The hospital staff gave me sympathetic looks, but I barely noticed.
For 48 hours straight, Ethan hadn’t said a single word.
Ten years of history, gone in an instant.
I didn’t eat. I didn’t drink. I printed out the divorce papers and waited at home for him to walk through that door.
When he finally did, he didn’t say anything about Emma, didn’t mention the funeral, didn’t even acknowledge the grief hanging in the air. Instead, he blurted, “Where’s the medicine I told you to get for Emma? Did you send it to the afterlife? Do you know she kept Ava in the hospital for two days?” The words stung, but all I could do was let out a bitter laugh.
She had gone to the afterlife, all right.
Ethan threw his coat on the sofa, barely looking at me.
A woman’s perfume I didn’t recognize wafted through the air.
I frowned, grabbed the allergy medicine from the drawer without even thinking, and swallowed a pill.
He stared at me, annoyance creeping into his voice. “What’s with the act? Ava’s allergic to alcohol, and now you’re trying to be like her? Why aren’t you at the hospital with her?” He snapped. “Where’s Emma? Get her out here. She needs to apologize to Ava right now. Ava’s generous enough not to hold a grudge, even after everything. She was covered in rashes, but still defended Emma! You’ve spoiled her rotten!”
The anger boiled up in me, but I kept my voice steady as I shoved the divorce papers in front of him.
“Sign them. Stop making excuses for Emma. You have no right to discipline her. I’m stepping aside for you two.”
Ethan’s face twisted into a scowl.
He stomped on the papers, crushing them under his heel and tearing them to pieces.
“Emma did something wrong? Now you’re making a scene? Just because Ava is generous doesn’t mean I have to keep spoiling Emma!” He seethed. “You’re divorcing me over this? Are you out of your mind?”
His words hit me like a slap, but I forced myself to stay calm, to get the truth out. “Discipline? What did Emma do that was so bad? What crime did she commit that you made her walk alone at night to buy medicine? Do you even know what happened to her on the way?”
Before I could get another word in, Ethan cut me off, his voice rising. “Enough! I told Emma to get the medicine. What’s the big deal? There were people around. What could’ve happened? Did she complain to you again? Why does she get away with everything?”
He pulled a box out of his pocket and tossed it in front of me.
“Is this enough to shut you up? Get Emma out here. I’ll handle her directly. And from now on, stay out of it!”
I looked at him, and in that moment, I knew there was no point in telling him Emma was gone. He didn’t care. He only cared about Ava’s feelings and whether Emma had upset her.
It hit me hard, but I couldn’t help but laugh, all the bitterness spilling out.
I opened the box. It was the same perfume I’d smelled on his clothes earlier.
He didn’t even bother to pretend anymore.
Two identical bottles of perfume for Ava, like it was nothing—like he was handing out cheap gifts to anyone who asked.
Perfume with alcohol. I was allergic to it, had always been. I never used it.
But Ava? She always claimed she was allergic to alcohol, and yet, she loved perfume.
Ethan never took the time to understand me. He never cared enough to notice what I needed or wanted.
I used to love everything he gave me, no matter how small. Because I loved him.
Maybe that’s why he thought my love was worthless. Even Emma’s life.
Thinking about Emma made tears well up in my eyes, but I fought them back.
I looked at Ethan, and my voice was cold. “Sign the papers. Emma won’t trouble you anymore. She doesn’t need your forgiveness. She did nothing wrong.”
“The only mistake she made was being born into the Anderson family.”
Ethan’s face darkened, his fury building. “Enough! I gave you a gift. What more do you want? Emma’s not a child anymore, and you’re asking for a divorce? Fine. But don’t even think about trying to get custody after this!” He yelled, his anger spilling over. “I’ve been too good to you!”
He stormed off, his words still ringing in the air.
That was the first time in ten years I’d ever shown him real anger.
He probably thought I was just being dramatic, like I always had been. That I’d calm down and make dinner, and everything would go back to normal.
But this time, I was done.
I left the keys and the signed divorce papers on the counter, turned my back on the life we built, and walked out of the house I’d lived in for five years.
