2

I got up at five, my eyes still red, planning to use one of the orchestra's rehearsal rooms.

The doorbell rang. Sienna's breakfast order had arrived.

Iced coffee, crepes, and a big box of durian crepe cake.

The cloying smell spread through the room, and my throat started itching right away.

"Get the durian out of here!"

I covered my nose and mouth and backed up to the window.

Sienna came out of the guest room looking completely innocent. "I forgot you're allergic to durian. Ethan loves it. I just wanted to surprise him."

The noise woke Ethan. He took the cake from her, put it in the fridge, and said to me, "She meant well. Take an allergy pill and tough it out."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You know how bad my allergy is. Even the smell makes me sick."

He frowned, already looking impatient. "That's why I told you to take a pill, not start a fight."

His words cut deep.

I didn't argue anymore. I swallowed a pill and went to get my violin.

But the stand was empty.

I rushed out to the balcony. The violin my mother had left me was lying by the window, soaking wet.

The top had warped from the damp. Two strings had snapped, and the cleaning spray had eaten big white patches into the old varnish.

I dropped to my knees and picked it up. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely close the case.

"Who touched it?"

Sienna ducked behind Ethan. "I just wanted to clean it for you. The bottle says it's for wood care."

I held up the bottle and pointed to the bold warning on the back, so angry my voice shook. "It says [Do not use on musical instruments]. Can't you read?"

Ethan shielded her. "She never studied music. Of course she didn't know. I'll just buy you a new one."

The tears came without warning. I wiped them away roughly with the back of my hand. "My mom left me this. Before she died, she used it to teach me one last piece. How are you going to replace that?"

"There's no violin out there that money can't buy."

Right in front of me, he called a violin shop and gave them an enormous budget.

With tears in her eyes, Sienna explained, "I heard you say the audition was important, so I wanted to get it ready for you. I really never thought this would happen."

I looked at the traces of cleaning spray still on her fingertips, and slowly, I calmed down.

The violin had been locked in its case. She would have had to take it out, remove the moisture-control plug, find the cleaning spray, and then open the window on a rainy night.

"It's not that you didn't know," I said hoarsely. "You did it on purpose. You wanted to keep me off that stage."

Sienna burst into tears. "Ethan, why does she always think the worst of me?"

"That's enough!" Ethan put his arm around her. "It's just an internal audition. There'll be another one. Don't go pinning this on her."

I headed out holding the damaged violin, but he grabbed my arm.

"If you go up there with an unfamiliar violin, you'll be a laughingstock in front of your colleagues. I'll explain things to the conductor for you."

I shook him off. "You don't get to decide what I do at work."

An hour later, I'd borrowed a spare violin and rushed backstage.

But the administrator handed me a notice. "Your husband just called and said you weren't feeling well and were dropping out. We couldn't reach you to confirm, and we were running out of time, so your spot went to the next person."

I froze. My fingers went ice-cold. "I never told him to call you!"

I dug my phone out of my bag. At some point, someone had blocked the orchestra administrator's number. That was why the calls never came through.

The only person who knew my phone's passcode was Ethan.

Shaking all over, I called him.

When he picked up, I could hear Sienna laughing in the background, telling him to try the durian crepe cake.

I fought to keep my breathing steady. "Why did you touch my phone? Why did you throw away my chance?"

"If you insist on going up there with someone else's violin, Sienna will see it and feel guilty and hurt. Besides, you're in no shape to perform right now. I did it for your own good."

"Ethan." I held the borrowed violin tight. Tears welled in my eyes, but they didn't fall. "You didn't just ruin an audition."

He only said flatly, "Stop making a scene. Come home tonight and I'll help you pick out a new violin."

After he hung up, I stood in the empty backstage hallway for a long time.

Then I dried my eyes and emailed the divorce papers to my lawyer friend, Jordan.

This time, I didn't wait for him to explain.