Chapter 7

After finishing my piece, I didn't bother looking back to see Ethan's reaction. I just drove away.

The new house had been bought before the wedding. Besides a thin layer of dust, it was practically move-in ready.

By evening, I was at the airport, waiting for my flight.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

The second I picked up, Ethan's voice came crashing through the line, loud, angry, and completely unhinged.

"Sophia! What the hell are you doing? Yeah, I screwed up, but divorce? Seriously? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Can you stop being so damn dramatic? We can have another kid later! I just didn't think Luna could handle taking care of a baby, alright? Once things calm down, we can try again, why are you blowing this out of proportion?"

"Do you have any idea how much Luna's sacrificed for me? She knows we can't get married and still stuck around, she even cried about it! Why can't you be more like her?"

I stared ahead, my expression blank, anger bubbling quietly under the surface.

Oblivious as ever, Ethan kept going, his voice getting nastier with every sentence.

"You better think this through, Sophia. If you still don't get it, fine, we'll get divorced. But don't come crawling back when you realize what you've lost. This is your last shot."

"Enough with the tantrum. Come home. I still haven't dealt with you over those cheap baby products you bought! The baby almost went into anaphylactic shock, are you even human?"

Then came the soft, strategic sob from the background.

"Ethan, don't fight because of me… it's not worth it. It's all my fault…"

I actually let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

He stole from me, gave it to her, and now I'm the problem?

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt, then fired back, voice sharp and ice-cold.

"Are you out of your damn mind? The divorce papers are signed. Filed. Done. What part of final do you not understand? You think this is some kind of romantic drama? Go get your brain rebooted, might be some corrupted files in there!"

"How was I supposed to know you were going to steal my stuff and give it to your mistress? You didn't check the cameras. Didn't file a report. Didn't even ask. So how about you shut your mouth before I sue you for slander?"

"An apology? You and your little side chick should be groveling to me! And even if you did, it still wouldn't come close to cutting it. Ethan, grow a spine, or better yet, go Google what 'basic human decency' means!"

The line went dead quiet.

Even Luna's staged crying stopped cold.

I hung up without another word, grabbed my suitcase, and walked straight to the gate when they called my group.

I didn't look back.