Chapter 1

The moment those words left her mouth, I stared at my wife, Yvonne Carter, in disbelief.

We'd been married for five years.

Everyone around us saw us as the perfect loving couple.

Never in a million years had I imagined the word divorce would come out of her mouth.

And over a phone, of all things.

I forced myself to calm down and reached for her hand, gently rubbing her palm.

Whenever I'd upset her before, this was usually enough to coax her out of it.

"Honey, is there some kind of misunderstanding? How did this suddenly turn into divorce?"

I gave her an awkward smile, trying to calm her down and get her to take it back.

But her voice was terrifyingly cold as she yanked her hand away.

"I'll ask you one last time. Did you buy this phone or not?"

She threw the broken phone at me.

My sister had smashed it into pieces.

It had been one of the most expensive models on the market, and I'd gone out of my way to buy it for her as a New Year's gift.

I'd never imagined she'd destroy it the second she got it.

Before I could even figure out what was going on, my wife had dropped another bombshell on me.

Divorce.

I lowered my head, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I did buy it, but it's just a phone. Why does this have to end in div—"

Before I could finish, she slapped me hard across the face.

My head snapped to the side.

For a moment, everything spun.

My cheek quickly swelled.

In five years of marriage, this was the first time she'd ever hit me.

And it was because of a phone.

Tears streamed down her face, but the fury in her voice didn't weaken at all.

"I'm telling you, Evan Henderson, you disgust me!"

"That's your own sister!"

"I married you, and now just looking at you makes me sick. Absolutely sick!"

"If I, Yvonne Carter, don't divorce you, I'd rather die!"

The finality in her eyes wiped away all my anger.

In its place came a deep, aching sadness.

Why?

What could possibly be so horrible about this phone that she'd rather die than stay married to me?

Mom wrapped her arms around Yvonne and cried.

Then she looked at me, shaking her head as tears spilled down her face.

She'd always spoiled me more than anyone else in the family.

Even my youngest sister had never mattered to her as much as her precious son.

But now, there was nothing but disgust in her eyes.

As if she wished I would drop dead right there.

"Evan, she's your own sister!"

"Are you some kind of monster?"

"Did I really give birth to a monster?"

She broke down sobbing.

But I still had no idea what she was talking about.

What had I done?

My sister was curled up on the couch, trembling as she cried.

She looked utterly miserable.

When she saw me still standing there in a daze, the hatred in her eyes grew even stronger.

She jumped up and shoved me toward the door.

"Why are you still here?

"Do you really have to... I'm your sister!

"I might as well just die!"

With that, she rushed toward the kitchen and grabbed a knife, acting as though she was about to kill herself.

Dad, who had been sitting on the couch with his face dark with rage, finally couldn't take it anymore.

He snatched the knife from her hand and brandished it at me.

"You filthy, heartless bastard! Why are you still standing here?"

"Do I need to cut that disgusting thing off you before you're satisfied?"

"You make me sick!"

"I'm telling you right now, I don't have a son like you anymore!"

"From today on, we're done. This is no longer your home."

"You could do something this depraved and still have the nerve to stand here?"

"Get out!"

"And never come back!"

He shoved me out the door and slammed it shut behind me.

I stood there staring at the closed door.

I could still faintly hear Mom and my sister cursing me from inside.

I couldn't understand any of it.

That phone was the exact newest model my sister had been begging for.

So why had she smashed it the moment she opened it?

And why had Mom, Dad, and Yvonne all turned against me over a single phone?

There was no time to keep standing there thinking.

Still holding the shattered phone, I called a cab and headed to my best friend's place.