Chapter 2

The following week, when he allegedly left for his "business trip," I actually wrapped a gift for him.

Three years into marriage, with a little fresh excitement in the picture...

The comment replayed in my mind on an endless loop. I clenched the gift box tightly.

How far had they gone? Were they deeply in love, or was it just a flirtatious spark?

God, please, I prayed silently. Tell me this marriage can still be saved.

Lost in thought, I suddenly noticed a man on the sidewalk reaching out to grope a young woman's skirt.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

Both of them jumped and turned toward me.

I noticed the girl's eyes were rimmed with red, and she was subconsciously backing away from the creep.

They clearly weren't a couple.

"Mind your own damn business!" the man snapped. "What's wrong with getting handsy with my girlfriend? You jealous or something?"

Ignoring him, I looked at the girl. "Is he really your boyfriend? Don't be scared, I already called 911."

Of course, that was a bluff. I didn't want to waste emergency resources.

"He's not!" The girl burst into tears, finding courage, and dashed behind me. "He was following me closely the whole block... Thank you so much, ma'am. I'll talk to the cops when they get here."

"Bullshit! You were asking for it!" The creep lost it, shouting, "Wearing a skirt like that, who knows what you're begging for? Bet you were loving every second of it!"

I rolled my eyes, refusing to engage with his twisted logic.

"Do you want to save that garbage for the officers, or do you want to get lost right now?" I glared at him. "I took a video of you harassing her. Pretty sure your employer would love to see it."

"Fuck you!"

He panicked. "Whatever! My bad! Happy now? Total waste of time!"

He turned and sprinted away.

The girl kept bowing and thanking me, insisting on getting my number so she could treat me to dinner.

"I'm sorry, but my husband is waiting for me at home," I said, always hesitant to give my contact info to strangers. "It was nothing, really. If we're meant to run into each other again, you can buy me that dinner then, deal?"

She finally let it go.

When I got home, I waited for Ethan. Hours ticked by.

It was past midnight when he finally stumbled through the door, reeking of alcohol.

Seeing me on the couch, he flinched, looking panicked. "Why... why are you still awake?"

I didn't answer. My eyes locked onto the smear of pink lipstick on his crisp white collar.

"Who were you with tonight?"

A sharp pain tore through my chest. "Did you forget your promise last week? You said we'd have dinner together tonight. I called you ten times. You didn't pick up once. Ethan, do you even care about—"

"Let's get a divorce."

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"I said, I want a divorce."