Jonathan’s eyes were rimmed in red, his throat working as he spoke. “Where did I go wrong? Angela, tell me. I’ll change. I knew you liked eel. So even though I hate the hassle, I asked a friend to ship one from Europe just for you. Isn’t that enough proof already?”
I looked up at the tank where the eel slid lazily through the water, my face expressionless.
“It’s not about you being bad. I just don’t want this anymore. Please sign the divorce papers.”
In the meantime, my mother slammed her palm against the table, rattling the porcelain bowls.
“Angela, are you out of your mind? Weren’t you the one who cried and begged to marry Jonathan, swearing you’d never marry anyone else? And now, after all this, you finally married him, you even have a child, and he changes diapers, makes bottles in the middle of the night, more attentive than you are as a mother, and you still want to leave?”
I avoided her gaze and turned back to Jonathan. “Just sign it. It’s better for both of us.”
“Sign it?” Jonathan let out a bitter laugh, though his eyes burned red. “Angela, look me in the eye and tell me if this is still about what happened a few days ago? Pauline is like a sister to me. Of course, I was devastated when she died, but I already explained that to you.”
His fingertip brushed the signature line on the divorce papers.
He then added, his voice tight, “Listen to me. I will never agree to a divorce. I know you’ve always resented my past with Pauline, but she’s gone now…”
He caught my shoulders, though his grip was light. “All I want now is a life with you and Ethan. I’ve put every bonus into Ethan’s account. I come home straight from work every day to help him. I even bought that eel just to make you smile. What more do you want from me?”
At the mention of the eel, my fingertips went cold.
Jonathan had hated trouble since he was a boy. He had never kept pets. I loved fish, but no matter how many times I asked him before, he always refused to let me keep any at home.
Yet three days ago, he suddenly had a friend fly one in from Europe, saying he wanted to bring some life into the living room.
The eel was always restless at night, far more than it should have been.
One evening, I got up for a glass of water and stopped short. Jonathan was standing in front of the tank, feeding it. His lips were moving, muttering words I couldn’t make out.