Chapter 2

That night, I didn't head straight home.

I hung around at the entrance of the complex, watching as David's car rolled in.

It was six forty. Twenty minutes earlier than usual.

I followed him from a distance, watching as he walked into the building.

This time, I skipped the elevator.

I took the stairs, step by step, all the way up to the sixth floor.

The hallway was dead quiet.

I stood outside Apt. 603 and pulled out my keys.

The door swung open.

No one was in the living room.

The bedroom door was shut.

I could hear noises coming from inside.

A woman's laughter and David's voice.

"Take it easy, honey," David said.

I swung the door open.

They practically jumped out of their skins.

David stared at me, eyes wide. "Laura? Why are you back so early?"

I looked at the woman on the bed.

She was young, pretty, probably twenty-five or twenty-six.

She wrapped herself in the blanket, but honestly, she didn't look the least bit rattled.

"So you're Laura?" She sized me up. "You look way older than your photos."

I ignored her and kept my eyes on David. "How long has this been going on?"

David looked flustered for a few seconds, then seemed to steel himself. He straightened his clothes and got out of bed.

"Laura, since you've found out, I won't hide it from you anymore," he said.

Suddenly, his tone turned bold, almost righteous. "I've been with Sophie for a year now, and we're really happy together. Look at you. You sit around all day. No job, nothing.

"I'm out there busting my ass, and when I get home, there's not even a hot meal waiting for me—"

"So you cheated on me?" I cut him off.

"Cheated?" He frowned. "I'm looking for real love. If you're so capable, go find someone else. Who's stopping you?"

Sophie Evans, the woman on the bed, covered her mouth and giggled.

"David, stop wasting your breath on her. Just get the divorce over with," she said.

David nodded. "Yeah, divorce. Laura, let's get divorced."

He said it like it was nothing. Like he was talking about the weather.

Five years of marriage, and to him, it was just those words.

"Fine," I said. "Let's get divorced."

David looked stunned for a second, like he never expected me to agree so easily.

"Then the apartment is mine," he said.

I looked at him.

"I bought this apartment, and my name's on the deed," he said. "You're leaving with nothing."

I almost burst out laughing.

Whose name was actually on the deed?

Five years ago, when he wanted to buy this place, he couldn't even scrape together the down payment. I told him, "I happen to have an empty apartment, and you can move in for now."

He kept saying, "I really shouldn't", but he moved in without hesitation.

He lived there for five years, but he never paid a single cent.

And now he was saying the apartment was his?

"You mean your name's on the deed?" I asked.

"Of course," he said, like it was obvious. "You think it's yours or something?"

I laughed.

Yeah, it was my name on the deed.

"What's so funny?" He frowned.

"Nothing," I said, turning to leave. "Get the divorce agreement ready."

David stood there, stunned.

He probably never expected me to agree without putting up a fight.

What he didn't realize was, I just wanted to see how shameless he could really be.

Now I'd seen it all.

*****

Word of the divorce spread through the Turner family that very night.

First thing the next morning, Mavis stormed in. "Laura, what's going on with you?"

She started yelling the moment she walked in, loud enough for the whole floor to hear. "Did you give David a hard time? Why does he want to divorce you?"

I sat on the couch, watching her. "Mavis, David cheated on me."

"Cheated?" Mavis waved her hand dismissively. "Men have to socialize for work. It's how it is. Can't you be a little more understanding?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mavis glared at me. "Let me tell you, Laura, David is the one who keeps this family afloat. How much does he make every month? How much do you make? What right do you have to demand a divorce from him?"

"He's the one who wants the divorce," I said.

"That's because you pushed him to it." Mavis insisted. "If you were a little more understanding and generous, would David have gone to another woman?"

I took a deep breath, not wanting to argue with her. "Mavis, David and I will talk about the divorce—"

"Talk about what?" Mavis cut me off. "The apartment is David's, and the car is David's. What do you have to negotiate with him? Let me tell you, if you dare ask for a single cent, I'll take you to court for marriage fraud."

I looked at her, and suddenly felt the irony of it all.

For the past five years, I'd given her 1,000 dollars every month as a monthly allowance for her.

Every holiday, I always gave her gifts.

When she got sick and had to stay in the hospital, I was the one who covered all her medical bills.

And now she was calling me a marriage fraud?

"Mavis," I said, trying to keep my cool, "I just wanted to say—"

"Mind your attitude," she snapped, her voice sharp. "You're a freeloader who's been leeching off us for five years, and now you want a piece of the property? In your dreams."

Freeloader. This word again.

I looked at Mavis, and suddenly, I didn't feel like explaining myself anymore.

What was the point of explaining?

She wouldn't listen anyway. Just like David never listened.

They never listened to me.

In their eyes, I was someone with no job, no income, no skills. Someone who couldn't survive without David.

Fine. If that was what they thought, then I'd let them keep believing it right up until the very end.