re suffocating than ever. Every object held a memory, and every memory was now tainted. The wedding photo on the mantle, the coffee

opened my laptop. I didn't know why I was doing it. A need to see the full extent o

the details. The way her hand rested near his on the table. The expensive bottle of wine, a vintage I knew she loved, the one

perfect togeth

ppy for you, Mar

They were all in on it. The realization was a fres

ad booked a table at a nice restaurant, planning to surprise her. She'

r pizza, Ethan? I' ve

cardboard box while she scrolled through her phone, barely speaking to me. A brutal w

of them from years ago, before me. And then, more recent ones. Group shots from parties I wasn' t invited to. A

n at? The signs had been there, red flags waving in my face, but I had refused to se

. "Did you pay the electric bill?" "Can you pick up the dry cleaning?" We shared a home, a bed, a life, but we were strangers. The

fool who had built his entire world around a woman who saw him as an ob

a sharp snap. Enough. No

hings. I didn' t throw them out the window or set them on fire, as much as a dark p

the apartment, but this

door, I made one more call. Not to her

lawyer whose numb

d, my voice steady for the first time