Fragments Of A Broken Marriage

Henry rubbed his hair slowly, his face showing no surprise. Lumi stood frozen in the doorway, her chest heaving with sobs as pain tore through her, sharp and unending. She waited—waited for him to say something, anything. But nothing came. His eyes avoided hers. His gaze was fixed on somewhere else, somewhere that wasn’t her.

The seconds felt like hours as her heart pounded in her ears, making the pain so sharp that she could barely stand it.

Finally, it was Elena who broke the stillness. Elena stood up first, naked and unashamed. She pulled on her robe with deliberate slowness, tying it around her waist.

Her gaze flickered to Lumi, and for a moment, there was a glint of malice in her eyes. She didn't seem surprised, not even guilty. She simply smirked as she straightened her dress, as if everything that had just transpired was just another part of the game.

Lumi’s voice trembled as she whispered, “What’s going on?” The words barely leff her throat, all shaky and weak. Her entire body felt numb, as though the floor could fall out beneath her at any moment.

Elena's smile widened, and she tilted her head in amusement. “You really don’t know, do you?” Her voice dripped with mockery as she reached over to Henry, brushing her lips across his back, making sure to look directly at Lumi as she did.

Lumi’s stomach churned. She felt herself growing weaker by the second, and her breath coming in ragged gasps. Still, Henry said nothing, not even sparing a glance in her direction.

"Oh, sweetie, he's been saying plenty to me," Elena said, her tone dripping with cruelty. "But since he won't spell it out for you..." She reached for her phone on the nightstand and tapped the screen.

Lumi’s body stiffened, and her eyes widened as Elena stretched the phone out to her face. She could see the screen, the video that was playing. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing.

It was her.

Lumi’s face burned with shame as she watched herself on the screen, alone in her bedroom, while using a vibrator on a lonely night. The familiar image of her own body, and her desperate attempts to feel anything at all, replayed in front of her.

The buzz of the vibrator filled the air, followed by Lumi's own moans, soft and frustrated. "Yes... please..." her recorded voice gasped, echoing in the room.

Shame flooded Lumi, her face burning hot. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at Henry, begging silently for him to stop this, to defend her. But he gave no reaction, no flinch, nothing. How could he let this happen? she thought, her heart shattering. I've been so alone, and he knew. He always knew.

Her mind was reeling, the shock was too much to bear. Elena laughed, pulling the phone back. "Look at that—such a good moaner. Henry, you coached her well." She smirked at him, then turned to Lumi. "Pathetic, really. All those nights humping a toy while he was with me."

Lumi stood frozen, as her heart shattered, while her mind struggled to make sense of the twisted reality. How could this be happening? How could Henry do this to her, after everything they had been through? She searched his face for some sign of regret, something that could explain what was unfolding before her, but there was nothing. His expression remained cold, and unreadable.

Elena’s voice broke her thoughts as she reached for the phone, pausing the recording. “Didn’t you know? I had a camera hidden in your room. Such a fun little secret, huh?” She shrugged, her expression mockingly sweet. “Poor Henry couldn’t even bother with you, so we had to make our own entertainment.”

Lumi’s body trembled as she tried to process the weight of Elena’s words. But still, Henry said nothing. He just stood there, motionless, and refusing to acknowledge her pain.

Finally, Henry stood up from the bed, breaking the silence with his cold, and detached movements. He picked up an envelope from the nightstand and extended it to her, but his eyes remained averted, as if looking at her would be too much.

He didn’t say a word. He just held it there, offering it to her as though this was some mundane task. She stared at the envelope for a long moment, the weight of it too much to bear. The air around them seemed to freeze, the room suffocating her.

With a grunt of frustration, Henry slammed the envelope into her chest, the impact made her gasp. He didn’t even apologize. He didn’t look at her. “Open it,” he said flatly, his voice void of any emotion.

Lumi’s hands were trembling as she open the envelope. Her eyes flicked over the divorce papers inside, with the words on the page sinking into her brain like a dagger. It was signed, dated and already completed.

Her body went cold as she stared at the papers. Her mind was too broken to comprehend what she was reading. “Henry…” her voice cracked, sounding desperate.

He shrugged simply, his eyes still never meeting hers. “I never loved you. I made up the whole disease, Lumi. The Peyronie’s? That was just a lie. I wasn’t interested in you, and I haven’t been interested for years.” His words hit her like a slap, each one leaving a bruise deeper than the last.

Lumi’s mind raced. Her thoughts were a jumble of confusion and pain. Why? Why would he do this? She couldn’t breathe, as her heart shattered with each word. "Why?" she whispered again, barely able to form the question.

Elena chuckled. "Because you're nothing, dear. Merely a driver's daughter. He never loved you."

“I never loved you,” he repeated after her. His tone was final, and emotionless. “I couldn’t even pretend anymore.”

With shaking hands, Lumi picked up the pen. She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. She signed the papers slowly, each stroke representing a betrayal to her very soul.

Elena’s laughter filled the room again. “Don’t bother packing. Everything you own? We bought it. You’re nothing here. Just go.”

Lumi bent down, still trembling, and picked up her bag and walked out.

Every step felt heavy as her mind was filled with the memories of the life she was leaving behind. Memories of their marriage, their struggles, and everything she had hoped for, collapsed around her, like shattered glass. The maltreatment from Elena, the cold sex life with toys instead of him. So this was why. He never cared. Tears continued to pour as she exited the door.

As she stepped outside, the cold air hit her like a slap. She paused, standing still as the night swallowed her whole.

She had no job. No money. And her father was lying in a hospital bed, unaware that her life had just crumbled.