Chapter 3 · Clean Freak, Dirty Heart

"Wyatt, I'm not a machine. I get tired, too," I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion.

I really thought I'd love Wyatt forever, even though he's got a ton of issues.

But a lifetime was just too long. I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong.

My feelings for him started fading ages ago, every time he used his OCD as an excuse to make my life miserable. That was when I finally saw this relationship for what it was.

He was a total neat freak, but he only ever forced those ridiculous standards on me.

Daisy never had to deal with any of that.

She got all the special treatment I was denied, even though I was his wife.

And whatever small privileges I did have, Daisy somehow always received more.

I kept compromising and accommodating him, but in the end, I couldn't see a single shred of love left in this relationship.

All I could feel was Wyatt's endless nitpicking and the lingering stench of disinfectant that never seemed to go away.

But what did I get out of it?

Now, I wasn't even sure if Wyatt loved me anymore.

Before my dad passed away, I was sure Wyatt loved me.

But when my dad died, Wyatt didn't show up at all.

He went totally MIA during the funeral, leaving me all alone.

When I finally got home, I found Wyatt, the guy who always held my dad and me to impossible standards, being there for Daisy's family instead.

Seeing that, I just felt like a total joke.

He didn't love me.

"Wyatt, let's just call it quits," I said, my voice steady. I was done wasting my time on someone who didn't care.

Wyatt frowned, looking at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wren, you're really going to divorce me just because of something you think is no big deal?"

Anything that had to do with me was always just a small thing to him.

Even being there for Daisy's family was a bigger deal to him than anything about me.

"Yeah. From now on, you don't need to get involved in any of my little things anymore," I said, my voice steady.

I really did love Wyatt.

I tried over and over to make things work between us.

But Wyatt just didn't care at all.

He didn't love me, and he couldn't care less about our relationship.

No matter what I did, it was all for nothing.

If I couldn't save this, then it was time to let go.

We would just let each other go.

Wyatt wouldn't have to lose sleep over me not following his rules anymore.

And I wouldn't have to walk around smelling like disinfectant all the time.

Daisy slid right between us, tossing out some passive-aggressive remarks that sounded reasonable on the surface but were clearly meant to stir the pot.

"Ms. Radcliffe, please don't blame Mr. Kingsley. It's all my fault," she said. "If I hadn't deliberately stalled the process, your dad would've moved into that house a long time ago.

"Didn't you say your dad was seriously ill? So why haven't you been by his side all this time to take care of him? You're not trying to fool Mr. Kingsley, are you?"

I didn't respond to Daisy at all.

I kept my gaze fixed on Wyatt, refusing to look away.

Wyatt shot me a furious look. "Wren, I can't believe you'd do something like this. Daisy was just following my orders, and you lied about your dad being sick just to satisfy your selfish desires."

"I'm so disappointed in you," he said, his voice cold.

He always took Daisy's side, no matter what.

Why was I even hoping for anything different?

I just stared at him, not saying a word.

But Wyatt just assumed I was silent because he'd exposed my so-called lie. "Good thing Daisy followed my instructions to the letter, or you guys would've totally taken advantage of it," he sneered.

"Wren, you screw up and then point fingers at everyone else. How did I never realize you were this kind of person?" he added.

"Even if I was giving that place away for free, your dad would still never set foot in it," he added, his voice cold as ice.

"No need. No one's ever going to live there now," I said, my voice flat.

Wyatt was just not worth loving anymore.

"Wren, if you just apologize to Daisy properly right now, maybe I'll think about forgiving you," Wyatt said.

"Forget it," I said. I didn't want his forgiveness.

From the moment he stood by and let Daisy walk all over my dad and me, our future was already over.

Chapter 3

"Wyatt, I'm not a machine. I get tired, too," I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion.

I really thought I'd love Wyatt forever, even though he's got a ton of issues.

But a lifetime was just too long. I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong.

My feelings for him started fading ages ago, every time he used his OCD as an excuse to make my life miserable. That was when I finally saw this relationship for what it was.

He was a total neat freak, but he only ever forced those ridiculous standards on me.

Daisy never had to deal with any of that.

She got all the special treatment I was denied, even though I was his wife.

And whatever small privileges I did have, Daisy somehow always received more.

I kept compromising and accommodating him, but in the end, I couldn't see a single shred of love left in this relationship.

All I could feel was Wyatt's endless nitpicking and the lingering stench of disinfectant that never seemed to go away.

But what did I get out of it?

Now, I wasn't even sure if Wyatt loved me anymore.

Before my dad passed away, I was sure Wyatt loved me.

But when my dad died, Wyatt didn't show up at all.

He went totally MIA during the funeral, leaving me all alone.

When I finally got home, I found Wyatt, the guy who always held my dad and me to impossible standards, being there for Daisy's family instead.

Seeing that, I just felt like a total joke.

He didn't love me.

"Wyatt, let's just call it quits," I said, my voice steady. I was done wasting my time on someone who didn't care.

Wyatt frowned, looking at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wren, you're really going to divorce me just because of something you think is no big deal?"

Anything that had to do with me was always just a small thing to him.

Even being there for Daisy's family was a bigger deal to him than anything about me.

"Yeah. From now on, you don't need to get involved in any of my little things anymore," I said, my voice steady.

I really did love Wyatt.

I tried over and over to make things work between us.

But Wyatt just didn't care at all.

He didn't love me, and he couldn't care less about our relationship.

No matter what I did, it was all for nothing.

If I couldn't save this, then it was time to let go.

We would just let each other go.

Wyatt wouldn't have to lose sleep over me not following his rules anymore.

And I wouldn't have to walk around smelling like disinfectant all the time.

Daisy slid right between us, tossing out some passive-aggressive remarks that sounded reasonable on the surface but were clearly meant to stir the pot.

"Ms. Radcliffe, please don't blame Mr. Kingsley. It's all my fault," she said. "If I hadn't deliberately stalled the process, your dad would've moved into that house a long time ago.

"Didn't you say your dad was seriously ill? So why haven't you been by his side all this time to take care of him? You're not trying to fool Mr. Kingsley, are you?"

I didn't respond to Daisy at all.

I kept my gaze fixed on Wyatt, refusing to look away.

Wyatt shot me a furious look. "Wren, I can't believe you'd do something like this. Daisy was just following my orders, and you lied about your dad being sick just to satisfy your selfish desires."

"I'm so disappointed in you," he said, his voice cold.

He always took Daisy's side, no matter what.

Why was I even hoping for anything different?

I just stared at him, not saying a word.

But Wyatt just assumed I was silent because he'd exposed my so-called lie. "Good thing Daisy followed my instructions to the letter, or you guys would've totally taken advantage of it," he sneered.

"Wren, you screw up and then point fingers at everyone else. How did I never realize you were this kind of person?" he added.

"Even if I was giving that place away for free, your dad would still never set foot in it," he added, his voice cold as ice.

"No need. No one's ever going to live there now," I said, my voice flat.

Wyatt was just not worth loving anymore.

"Wren, if you just apologize to Daisy properly right now, maybe I'll think about forgiving you," Wyatt said.

"Forget it," I said. I didn't want his forgiveness.

From the moment he stood by and let Daisy walk all over my dad and me, our future was already over.