As I wiped my eyes, I heard laughter from the entrance.
Yedda and Raymond Lattimore strolled in, teasing and playful, as if they were newlyweds.
Yedda's expression darkened when she saw me sitting on the sofa.
"Boyce, you didn't answer your phone. So, you came here first.
"Are you really going to suggest a divorce over something so trivial?"
I looked up at her meticulously made-up face, feeling nothing.
"So, the 'urgent matter' was abandoning your mother to be with him?"
"I've told you a million times—Raymond is my best friend. Don't you get that? If you're just being petty, you can just admit it. But don't use my mom as an excuse."
Raymond was Yedda's so-called best friend.
Their relationship was so close that they drank from the same bottle, wore matching outfits, and were overly familiar.
She used to justify it, saying, "I don't even think of him as a guy. And if we wanted to be together, it would've happened by now."
I loved her and believed her.
But as my tolerance grew, so did their inappropriate behavior.
They no longer avoided being alone together, and it led to countless arguments between Yedda and me—so many that I had already considered divorce.
But with Adelaide in the hospital battling late-stage cancer, I didn't want to add to her stress.
Now that Adelaide was gone, what reason did I have to stay?
"Think what you want," I replied coldly. "I'll send you the divorce papers later."
Yedda was stunned, but Raymond tightened his grip on her shoulder, standing tall as if he had won.
"Mate, I blacked out last night, and Yedda only helped me home because she was worried.
"You keep saying you love her, but you want a divorce over something this small? That's not very manly."
I let out a dry laugh and retorted, "If you were a real man, you wouldn't have gotten so drunk that you needed a married woman to take care of you.
"If you were a real man, you would've had the sense to call a cab instead of depending on her.
"I don't think you're much of a man, Raymond. In fact, what you're doing doesn't even qualify as human."
Smack.
Yedda slapped me across the face hard.
Yedda's face was etched with anger and disappointment.
"Raymond was sick all night yesterday. He was worried you'd be upset, so he came with me today to apologize.
"How could you scold him?"
Raymond immediately responded, "It doesn't matter if he yells at me. I'm more worried about your hand. Does it hurt?"