Chapter 1

When I pushed open the door to my parents' place, I found that they already had a full spread waiting on the table.

Everything was still steaming, and every dish was a favorite of Charlie's and mine.

The moment Mom saw us, she hurried over to greet us.

Dad scooped my son, Charlie Reed, into his arms, smiling as he showered him with questions.

There were five place settings laid out on the table, though. The fifth was for my wife, Joanna Jensen.

I sat down and picked up my fork, but I had no appetite.

Mom noticed something was off with me. She placed a braised short rib on my plate and asked softly, "Where's Joan? Why didn't she come with you?"

"She went to Ryan's. I'm used to it by now," I said flatly, as if it didn't matter at all.

Mom's face fell. Dad stopped playing with Charlie and let out a heavy sigh.

They both knew that Ryan Quinn, Joanna's brother-in-law, was a bottomless pit.

Five years ago, Joanna's younger sister, Vivian Jensen, had died in childbirth, leaving Ryan with their newborn daughter, Cynthia Quinn.

From then on, Joanna acted as if she'd taken on a sacred duty, shouldering everything for Ryan and Cynthia.

Ryan's calls came like clockwork on every important day—Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday, Charlie's birthday, even our wedding anniversary.

There was always some new excuse. One day Cynthia needed a shot, the next she had a fever, and the day after that she needed new clothes.

I wasn't heartless. With Vivian gone, it was only natural for Joanna, as her older sister, to help Ryan out. However, there had to be a limit, and Joanna had crossed that line long ago.

Just last week, Charlie ran a 102-degree fever, and I had to rush him to the hospital all by myself.

When I called Joanna, she said Cynthia's preschool was having a family event, and she had to go with them.

I spent half that night sitting in the hospital hallway, cradling a feverish, barely conscious Charlie in my arms.

When I confronted her about it later, all she said was, "Cynthia hasn't had a mother since the day she was born. She sees all the other kids with both a mom and a dad.

"All she wants is to have them both there with her at the family event. Ryan has a hard enough time raising her on his own. Try to be a little more understanding."

She always thought Ryan had a hard time raising his daughter. However, she never once stopped to ask herself whether she'd ever really looked after our family, or whether I was having a hard time too.

Mom poured me a glass of warm water and looked me in the eye. "I know you've been hurting. Your dad and I have seen everything you've had to put up with these past few years."

Dad spoke up too. His voice was calm and steady. "If you really can't make this marriage work anymore, don't force yourself to stay."

I gripped the glass and let out a sigh.

"Mom, Dad, I want a divorce."

I thought they'd try to talk me out of it, that they'd tell me to grit my teeth and stay for Charlie's sake.

After all, Charlie was only five. He needed an intact family.