The trash I asked Ethan to take out three days ago is still sitting in the kitchen. It smells like rotting death, and fruit flies are swarming it. That’s when I knew—it was time for a divorce. That night, I slid the drafted divorce papers across the table to him. He looked up from his laptop, staring at me with a gaze that thought it could see right through me. "The day before yesterday, I was helping Chloe fix her data analysis. Her coding is weak, and I’m the only one she can ask." "Yesterday, she got followed walking home alone, and she was crying, begging me to just drop her off once." "Today, she had a massive error in her report, and the deadline was in three hours. She’s on my team. I couldn’t just leave her hanging." "I know you’ve always had a problem with her. I can show you my phone, or even pull the office security footage to prove nothing happened." "As for the trash, I honestly just forgot. Look, I’ve explained everything. If you still want to get a divorce, I’ll sign." I looked at him calmly. Over these three days, he had done a lot for Chloe. A man who was usually militant about his sleep schedule had stayed up late for three days straight just for her. Yet he forgot three times to take the trash out on his way to work. I nodded. "Let's just get the divorce." Chapter 1 I waited at the county courthouse until the clerk’s office closed. Ethan never showed up. He didn't get home until 11:00 PM. Seeing me sitting on the couch, he didn’t say a word and walked straight to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. "I called you thirteen times," I said. "You didn't answer." He paused mid-sip, pulled out his phone, and looked at it with a blank expression. "My phone died during meetings today. I never turned it back on. What's up?" His tone was incredibly flat, like he was commenting on the weather. I knew it. He had forgotten our appointment again. He was always so forgetful. Over our seven years of marriage, this had happened countless times. Small things, like asking him to bring in the patio cushions before it rained, or tossing the trash on his way down. Big things, like when I was three months pregnant. The ultrasound was bad. The doctor said the baby wasn't viable. We agreed on a time to go to the hospital for the D&C procedure. The surgery finished. I woke up. He still wasn't there. I only found out later. That day was Chloe’s first time leading a major project pitch, and she was nervous. He promised her he would be in the room to back her up. That was the very first time I realized how little weight I carried in Ethan’s heart. The realization was like a plastic toy knife dragging hard across my chest—it stung, but it didn't hit bone. I pulled myself out of my memories and kindly explained. "We were supposed to go to the courthouse today to file the papers." "Tomorrow is the weekend, so I made a new appointment for Monday morning." Ethan kept his eyes glued to his lit-up phone screen. He didn't look at me. "Fine. See you at the courthouse on Monday." I nodded. Monday. Ethan and I signed the divorce papers. After the mandatory 30-day waiting period, we would just need to make one more trip to finalize the decree. After signing his name, Ethan kept his head down, his fingers flying across his phone keyboard, replying to someone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A contact with a pink anime avatar had sent him a string of crying emojis. We walked out of the courthouse doors. "I have things to do at the office," Ethan said. "I'm not going to drop you..." I nodded and pointed at the Uber pulling up. "My ride is here. You go do your thing." The Uber parked right next to his car. I opened the door and got in. I didn't look back at Ethan standing outside. Chapter 2 I told my best friend, Lily, about the divorce. I asked her to keep an eye out for any decent apartments. My hometown was in the Midwest, over a thousand miles away from Seattle. I had sold my old house back there years ago to pay for my dad's medical bills. The house Ethan and I lived in was bought by him, and the deed was entirely in his name. Since we were getting divorced, I had to move out. I had nowhere to go. Lily quickly found three solid apartment options for me. Just as we were about to jump on a FaceTime call to do a virtual tour, I got a text from Ethan. [Thai basil chicken and coconut soup.] [Come over early. I have a meeting at 1:30 PM.] I stared at the two messages, then calmly swiped to delete them. Ethan worked in a high-stress corporate environment. He never ate on time, and his diet was garbage. After he collapsed and was hospitalized for severe stomach ulcers, I started obsessively researching stomach-friendly recipes online. From that day on, I cooked and delivered lunch to his office every single day. Whatever I made, he ate. He almost never complained. I kept this up for three years, and his stomach issues never flared up again. But six months ago, he suddenly started requesting specific dishes. I thought he was just getting bored of the bland, stomach-soothing meals, so I started putting extra effort into tweaking the recipes. Until that one time. I saw the texts between him and Chloe on his phone. [Chloe: Hey, what's Mia making for lunch today?] [Chloe: Ugh, steamed veggies again? I hate steamed food.] [Chloe: Tell Mia to stop making steamed stuff next time. I want something pan-fried.] [Chloe: Mia is such a good house-wife. I can't cook to save my life. You're so lucky to have her.] Ethan replied: [You're different from her. Don't sell yourself short.] [One is a shark in the corporate world, the other is a stay-at-home wife. There's no comparison.] [A person can't be completely useless. Staying at home, this is all she's good for.] Seeing those messages broke my heart. So I asked Ethan about it directly. He was surprised I looked at his messages, but he wasn't mad. He just answered me calmly and casually. "Oh. Chloe has a sensitive stomach, so she can't eat takeout all the time. The food you make is perfect for her, and it's healthy. It's a win-win." His flippant tone felt like a sledgehammer smashing my warm, beating heart to pieces. I was sweating in the kitchen, constantly studying recipes in my free time. My carefully prepared meals, all my hard work and devotion... It all just became a joke to comfort another woman's ego. And it wasn't like I didn't have a job. I was a freelance translator. The foreign language dictionaries I used every day were sitting right there on the bookshelf. He just never cared enough to notice. After finalizing an apartment I liked, I felt a massive weight lift off my shoulders. Lily told me that when I moved back, she was going to make me buy her an expensive dinner. I happily agreed. When Ethan called, I was dozing off on the couch. "Mia, did you not see my texts?