Chapter 2

David stared at me for a few seconds, then laughed, the kind of laugh people use when they think you're being ridiculous. "You're talking divorce over a cake? Sarah, seriously?"

"It's not because of the cake," I said. "It's because there's no place left in your heart for me or Sunny."

"How is there not? Don't I hand over my paycheck to you every month? I..."

"The only people in your heart are Emily and her daughter." I said.

His face flushed red. "Sarah, be fair for once. Emily is my friend, and Lily is a child without a father. What's wrong with me taking a little extra care of them? Are you really this petty?"

"Yeah, I am petty." I nodded. "So let's divorce. Then you can take care of them openly from now on. No need to sneak around behind my back anymore."

"You've lost it." He took a step back and looked at me like I was some kind of freak. "You want a divorce over this? What about Sunny? She's only six. You want her to grow up without a father?"

I lowered my eyes and looked at my daughter. She was clutching my leg tight, her little face buried in my clothes, only a pair of red, tearful eyes showing.

I crouched down until I was at eye level with her. "Sunny, if Daddy doesn't live with us anymore later on, will you be sad?"

She thought about it, then said quietly, "Daddy doesn't live with us anyway." I froze. "Daddy goes to Lily's house every day," she said. "He comes back really late." David's face went pale.

I stood up and looked at him. "David, did you hear that?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "Tomorrow's Monday. The city hall will be open. We'll go early, and after the paperwork's done, you'll still have time to pick Lily up from preschool."

I carried Sunny into the bedroom and locked the door behind us. There was no sound outside for a long time, then came a heavy slam of the front door. He left.

Sunny lay on my lap and asked softly, "Mom, does Daddy not want us anymore?"

I thought for a moment, then said, "No. Mommy doesn't want him anymore." She blinked, then suddenly smiled.

"Then on my birthday from now on, will it be Mommy with me when I blow out the candles?" She asked.

"That's right. Mommy will buy an even bigger cake, bigger than today's, with two little princesses on it, one for Sunny and one for Mommy."

She nodded hard, then remembered something and asked carefully, "Then can I blow out the candles? Nobody will smash it again, right?"

My nose stung, and I pulled her tightly into my arms. "No one will. From now on, nobody gets to ruin Sunny's birthday ever again."

That night, after I got Sunny to sleep, I sat alone in the living room for a long time, staring at the dried cream on the floor. Then I picked up my phone and called Mom. "Mom, I'm getting divorced."

There were five seconds of silence on the other end. Then the questions came flying. "What did you say? Why? Did David hit you? Is he seeing someone else?"

"Whether he's seeing someone else, I don't know. But there's definitely someone else in his heart." I said.

I told her everything that had happened today. When I finished, the line went quiet again.

I thought Mom would be on my side, curse David out, and say I was doing the right thing. Instead, she said, "Sarah, don't you think you're being too impulsive?"

My grip tightened around the phone. "Over a cake? Men are careless sometimes, that's all. He makes money, supports the family, and he doesn't hit you or yell at you. What more do you want?" She said.