Chapter 3

Just as I left the bar, Caleb rushed out after me.

“It’s too late. I’ll take you home.”

I reached for the passenger side door, but he stopped me.

“You’re pregnant. The front seat isn’t as safe for you. You should sit in the back.”

Caleb then opened the passenger door for Chloe himself, and thoughtfully buckled her seatbelt.

I looked at the “Wife’s Seat Only” sticker on the dashboard, finding it incredibly ironic and blindingly painful.

“Uncle Caleb, can I date when I’m in college?”

“No!”

Caleb’s tone was stern.

Chloe giggled, playfully feeding a snack into Caleb’s mouth: “Okay then, Uncle Caleb, I’ll listen to you. I’ll only be with you, forever.”

I glanced at the car’s interior, decorated with a girlish touch. The mini-fridge that used to hold my milk and pregnancy snacks had long been replaced with Chloe’s favorite candies.

This car, the one I brought into our marriage, felt utterly foreign now.

Chloe had quietly, insidiously woven herself into Caleb’s life, yet he deluded himself into believing he was merely a guardian, never truly falling for her.

How ridiculous. How utterly ironic.

Noticing my gaze, Caleb spoke up.

“Chloe said she’s never stayed in a hotel before, so I’m going to drop her off to experience that first. I’ll take you home later.”

The car soon stopped outside a hotel.

I watched Caleb lead Chloe into the hotel, my eyes falling on a discarded receipt on the passenger seat.

The receipt clearly showed purchases of condoms and lingerie – all Caleb’s preferred styles.

These two things hadn’t been used since I got pregnant.

I remembered when Caleb and I got married, he told me his mother had taken her own life because she couldn’t bear her husband’s infidelity. He hated all unfaithful men in the world.

He promised he’d protect me forever, never betray me.

But as I stood outside that hotel room, hearing a woman’s sweet cries and a man’s muffled grunts from inside,

His past vows felt like a cruel illusion.

My eyes welled up, but I had no courage to burst in and catch them red-handed.

If you couldn’t keep your word, why make those promises in the first place?

…

Two hours later.

Caleb returned to the car, his hair damp.

“That girl Chloe is so clingy. She wouldn’t let me leave, so I just took a quick shower. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I silently stared at the hickeys on his neck. Suddenly, this man I’d lived with for eight years felt like a complete stranger.

Caleb noticed my silence and sat beside me.

“Audrey, Chloe’s just a kid. Don’t be so hard on her.”

“That divorce agreement was just to humor her. The terms clearly state I’m leaving with nothing. Don’t worry, once she loses interest, we’ll get back together right away.”

I just smiled, saying nothing.

Get back together?

Caleb, I loved you for eight years. It’s time for it to end.