She’d been harassing Ethan, banging on his
door in the middle of the night, causing the
neighbors to call the police. When the cops
arrived, Chloe had declared that the
apartment was hers, so it wasn’t trespassing.
As for the noise complaint, she denied
everything. The neighbors gave up and went
back inside. The next morning, Ethan found
his front door covered in dog and cat urine.
He moved out that night.
“Ethan, I have no feelings left for you. Seeing
you makes me physically ill. I don’t care if you
sleep with Chloe right in front of me. I just
L
want a divorce.”
He stared at me, hurt flickering in his eyes. “No, Olivia! What do I have to do? I’ll get
down on my knees, if that’s what it takes!”
In front of the stunned police officer, Ethan struggled out of bed and knelt before me, then slapped himself hard across the face. His cheek reddened, and blood trickled from his lip. “Olivia, please. I can’t live without
you.”
<
His pleas echoed in the quiet room. Nurses
stopped in the hallway to stare. I looked at his
crocodile tears, remembering the night I’d
begged him.
I’d pleaded with him to end things with Chloe,
for the sake of our marriage. He’d been on
the couch, playing with his phone, a soft
smile on his face as he read Chloe’s
messages. He’d looked up at me coldly.
“Olivia, you’re such a buzzkill. Can you relax?
Relationships aren’t everything. You’re
suffocating me.”
<
I hadn’t slept that night.
“Please, Olivia, can’t you forgive me?” Ethan’s
voice cracked.
“Fine,” I said.
His face lit up. “Really? You forgive me?”
