My Own Brilliant Light

Synopsis

On New Year’s Eve, I caught my husband cheating on a drone livestream. I was scrolling through my phone when the Chicago Tonight broadcast popped up. The Chicago Riverwalk was ablaze with lights, fireworks exploding over the water. And right there, in the center of the frame, was Daniel Hale—my husband of five years—kissing his childhood friend, Claire Bennett. I calmly closed the stream and dialed his number. It rang for a long time. When he finally answered, the background was loud and chaotic. "Where are you?" I asked. A brief pause. "The office," he said. "Didn't I tell you I had to work late?" "Working late with Claire?" The line went dead quiet. I heard my own voice, so steady it sounded like a stranger's. "You always do this. When you don't have an answer, you just go silent." "Not anymore."