The Wife He Never Learned To Love

The Quiet House Sophia pushed the guest bedroom door open. The room was dark. She didn’t turn on the lights. She walked to the bed, sat down, and pulled off her heels. Her feet hurt. She rubbed one foot, then the other, pressing her thumbs into the sore spots in slow circles. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She picked it up. Adrian: I didn't realize what time it was. She looked at the message until it got blurry. Her thumb stopped over the screen. She could tell him everything — about the cold steak, the cake in the trash, the ring on the empty plate. But she locked the phone and put it face-down on the bed. She stood up and went to the window. She pulled the curtain back. The garden outside was dark and still. The fountain was empty for winter. The rose bushes were covered up, like things people forget about. “It’s cold,” she whispered, putting her hand on the glass. The cold went into her skin. She turned and opened the closet. She felt for the boxes on the top she

Five Years in Five MinutesAdrian stood in the quiet kitchen at 6:07 AM. His shirt was untucked and his hair was sticking up everywhere. He hadn’t slept. He’d walked around the master bedroom until the first gray light came through the windows, then came downstairs for coffee. Instead, he found the folded paper on the marble counter. Dear Adrian looked up at him in Sophia’s neat handwriting.He picked it up, thumb rubbing the fold. His eyes read the first lines.I don’t know when I stopped loving you.His jaw got tight. He leaned one hip against the counter, the edge pressing into his side.I ate 212 dinners alone.Adrian stopped reading. He looked toward the stairs. Sophia’s guest room door was still closed tight. He rubbed the back of his neck, then made himself look back at the paper.I lost our baby while you were in Singapore.His hand dropped to his side. The letter slipped down. He caught it before it fell and read the sentence again. And again. The words wouldn’t sink in.“Our

The CarSophia stood close to the upstairs window, arms wrapped tight around herself. The divorce papers lay scattered across the hallway floor behind her. Down in the driveway, Adrian sat motionless in his black car, forehead still pressed against the steering wheel. Forty-five minutes had crawled by. He hadn’t moved. She hadn’t moved either.“Just leave,” she whispered against the glass. Her breath fogged a small circle. “Just go already.”The car stayed parked. The engine silent.Her phone buzzed on the floor. She walked over, picked it up, and read the screen.Victoria: Heard the news congratulations on your freedom.Sophia’s thumb hovered, Victoria never congratulated anyone. She typed back quickly.Sophia: What news?Victoria: The divorce. Adrian told the board this morning. He’s already moving on.Sophia’s grip tightened until her knuckles turned white. She glanced back out the window. Adrian still hadn’t lifted his head.Sophia: Moving on?Victoria: He announced it at 8 AM. Sa