yes,” he says with finality, looking straight into my eyes. “An excuse.”

Something in me breaks. Memories rush through my mind. Nights I cried alone, mornings I waited for him to come home, the countless times I believed he’d change. I’ve carried so much pain for so long that I don’t even know what love feels like anymore.

“I feel like I don’t even know you,” I murmur, my voice barely a whisper.

Stephan slips on a fresh shirt and grabs his car keys. “Maybe you never did.”

My heart lurches. “What happened to us?”

“You can stay here all night wondering,” he says coldly, walking past me toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I rush after him, my heels clattering on the floor.

“You don’t want me in this house anyway,” he throws over his shoulder. “So now you can have it.”

I clutch the hem of my evening gown and follow him down the stairs. “It’s late, Stephan. Please. Just tell me where you’re going.”

He spins around, eyes blazing. “Jesus, Eva, what is your problem? If I stay, you nag. If I leave, you cry. What the hell do you want from me?”

My throat closes. “I just… I just want you to love me again.”

For a moment, silence hangs between us. Then he exhales harshly. “Just let me be, Eva. You’re suffocating me. I need to breathe.”

And with that, he’s gone.

The sound of the door slamming echoes through the house, and I crumble where I stand. My knees hit the floor by the stairs, my hands shaking uncontrollably as sobs rip through me.

For years, I’ve fought for this marriage, believing love would be enough. But love doesn’t fix what one person keeps breaking.

---

Two days pass.

He hasn’t returned.

In the silence of our home, I’ve had nothing but time to think. Every corner holds a memory, every breath reminds me of the woman I used to be. The one who waited, who forgave, who believed. But I can’t be her anymore.

This marriage is already dead.

I stare down at the divorce papers lying on the table, my signature already inked beneath my name. I’d drafted them months ago but never had the courage to hand them over. I’d hoped Stephan would come back to me, that somehow we’d find our way again. 

My suitcases sit packed by the door. I take one last look around the house, the home that once felt like a dream. The laughter, the whispered promises, the warmth, t’s all gone.

A car engine hums outside, and my heart stutters. He’s back.

I wipe my face and square my shoulders, forcing myself to stand tall.

The front door opens, and Stephan steps in, his expression tightening when he sees me standing there with my luggage. His eyes flick to the papers in my hand.

“What is this?” He said scanning the room.

For a second, I just look at him. The man I once adored. The man I built my life around. And I realize I’m not angry anymore. I’m empty.

“I love you, Stephan,” I whisper, voice trembling. “I probably always will. But I can’t stay. Not like this.”

I hand him the divorce papers. He takes them, scans through, and lets out a mocking laugh.

“Divorce?” He scoffs, eyes glinting. “You’re not leaving this house, Eva.”

I meet his gaze, steady and sure for the first time in years. “Watch me.”