The vast living room sank into silence.

The thought had crossed my mind more times than I could count.

But saying it out loud was a first.

"Over this? You're bringing up divorce?"

"Charles, are you looking for problems where there aren't any? Everything I do is for this family..."

"For this family?"

I cut her off and stood, looking down at her.

"Elaine, can you honestly say any of this has been for this family?"

"If it was really for this family, would you have been drinking so much you miscarried?"

Elaine stared at me in disbelief, her mouth hanging open, unable to form a single word.

Elaine and I had been classmates in college. She was beautiful, a straight-A student, could sing, could dance—the kind of girl who turned every head in the room.

That she'd chosen me out of all the guys chasing her was something I never expected.

Everyone said I'd hit the jackpot, getting picked by Elaine Henson.

Even I believed that.

I'd asked her more than once why she chose me. She always smiled and said, "Because you're good to me."

"I can tell. You genuinely like me."

Four years together, and I gave her everything she asked for. I never dared ask too much of her in return.

When we got married, her family's demands were steep, but my parents and I did our best to meet every one of them.

Marrying her was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.

But everything changed three years ago, when Elaine got laid off.

"Charles, why don't I just come work at your company?"

"With you looking out for me, I can find something easy and focus on getting pregnant."

To get her into the company, I spent weeks drinking with my supervisor after hours. I nearly ended up in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer.

I finally secured her a spot as a team leader in the sales department.

"Most of the client work is handled by Mr. Gray personally, so you won't be too busy. It's a pretty cushy gig."

At first, Elaine really wasn't busy.

We exercised together to prepare for the pregnancy, drank herbal supplements together to get our bodies in shape.

But it wasn't long before I noticed the drinking.

One night, she stumbled through the door reeking of alcohol again.

"Elaine, no smoking, no drinking while we're trying to conceive. Wasn't that your rule?"

I swallowed my frustration and tried to talk it out with her.

"It was Mr. Gray's table. How was I supposed to say no?"