Isn't that just typical? Our marriage always played by her rules, my needs and words forever in the backseat.
Jane throwing everything away for Winston wasn't a shock.
But her skipping our daughter's funeral to be with him? That I never saw coming.
Holding onto a faint hope, I had expected at least a sliver of remorse from Jane on that call.
None came.
Her earlier apology wasn't for Emily—it was out of fear I knew about her fling with Winston.
It felt like a slap across my face, the sting fierce and burning.
My fingers shaking, I typed out a message.
[Jane, let's get a divorce.]
I sent it, and then immediately pulled it back.
It almost slipped my mind—we never did get that marriage license.
I headed back from the cemetery to what she calls home, really just a pit stop for Jane.
She's glued to Winston, only gracing our home with her presence if I plead enough for her to see Emily, just for a night.
By morning, she's out, treating us like the plague.
I cleaned Emily's room meticulously, wiping away the dust and setting everything in order.
Then I tossed out all of Jane's things and told her assistant to haul them off.
But the assistant never showed—Jane did.
Winston tagged along, looking worse for wear.
"Mike, what's the matter with you? Kicking all my stuff to the curb—are you out of your mind?"
She strutted in on spindly heels, brows knitted but unable to mask the radiance of her face or the tell-tale hickeys that spoke of last night's indulgences.
At that moment, I was done talking.
Emily's gone, why didn't you show up, do you even consider us family... Seeing those love bites, I suddenly didn't want to know anything more.
This condo was supposed to be our marital nest. Initially, I wanted Jane's name alongside mine on the deed, but she outright refused, content with a ceremony, no legal strings attached.
Back then, it broke my heart, and left me feeling insecure, begging her to reconsider.
Now, it seems not tying the knot legally spared me a world of hassle.
Jane thought I was just having a tantrum, given my deep love for her.
She snapped, "It was just a mock funeral, right? Not real. We can always do another one tomorrow."
"No need."
With Emily gone, nothing matters anymore.
Winston, ever the charmer, clasped Jane's arm, casting me a defiant glance.
"Bro, had another heart episode last night. Jane didn't mean to bail—it's on me, this broken-down body always dragging you down."