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to wake up. "I saw them. What's wrong?" The man on the other end suddenly went silent. A moment later, I heard him say, "I haven't eaten lunch yet." "You can order DoorDash." "Didn't you always hate it when I ate takeout?" His tone sounded genuinely confused. I sighed, feeling a wave of exhaustion. "Cooking for you wasn't a legal obligation. I did it because I cared about your health. It was voluntary." "But Ethan... we signed divorce papers a week ago." Chapter 3 After Ethan hung up, I went back to my room and slept until it was dark. The moment I walked out of my bedroom, I saw Chloe supporting Ethan as they walked through the front door. His pant leg was torn. He must have fallen. Chloe followed right behind him, her eyes red, urgently nagging him. "Ethan, slow down! Your leg is still hurt!" The second she saw me, Chloe puffed out her cheeks and immediately started whining. "Mia, you need to talk some sense into Ethan! We had a client dinner today, and the client wanted me to take a shot with him, but Ethan absolutely refused to let me drink. When we were leaving, the client bumped into him on purpose and he fell down the stairs and scraped his leg!" "It's just one shot, it's not like I can't handle my liquor! Why did he have to play the hero?" Chloe told me to "talk some sense" into him, but the smirk on her face was glaringly obvious. Her fake outrage was painfully theatrical. So I didn't say a single word. I just nodded and turned back to my room. Having lived in this house for five years, there was a lot I needed to pack. From the living room, Chloe's laughter echoed intermittently. A while later, someone knocked on the door. I got up and opened it. Ethan was leaning heavily against the doorframe. "Where's the first aid kit?" He pulled up his pant leg, revealing a bloody scrape. I glanced at it, then looked back up, genuinely confused. "The first aid kit? Didn't you give it to Chloe?" Three months ago, Chloe bought an e-bike, claiming it would make commuting easier. She crashed it on her very first day. Ethan got the call and immediately abandoned my birthday dinner to go find her. Later that week, I burned my hand while cooking. I couldn't find the first aid kit, so I called Ethan. Chloe answered his phone. "The first aid kit?" "Hey Mia! Yeah, I crashed my bike, so Ethan brought the first aid kit to my place. Can you just tough it out for a bit? I'll have him bring it back to you tonight." Ethan's usually stoic face finally showed a crack of emotion. He clearly remembered now. "I forgot." I smiled and nodded in agreement. "You really do have a terrible memory." The day Chloe answered that phone call, I was furious. When Ethan got home, I confronted him. I asked him why he was giving our household items to other people. He didn't even look me in the eye. His gaze remained locked on his laptop screen as he typed. "It's just a first aid kit." "It sits in the house all year and no one ever touches it. I gave it to her, so what?" But that first aid kit... I checked the expiration dates on the medicines every single month and restocked them. Every single item inside was carefully curated by me. It was a symbol of my dedication to protecting this household. And he gave it away like it was nothing. Just like every meal I poured my heart into making—with a wave of his hand, it became someone else's lunch. "You can order bandages on UberEats," I reminded him. "If there's nothing else, I have to get back to packing." With that, I closed the door, completely ignoring the people outside. Ethan stared blankly at the tightly shut door. For some reason, his chest suddenly felt a little hollow. Chapter 4 The days passed one by one. I shipped the things I had packed back to my hometown, box by box. This house, where I had lived for five years, slowly began to empty out. It felt like peeling away the physical vessel of all my memories, piece by piece. I thought the remaining days would pass by quietly. But suddenly, Ethan changed. He started acting like a devoted partner. Someone who used to be obsessed with working overtime was suddenly clocking out precisely at 5:00 PM every day. A person who never cared about my needs started buying me breakfast and bringing home late-night snacks. Confused, I asked him what he was trying to do. Ethan, rarely ever caught off guard, hesitated for a long time before answering. "My mom called. She wants us to come over for a family dinner." I hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed. My parents passed away when I was young. After marrying Ethan, it was the first time I felt what it was like to be loved by parental figures. Since we were getting divorced, it was only right to see them one last time. It was raining heavily on the day we went to the restaurant. His parents had already ordered the food. More than half the dishes on the table were my favorites. Ethan's mom used the serving tongs to place a piece of roast duck onto my plate. Smiling brightly, she chatted about how the neighbor's daughter-in-law just had her second baby. Then, the conversation abruptly pivoted to me. "When are you two going to think about having a baby?" "You should do it while we still have the energy to help you babysit!" In the past, I probably would