Chapter 2

Then Joe blindsided me. "Let's decorate this house the way Carol likes. She'll be staying here occasionally, and I want her to feel at home."

I froze. "Joe, this is our home. Why should we decorate it to suit her?"

His face hardened. "It's just decor. You got to decorate our current place however you wanted, didn't you? Carol's parents live abroad, and she's here on her own.

"She'll be staying here a lot from now on, so what's wrong with decorating the place in a style she likes? Why do you have to be so petty?"

I let out a short, incredulous laugh.

This was my home, yet he wanted it decorated for another woman. The idea was absurd.

Neither of us would budge, and we never finished furnishing the house.

Looking back, I should have divorced him right then. But I was still holding on to hope. I decided to wait until our anniversary and try to talk things through with him.

Now, even that hope was gone.

Joe didn't come home until 2:00 am.

I was dozing on the couch, but I forced myself awake when he walked in. "Joe, there's something we need to talk about."

He glanced at me but showed no reaction to how exhausted I looked.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, irritation creeping into his voice. "Is all this really necessary, Tessa? It's just an anniversary. We've been married for years.

"Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it and drag this on all night? Look at the time. I've had a long day, and I'm too tired to argue with you."

Joe turned and went into the bathroom. For the next ten minutes, all I heard was the shower running.

When he came out, he walked straight past our bedroom and into the spare room. The door slammed behind him, jolting me wide awake.

The house fell silent again.

My thoughts were in knots, and my chest felt painfully tight. I stared at the divorce papers in my hands. Without warning, tears spilled down my cheeks.

When had it become so hard for us to just talk to each other?

Was it when Carol became the first person he wanted to share everything with? Was it when he put cilantro on my plate? Or was it when he left me to go through my miscarriage alone?

When we were young, I had chased him with everything I had. Eventually, we stood together and promised to spend the rest of our lives with each other.

Now, a closed door separated us, and we might as well have been strangers. Somehow, eight years was all it had taken.

A tear fell into my palm. I took a deep breath, picked up a pen, and signed the divorce papers.

I went back to the bedroom. I was completely drained and slept so deeply that I didn't wake until nearly noon.

When I opened the bedroom door, I found the last person I expected to see.

Carol looked delighted to see me. "Tessa, you're awake."

I froze.

Joe came out of the kitchen, his tone impatient. "You're finally up? Carol's been here for quite a while."

Carol shot him a playful glare. Then she picked up a velvet box from the coffee table, hurried over, and pushed it into my hands.

"Joe, don't say that. Tessa, don't mind him. He may act like he doesn't care, but he does. He picked this anniversary gift out especially for you yesterday and couldn't stop talking about it the whole way home."

The whole situation made my skin crawl, but I kept my thoughts to myself.

"Thank you. What is—"

Before I could finish, Carol opened the box.

Inside was a necklace with a pendant so tiny it was almost laughable. Worse, it was a promotional item customers could buy at a discount after spending a certain amount.

Joe took the box from her and explained in a flat voice, "Carol wanted a bag from the new collection, so I took her shopping. The bag cost enough to qualify for a discount on this necklace.

"I thought it looked like your style, so I paid a little extra and got it for you."

When I made no move to take it, he added, "You're a doctor. You can't wear anything too flashy, so I picked something simple."

Before I could respond, he picked up several designer shopping bags from the floor and tossed them at my feet.

"Those are the clothes Carol just changed out of. Wash them and put them away for her. We have a contemporary art event to get to, so we need to leave."

They walked out laughing and talking, never once looking back at me.