Chapter 2
Daniel stood in the middle of the living room, staring at me.
His eyes were bloodshot. I couldn't tell if it was from staying up all night or just being pissed off.
"Did you even think about what would happen before you posted that?" he asked.
I sat on the couch, legs crossed, looking at him.
"Did you think about the consequences when you went to the beach with Emily?" I shot back.
His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
After a few seconds, his tone softened.
"Sarah, it's not as serious as you think," he said.
"Oh?" I replied.
"Emily and I are friends." He paused. "Maybe we got a little too close, but it's not what you're thinking."
"Friends don't put their arms around each other's waists," I said.
"She was about to fall, so I just steadied her," he said.
I didn't say anything. I just pulled out my phone, brought up the photo, and held it right in front of his face.
"You call that steadying someone? Your faces were practically touching. And weren't you supposed to be on a business trip to Grandon? How did you end up at the beach?" I shot back.
His face froze for a second.
Then he reached out, trying to grab my phone.
"Get rid of that photo, too," he said.
I pulled my phone back and tucked it behind me.
"Keep your hands off my stuff," I said.
"Sarah." His voice shot up again. "Who do you think is most embarrassed now? You posted that on your Instagram feed. What will my coworkers say? What about my boss? How am I supposed to face anyone after this?"
I looked at him.
All he cared about was what people thought.
I didn't even matter to him.
"Daniel, you weren't worried about your image when you were hugging another woman. But now that I've posted the photo, suddenly, you're scared people will judge you," I said.
He took a deep breath, propped himself up with his both hands on the dining table, and lowered his head.
"What do you want? Just name your terms," he said.
"A divorce," I said.
The living room fell silent as soon as I said it.
He looked up, and his expression toward me was completely different.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
"A divorce," I repeated.
"You..." He paused and straightened up. "You're really going to divorce me for a single photo?"
"Yes, and for the fact that you lied to me. You said you were in Grandon, but you ended up at the beach. You claimed it was a business trip, but you were with Emily. How do you expect me to think?" I said.
"I told you, there's nothing between Emily and me," he insisted.
"Whether there's something between you two or not doesn't matter anymore. You lied to me, and that's all I need to know," I said.
He walked over and sat down across from me, hands clasped on his knees.
"Sarah, calm down. We've been married for three years. Are you really going to tear our family apart over something insignificant?" he said.
"Insignificant?" I asked.
"Look at you. You're losing it over a single photo. Have you ever thought that maybe Emily..." He stopped.
"What about her?" I asked.
"Maybe she set it up on purpose," he said.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"She did it on purpose? She dragged you over for the photo? She made you wrap your arm around her waist? Daniel, do you know what you're saying?" I shot back.
He fell silent.
The doorbell rang again.
Daniel and I both looked at the door.
He got up to open it.
When the door swung open, Callie was standing there. Her hair was still messy, and a button on her coat was done up wrong.
The first thing she said when she entered the door was not to ask what had happened.
She looked right at me and said, "Sarah, take that post down. Now."
I didn't move.
She walked up to me, tapping her finger on the coffee table.
"Do you know how many people called me this morning? My sister-in-law saw it, my brother saw it, and my husband's coworkers saw it. How are we supposed to hold our heads up after this?" Callie snapped.
"Callie, your son was with another woman," I said.
"With another woman? It's just a photo. Young people fool aroun. Is it really such a big deal?" she snapped.
I just looked at her, not saying a word.
She kept going, "Even if you have a problem with it, you should keep it private. Posting it online makes the Reed family look bad."
Daniel stood there, not stopping Callie or saying a word to back me up.
I turned my gaze from Callie to him.
"So, you agree with Callie?" I asked.
He opened his mouth and said, "Just delete the post from your Instagram first. We'll deal with everything else later."
I stood up.
"It's too late. Screenshots are already everywhere. Deleting it won't change anything," I said.
Callie's face went pale.
"You're trying to tear this family apart deliberately," she shouted.
I picked up the cup from the table, walked to the kitchen, poured out the water, and set the cup in the sink.
"I'm not the one who tore this family apart," I said.
I went back to the living room, grabbed my phone and keys, and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Daniel stood in front of the door, blocking me.
I looked up at him.
"Move," I said.
"Not until you tell me where you're going," he said.
"I've already made myself clear. I want a divorce. You figure out when to file the papers," I said.
I stepped around him, opened the door, and walked out.
Callie yelled after me, "Get back here, Sarah."
The moment the elevator doors closed, her voice was cut off.
I pressed the button for the first floor.
My phone buzzed again.
It was Emily.
I picked up.
"Sarah—" she started.
"Just say what you want," I cut her off.
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
"Can we meet? I want to talk to you in person," Emily said.
"Talk about what? How you couldn't help but get close to him?" I asked.
"No, Sarah. It's not like what you saw," she said.
"So what is it then?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
I hung up.
The elevator reached the first floor, and the doors slid open.
The sunlight hit my eyes, making me squint.
I stood at the gate, and that was when I realized that I had nowhere to go.
My phone rang again.
It was an unknown number.
I hesitated for a second and then picked up.
"Is this Sarah Lane? I'm Emily's mom, Elsa Summers," a woman's voice said.