Chapter 2

The game continued. The bottle landed on Valerie this time.

Her dare was just like mine: she had to make out with someone of the opposite sex in the room for a whole minute.

Everyone started teasing again, and Valerie gave Asher a shy, expectant glance.

I figured Asher, who always went for his usual type, would just take the three shots and give up on her. But out of nowhere, he pulled Valerie in by the back of her head and kissed her right in front of everyone.

My mind went completely blank.

For five years, whenever I needed Asher, Valerie would call, and he'd drop everything for her, leaving me behind.

Asher was famous for his aversion to intimacy. He wouldn't kiss me, and he wouldn't kiss Valerie either.

But now, just for a game, Asher kissed Valerie.

And earlier, he'd rather make me kiss someone else against my will. I was his real wife, for God's sake.

Everyone looked at me with a mix of pity and ridicule. And I'd become the punchline of the night.

Tears blurred my vision, and the world turned hazy. I staggered to my feet, clutching my phone, ready to leave.

But Asher, with Valerie still in his arms, suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Why are you being so dramatic? We're just playing a game," Asher said, sounding annoyed.

I hesitated, mumbling, "I'm not being dramatic. I just need to go home for something."

"Kathy, do you always have to be so unreasonable? Why do you have to kill the vibe every time?" Asher shot back, clearly irritated.

Asher suddenly lost his temper, then shoved another set of divorce papers right at me.

He shrugged, like it meant nothing. "Fine, let's get divorced."

I stared at the divorce papers in my hands. This was the hundredth time Asher had brought up divorce.

At that moment, my mind flashed through all the other ninety-nine times, like a slideshow playing on fast forward.

He ditched me at the movies just because Valerie had a stomachache.

He left me stranded on the highway, all because Valerie posted a group photo on her feed.

He spent tens of thousands on a designer bag for Valerie, and handed me the freebie wallet as my birthday gift.

All those divorce papers I'd ripped up before felt like boomerangs, hitting me right in the heart.

Asher watched me with that patient, almost bored look, like he was just waiting for me to go crazy again. Tear up the papers, start a fight, and beg him to love me a little more, just like I'd done the last ninety-nine times.

I pressed a hand to my heavy heart, took out a pen from my bag, and signed my name on the divorce papers, each stroke steady and numb.

I handed the signed papers back to him, my voice utterly emotionless. "Divorce it is."

Asher's panic was obvious for a split second, but he quickly masked it.

I turned to leave, and he angrily tossed the divorce papers at me, sneering as he bragged at the others. "Looks like she's finally learned a thing or two. She's really getting better at playing hard to get.

"Relax, she'll be back in less than two hours, crying, throwing a fit, and threatening to do something dramatic just to keep me around."

Once I walked out the door, I had the divorce papers express-delivered straight to my lawyer.

My lawyer got back to me: it would take about a week to get the official divorce certificate.

That night, Asher came home completely wasted. He barged into the bedroom, yanked me up from the bed, and started tearing at my clothes without a second thought.

"Kathy, you dared to give me attitude at the bar tonight. I need to teach you a lesson," Asher growled, his words slurred with anger.

As we struggled, a pair of lacy pink panties slipped out from his clothes and fell to the floor.

Asher paused for a moment, then shamelessly picked them up right in front of me, holding them to his nose and inhaling deeply.

He said, "Oh, I got these from Valerie. She wore them tonight, and they haven't even been washed yet.

"Kathy, I can't feel anything with you anymore. I need Valerie's scent to even get a reaction."

Asher traced the lace on the panties with one hand, while the other kept yanking at my clothes.

A wave of nausea crashed over me. I shoved him away and rushed to the bathroom, retching into the toilet.

I slumped to the floor, hugging the toilet, my tears falling numbly down my cheeks.

Meanwhile, Asher was still rambling drunk in the bedroom. "You still turn me down.

"Valerie's way gentler and more mature than you, and she's got way more moves in bed than you.

"She's romantic, actually knows how to keep things exciting, and the stuff she buys for me is way cooler than anything you ever got. She never nags or causes drama."

I washed my face and walked over to the bed, only then noticing the waistband of Asher's underwear sticking out.

They were a matching pair with Valerie's, like couple's underwear, no less.

And there were even little pink cartoon designs all over them.