~Chapter One ~

ANNA’S POV

“Honey, how do I look?” I asked and turned towards him from the small plush couch where I sat, brushing my sleek brown hair at my vanity.

“Terrible,” He blurted out; his words hit me harder than I expected. My breath got trapped in my throat.

Ethan, my husband, stood in the middle of the room looking as handsome as ever, his sharp jaw line framed by his perfectly styled hair. He had one hand pocketed in his pants, the other scrolled through his phone. He barely looked up from the screen.

“People would tell me I deserve better,” he added, with a casual cruelty that left my chest feeling hollow.

I had spent nearly an hour to get ready, hoping, just once, to impress him—to bring back the warmth in his eyes that disappeared long ago. But all I got was his rejection again.

The wide smile I had painted on my face slowly decreased, and my gaze dropped in disappointment. Ethan used to compliment me, effortlessly making me feel like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.

But as we hit our second year of marriage, it felt like he no longer cared. He put no effort into making me feel wanted anymore.

“Do—Do you want me to change?” I stuttered as I tried to keep my voice steady. “I can pull off something better than this. Just give me a minute”. I stood quickly and moved towards the closet; my heart pounded.

“Anna, His voice was sharp, impatient. “The dinner starts in twenty minutes; we’re leaving.”

Before I could respond, he walked out of the room; his footsteps faded into the hallway. For a moment, I stood there, hoping he’d turn around and soften, tell me he was just tired, and compliment me. But he didn’t.

“Okay, darling,” I whispered after him and forced a bright smile onto my face, even though my heart felt heavier than it should. Ethan was my first love.

There had been signs—countless signs. Lipstick stains on the collar of his shirts, the scent of another woman’s perfume that couldn’t be mistaken. Late nights he spent at the office, unexplained business trips that would last longer than they should.

But I never confronted him. I couldn’t. I loved him too much—or maybe I loved the idea of what we used to be. More than that, I loved our marriage, and I would do anything to protect it, even if it meant keeping silent and pretending not to notice his infidelity.

What else could I do? Without him, I was nothing.

I hurriedly grabbed my purse and followed him out of the house, feeling the tension tighten with every step I took. I slipped into the passenger seat of his sleek black car, and the silence inside was suffocating.

Ethan let out an exasperated sigh as I buckled my seatbelt, and he immediately put the car in reverse, pulling out of the driveway with a sharp jerk. My eyes lingered on him, and I watched as his strong hands gripped the steering wheel.

I reached over, attempting to smooth the small patch of hair that had stuck out awkwardly even after he had brushed it.

I hesitated, but the words came out anyway.

“Do you ever think maybe we could...consider having a baby?”

His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“I hate when you try to force answers out of me, Anna,” he muttered through gritted teeth. My hand, which had been resting gently on his shoulder, recoiled as if I had touched fire.

“No, I wasn’t trying to—“

“Several times, Anna. I’ve made it clear: I don’t want a baby. Not from anyone, and especially not from you. You think you’d make a good mother?”

His words were a blow straight to my heart. I could feel it shatter inside my chest, but still, I forced a smile, keeping my voice as light as possible.

“But…we used to talk about it,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Before we got married, you said—“

“That was before,” he snapped, cutting me off. His knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “Before I realised what a mistake this was.”

His harsh words echoed in my ears, and my hands gripped the seat beneath me as I tried to steady myself. A mistake? How could he say that? How could he throw away everything we had? Everything we built together.

I opened my mouth to speak, to ask him what had changed, but the answer was right in front of me. It was all over his clothes, in the scent that clung to him like a second skin.

He didn’t want me anymore. He wanted her.

Whoever “her” was, she was obviously better than me since she got my husband wrapped around her fingers.

When we finally pulled up in front of his friend’s house, Ethan swerved into the driveway with a single harsh motion and jerked the car to stop. Without a word, he turned off the engine.

“I’d prefer it if you remained quiet for the rest of the night. You tend to speak nonsense whenever you open your mouth,” he said, with a sneer.

“Ethan…” My voice broke and trembled with plea. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.”

He didn’t even look at me. “Get out of the car, Anna,” he said coldly. “Begging every time like a hypocrite. You need to change.”

With that, he got out of the car and slammed the door behind him, leaving me sitting there with tears that threatened to spill over. But I couldn’t cry, not now.

Ethan didn’t hate me, I told myself. He just wanted me to be better. He was right—I needed to stop whining, and I would do whatever I could to change for him.

The rest of the dinner was filled with laughter and clinking glasses. But I barely noticed; my mind was too clouded with thoughts of Ethan, of the woman he was probably seeing, of the life that was slipping through my fingers.

Ethan, of course, didn’t seem bothered. He looked like nothing had happened between us, and he spent most of the night texting or sneaking glances at his phone. Leaving me to smile and laugh along with everyone else, though my heart wasn’t in it.

When we arrived back home, Ethan stormed into the bedroom first. My heart raced—I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to know. I needed to hear the truth, even if it kills me.

“Ethan..” I called softly as I stepped into the room.

“I know something’s been wrong between us for a while, and I know you’re seeing someone else.”

He stopped in his tracks; his back still turned to me, but he didn’t deny it. He didn’t say a word.

“I love you,” I whispered. “I love our marriage. Please, I can change. I’ll do anything to make this work. Just...don’t leave me.”

. He turned around slowly; his face was cold and unreadable, and he threw a brown envelope at my feet.

“Here,” he said flatly,

My chest tightened as confusion washed over me.

“W-what is this?” I asked, and my voice shook as I slowly bent down to pick up the envelope. But the papers inside had already spilt out onto the floor. My heart dropped as I read the words at the top of the page.

“I want a divorce, Anna.”