have smiled warmly and said we weren't in a rush. But this time, I didn't say anything. I just kept my head down and ate the duck. The table went dead silent for ten agonizing seconds. His parents exchanged confused looks. Ethan grabbed my left hand, which was resting on the table, his tone absolute. "Soon." His parents immediately beamed. I pulled my hand out of his. Ethan was too focused on his phone to notice. After dinner, Ethan's mom pulled me aside to chat. Ethan's phone rang several times, but he didn't answer. His mom finally nudged him. "It's so loud! Can't you see I'm talking to Mia?" Ethan glanced at me. "It's work. I need to take this." By the time the table was cleared, Ethan still hadn't returned. I called him. He didn't answer. His parents called him. Still no answer. Staring out at the torrential downpour, my mind drifted back to a day exactly like this. I was walking past Ethan's office building when a massive thunderstorm broke out. I couldn't get an Uber to accept my ride. I waited until Ethan got off work and called him. The moment the call connected. I saw his familiar car parked just down the street. I saw Ethan in the driver's seat, and Chloe in the passenger seat. Ethan asked me what was up. I told him it was pouring rain and asked if he could swing by and pick me up since I was close by. He replied: "Just keep trying to get an Uber. I have to work late tonight." Right as he said that, the girl next to him reached out, offering him a potato chip. Covering the phone's mouthpiece, he turned his head to decline, but eventually gave in and ate it. He lied so flawlessly, so naturally, that I honestly thought I was looking at the wrong car. I spent dozens of sleepless nights replaying that moment in my head. Later, I finally understood. He didn't love me, so he didn't care. Just like how he didn't like potato chips, but he wouldn't reject one when she held it to his lips. Just like how he didn't like potato chips, but if the pasta I cooked for him got cold and soggy, he wouldn't even take a single bite. The rain finally stopped. I hailed a cab and dropped his parents off at their house. In the middle of the night, I heard the front door open. Ethan was back. He was on the phone, his voice carrying through the apartment. Through the wall, I heard him let out an exasperated sigh and say the name: Chloe. When I woke up. I had over a dozen missed calls from Chloe. There were also unread text messages from her. [Mia, Ethan and I have strictly professional boundaries! Please tell him not to transfer me to another department!] [He said you misunderstood and want a divorce. I swear I didn't do anything on purpose! I'll keep my distance from now on, just please don't let him fire me!] I stared at the messages, completely baffled. I didn't reply and placed my phone face-down on the nightstand. I was packing the last few items of clothing left in the guest room. Ethan pushed the door open, sounding frantic. "Mia, what did you say to Chloe?!" "She said she was going to explain everything to you, and now she's gone! I can't reach her at all!" "What exactly did you say to her?!" His chest heaved violently. He stared at me, unblinking. Ethan was always so reserved and composed. He rarely ever showed extreme emotion. Yet all his outward panic was for another woman. I opened my text thread with Chloe and shoved the screen in his face. "I don't know what happened between you two last night, or why I'm being dragged into it." "When she sent these texts, I was asleep. And frankly, I don't feel obligated to reply to her." Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but his phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he instantly answered. The panic on his face turned to joy, then back to panic. "Come back first! We'll talk about the rest later!" "Are the guys your parents trying to set you up with actually good guys? Come back!" "Then just come stay here!" "It's a two-bedroom apartment. It's just me and my wife." As he said that, he glanced at me and turned on the speakerphone, holding it out to me. Chloe's sobbing voice echoed loudly in the room. "Mia... I'm so sorry, I'm going to have to intrude..." "I canceled my lease because I was going to move back to my hometown. But Ethan wants me to stay, and I can't find an apartment on such short notice. Can I stay with you guys for a little while?" "I swear I'll move out the second I find a place. Please." Meeting Ethan's heavily suggestive gaze, my fingertips felt a little cold, but I also had the urge to laugh. "It's fine. You're welcome to stay." On the other end of the line, Chloe cheered in excitement. Ethan gave Chloe some careful instructions. "Wait for me at the airport. I'm heading there now." He hung up the phone and looked at me. "I'm going to pick Chloe up. Tidy up the guest bedroom for her while I'm gone." I reminded him. "Can Chloe take an Uber? There's somewhere we need to go together today." Ethan frowned. "I already promised her. I can't just go back on my word." "It's only a three-hour round trip. Whatever you need to do, it can wait until I get back." "Okay." "I'm leaving." He rushed out the door. He completely failed to notice the small duffel bag sitting next to me. I waited for Ethan for three hours. He didn't come back. I checked my phone and saw a post Chloe made on Instagram ten minutes ago. [I was so sad today, but Ethan is taking me to the amusement park!! What girl can say no to a theme park? I definitely can't! ~] I liked the post. I stood up. Grabbed the duffel bag holding my last set of clothes. And walked out of the house I had lived in for five years. After walking out of the courthouse, I texted Ethan a photo of the final divorce decree and headed straight to the airport. Seven hours later, I landed in my hometown. I climbed into my friend's car, who had been waiting for me. As I listened to her ramble on about how much the city architecture had changed, I turned on my phone. Notifications flooded my screen like a tsunami.
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