Chapter 3

I was walking toward the front door, dragging my suitcase behind me. My heart felt like a dead weight.

Just as I reached for the door, it opened. Verda stood there, her face streaked with tears, eyes hollow.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her voice shaking, almost pleading.

I stared at her coldly and said nothing, trying to push past her.

She grabbed my arms, clinging to me. "Arnold, please, don't go. We can fix this. I can change. I really can."

I yanked my arms free. "I don't want to hear it anymore. I told you—we're getting divorced. If you'd really wanted to change, we wouldn't be here right now."

"I know I was wrong. Please trust me!" Verda sobbed so hard her voice broke. Tears poured down her face like a flood. "I'll never see Martin again, I swear. Please, just believe me, okay?"

I felt nothing but disgust. "It's too late. Even if you never see him again, it doesn't erase the fact that you cheated."

I started walking again, but she suddenly threw herself at me, hugging me tightly and trying to kiss me.

I shoved her away. "How dare you?" I glared at her, my chest twisting like it was being cut open.

Verda stumbled to the floor, crying, clutching at my pant leg.

A cold glint flashed in my eyes as I pried her hands off and said icily, "Stop clinging to me. I've decided."

Without another word, I turned and walked toward the elevator, her sobs echoing in the doorway behind me.

I looked at her—the woman I had once loved with all I had—yet now, she was nothing but a stranger I couldn't stand to be near.

She chased after me, and I shoved her aside again. She nearly fell, but I didn't care.

The disdain in my eyes was merciless, driving the last nail into her heart.

My voice was low and raw, as if forced up from the depths of my chest. "Verda, can you even imagine the pain I felt when I found out that the wife I couldn't bring myself to touch had been in another man's arms for three years? Do you know how it kills me to see you lower yourself for him without shame?"

I could still feel the cold of that night—the biting chill seeping from the crown of my head down to my feet, freezing me solid.

She lowered her head, shoulders trembling.

"I didn't—" she finally whispered, her voice as small as a wounded animal's. "I just—"

"Just what?" I stared her down, watching every flicker of her expression.

"Just loved him too much? Just couldn't stop yourself? Or just thought I was an idiot?" With each word, her face paled, and her body shook harder.

She opened her mouth but said nothing.

I looked at her, feeling a kind of sadness that was worse than anger.

She used to be my whole world. But now, she was just a scar I'd carry forever.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. "Verda, we're done," I said, steady but firm.

My words landed like stones, crushing the little hope she had left—and crushing something in me as well.

"No! It's not like that!" she screamed suddenly, her voice sharp enough to slice through the night. "Just listen to me. It's not what you think. Martin and I... We were just—"

"Just what?" I cut in coldly. "Just falling back in love? Just couldn't help yourselves? Or just laughing at me behind my back?"

I saw panic flicker in her eyes before she tried to hide it. She rubbed her lips like she was trying to wipe away something dirty, accidentally sucking in a bit of snot with a pathetic little sob.

I cringed at the sight, my stomach turning.

"Arnold, please, forgive me—just this once!" she begged, her voice hoarse and broken. "It will never happen again. Martin and I were just confused, I swear!"

"Confused?" I gave a short, bitter laugh. "You really think I'd swallow that crap?"

I looked at her—messy, broken—and there was not a shred of pity in me, only a tide of disgust that wouldn't end.

"Arnold, I know I was wrong. I really do," she wailed, dropping to her knees and clutching my legs. "Please, give me one more chance. I'll take care of you, love you, and never let you down again."

"Take care of me?" I scoffed, grabbing her chin and forcing her to meet my eyes.

"Verda, do you think I married you because I needed someone to take care of me? I married you because I loved you, and I thought you loved me." I let go, and she crumpled to the floor like dead weight.

"But now I see I was wrong. So, so wrong." I let out a bitter laugh. "It's over. I'll send the divorce papers in a few days. Sign them quietly, and I won't tell anyone what you did."

She tried to block my way again, but I shoved past her and walked off, not once looking back.