teny

ally ended, I retrieved my phone from the se

avalanche of missed calls and text notifications. The phone buzz

I saw every single missed

king for me so urgently? With me out of the house, shouldn't

itt

rom the committee walked up a

ree to grab a drink at t

into my pocket and o

I need to head home

ing to rush you back?" th

rawer, a dull ache throbbed behind my ribs. I kept the polite smi

, I glanced automatically toward the living room sofa. Beau wasn't

table. In the crystal vase at the center, the fresh lilies I had bought before t

hem into the trash can, and walked int

ago sat in the exact same spot, completely untouched and rott

I noticed the laundry I had hung out before leaving was still clipped to the rack, stiff and dusty. In three years

front door beeped. I turned

her shoes. Sensing movement in the kitchen, he snapped his head u

he sneered. "If you had any spine,

den away for a week just to th

ss wasn't home, Kamilah didn't feel comfortable staying here either and had to move back t

was an eyesore; if I left, I was ruining his hospitality. In the past, I would have rushed

three long strides, grabbed the collar of my blouse, and shoved me

ches from mine, his voice d

e than anything. I'm asking you one last tim

into his angry e

job at my university and att

a harsh, mo

a single day during our three years of marriage.

him for three years. To him, my sacrifice had completely erase

and landed on the withered lilies sticking out of the trash can. A flic

nd," he muttered, looking away. "I only stayed

ll week? I didn't care anymore. Straighteni

s fi

ference books from the study. Just as my foot touch

itt

, silently counting the twenty-one days