. Our house. The place where we had built a life, or so I had thought. The

xpensive shoes. I started there. I pulled out a suitcase, not one of mine, but one of her expensive ones, and began to pack my things. M

atching me with the op

asked, her voice light, but I saw

to donate," I lied smoothly. "F

at's a good idea." She walked over and dropped a small,

beaming face. I didn't want it.

t," she

of a famous brand. A brand I knew Daniel favored. I remembered seeing him in old pictures wearing their stuff. It was a gift for her new ma

d. "Whenever it happens. It wil

and heavy in my hand. "It's

, just below her ear, partially hidden by her hair. A hickey. It wasn't from me. My s

about the project that was supposedly so demanding. I just s

the mantelpiece was a framed photo of us from our engagement part

it. I brought the frame down hard on the edge of the fireplace hearth. Glass sprayed across the floor. The sound

our smiling faces, now torn and broken

g quartet to play a piece I wrote for her. I got down on one knee as the sun set over the o

!" she had said. "I swear I will

er had a very shor

n-negotiable rule. You don't cheat. You don't lie. You don't betray the pers

nt back to the bedroom, grabbed my half-packed suitcase, and walked out of the house wi