Chapter 2

At 3 PM, Jeremy messaged me on WhatsApp. It was brief: [You there?]

I stared at the screen for a long time. On the first day of our pre-divorce separation period, he told me we shouldn't talk. Now he was checking if I was around. I didn't reply.

Five minutes later, Jeremy messaged again: [What's the bank card password? I forgot.]

I read his text and suddenly felt it was so absurd. After being married for over three years, he still couldn't remember the bank card password.

I replied: [123456.]

Jeremy: [Thanks.]

And that was the end of it.

*****

I got home from work at 7 PM. The moment I opened the door, the room was so quiet it felt suffocating.

No one welcomed me or asked whether I had eaten anything. And there was no sound from the TV.

I sank into the couch, pulled out my phone, and out of habit, opened Jeremy's Instagram.

His latest post was from two hours ago. It was a photo of a plate of beef steak. The caption read: [Nothing beats Mom's cooking.]

There were over ten comments below.

I scrolled down and spotted an unfamiliar profile picture. The username was Sweet Emily. Her comment read: [Mrs. Carter's cooking is amazing.] She threw in a laughing emoji.

Jeremy replied to her: [I'll bring you over next time.]

I stared at their exchange, my fingers gradually tightening around my phone. I wondered who Emily was.

I tapped on Sweet Emily's profile pic. She archived her feeds and only showed three days' posts to me. But those told me plenty.

On October 21st, Emily shared a photo of a bouquet of roses. The caption read: [Thanks, Jeremy.]

On October 22nd, she posted a selfie at a high-end restaurant. The caption was: [Finally got to try the fancy food I've been craving.] Jeremy liked it.

On October 23rd, namely today, Emily posted another photo. It was the living room at Jeremy's parents' home.

I recognized the couch, the coffee table, and that oil painting.

The caption read: [First time visiting Mr. and Mrs. Carter's place. So nervous.]

The photo was taken from the couch. That meant Emily went to Jeremy's parents' place today with him.

I put my phone down and took a deep breath. On the fourth day of the pre-divorce separation period, Jeremy brought another woman to meet his parents.

I called Jeremy. It rang for a long time before he picked up. The background was noisy, like he was out somewhere.

"Hello?" His voice sounded impatient.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Out."

"Who are you with?"

Jeremy paused for a couple of seconds. "Sarah, the whole point of the pre-divorce separation period is to give each other space. Stop keeping tabs on me."

"I'm only asking who you're with."

"A friend."

"What friend?"

"A coworker. What's wrong?" Jeremy's tone was getting annoyed. "If you don't need anything, I'm hanging up."

"Who is Emily?"

Jeremy suddenly went quiet on the other end of the phone.

I could hear him breathing.

Jeremy's breath was soft and slow, as if he were trying to figure out what to say. "Who told you?"

"I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"Your Instagram." I tried to keep my voice steady. "Emily went to your parents' place today?"

Jeremy didn't answer.

"Fourth day of the pre-divorce separation period, and you're introducing another woman to your parents. Is this your idea of calmly thinking over our relationship?"

Jeremy's voice dropped. "Sarah, Emily is only a friend. Don't overthink it."

"Since when do friends meet the parents?"

"My mom wanted to meet Emily. Is that wrong?"

That left me speechless. I wondered why Jeremy's wanted to see Emily.

"Jeremy, we're still in the pre-divorce separation period." I took a deep breath. "Do you think that's proper?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong." He sounded totally justified. "I merely brought a friend home for dinner. It's not like I did anything shady."

"You—"

"Enough," Jeremy cut me off. "Sarah, do you have to be so sensitive? I told you, Emily is only a friend. The pre-divorce separation period is for us to think things over calmly, not for you to spy on me."

"I'm not keeping tabs on you."

"Then what are you doing now?" Jeremy's voice turned icy. "Scrolling through my Instagram to check up on me. Isn't that spying?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but suddenly realized I had nothing to say.

I wondered what I was doing as we were already in the pre-divorce separation period. Jeremy didn't owe me an explanation anymore.