Ten Likes and Our Marriage Ends

Synopsis

On our wedding anniversary, Edward Stone posted an update on social media. "Ten likes, and we get divorced." Attached was a signed divorce agreement. His signature sprawled across the line for Party A, bold and sweeping, like a decree severing every last tie between us. I stared at the post for a long time. The screen made my eyes ache, and when I rubbed them, my fingertips came away wet. No. I wasn't crying. I was laughing so hard I'd started to tear up. Ten likes? Edward, was this supposed to be a joke? I opened the post, found the heart icon, and tapped it without hesitation. The page refreshed, and my profile picture appeared under the likes. The first one. I took a screenshot and saved it. Then I opened my chat with Edward. Our last exchange was from a week ago. [I won't be home tonight.] [Okay.] Two dry little messages. A perfect summary of our dead marriage. I typed one more. [Edward, I liked it. See you at the county courthouse.] The message showed as read. Almost immediately, my phone started vibrating nonstop. I didn't answer. I silenced it, set it facedown, and walked into the closet. After three years of marriage, I owned surprisingly little. One suitcase was enough. I left every piece of jewelry Edward had given me neatly arranged in its case. Those things had never truly belonged to Grace Lane. They belonged to the title of Mrs. Stone. On my way out, I stopped in front of our wedding portrait. The woman in the picture was glowing, tucked against her husband and looking toward the future as if it held nothing but happiness. Edward had been smiling too. Not warmly, exactly, but enough to look like a groom. Three years. That was long enough to turn a hopeful bride into a woman who felt nothing when she looked at her own wedding photo. I turned the frame toward the wall. At the door, suitcase in hand, I gave the home I'd lived in for three years one last look. It was enormous, immaculate, and expensive, yet there wasn't a single corner of it that had ever felt warm. The door clicked shut behind me, soft as a sigh. I didn't look back.