There was no way to refuse, so I sent back a simple "Okay."

Mom followed up with another message right away.

[By the way, when are you and Clement coming home for dinner?]

[How about the day after tomorrow? Your brothers are both coming back from out of town.]

[It's been so long since we've all gotten together.]

She was right. Before I knew it, nearly half a year had passed since our last visit.

I was about to say yes when Clement pushed the door open and walked in.

"My parents want us over for dinner the day after tomorrow. Don't forget."

"Oh, and they said that goose from last time was great."

"Tell your dad to slaughter another one and have it sent over tomorrow."

He said it all as casually as if he were reading off a grocery list.

"The day after tomorrow doesn't work. Some other time," I said, keeping my voice as level as I could manage. "And my dad's busy tomorrow. If your family wants goose, go buy one. They're not expensive."

He stared at me, confused.

I didn't look at him. Just kept talking.

"Besides, my parents want us home for dinner the day after tomorrow too. My brothers are back from out of town. It's rare that we can all be in one place."

Clement hurled the towel in his hand onto the bed.

The air in the room, already thick with tension, pulled even tighter.

"Would it kill you to talk like a normal person?"

"It's one goose. Why are you being so cheap about it?"

I sat up straight and looked him dead in the eye.

"My family doesn't raise geese."

"The ones last time were a gift from a relative. There were only two. My dad brought one over to us the same day, didn't even save one for my brothers."

The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Well, isn't that how it should be?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"How it should be?"

"Clement, do you even hear yourself?"

"What did I say that's so wrong?" He stood in the doorway, towering over me, looking down. "You married me so your future kids could have a city address. Let's not pretend otherwise. So what if your family helps out a little?"

The words hit me like a slap. My ears rang.

It was true that my mother had once said something along those lines.

But I had never thought of it that way. Not once.

The room went impossibly quiet. So quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.

The silence stretched on and on. I was the one who broke it.

"Say that again."

He must have realized he'd gone too far, but an apology never came.

"Just tell your parents I don't have time this week. We'll figure something out after things settle down."

I laughed.

I actually laughed. The kind of laugh that only comes when someone pushes you past your limit.

"You have time to eat at your parents' house, but not mine?"

"Yeah, my family lives out in the country. But your parents' place on the edge of the suburbs is even farther!"

"And your job. Who got you that job in the first place? Remind me."

"That's enough!" Clement glared at me, his face flushed with anger.

"This is about the money, isn't it? You're still mad I told you not to take a cut?"

"Let me make this clear. That's my family's money. I said we don't want it, and that's final!"

Every word I'd been swallowing all night came roaring out.

"I never once thought about taking money from your family! Not from the very beginning!"

"And even if I wanted to, do you really think your parents and your two brothers would let me?!"

His face went ashen. "Think whatever you want. Here's what's happening: the day after tomorrow, we go to my parents' house."

"And if you don't show up, we're getting a divorce."

The bedroom door slammed shut behind him so hard the walls shook.

I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

My phone buzzed again. Mom.

[Meg, can you make it the day after tomorrow? Your dad went out today and bought that fish you love. He's keeping it alive in a basin for you.]

I stared at that message for a long time.

Then I opened the door and walked into the living room.

Clement was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened.

"Fine. Tomorrow we go to the County Clerk's Office."

My voice came out so steady it surprised even me.

He looked up, stunned. Clearly he hadn't expected me to actually agree to a divorce.

I wasn't joking around with him anymore.

"From now on, you go your way and I'll go mine."

"You won't have to spend every day thinking I married above my station."

"Because you, Clement Chavez, never deserved me in the first place."

When I agreed to the divorce, the explosion of rage I'd braced for never came.

Clement just blinked, then nodded.

"Sure. Tomorrow at ten. County Clerk's Office."

He agreed too quickly. Unnervingly quickly.

He didn't even say another word. Just turned around and went back to watching TV.

I stood in the bedroom doorway, but in my heart, I already understood.

Looking back over the past few months, he really had changed.

The overtime had gotten more and more frequent. He came home later and later.

He'd changed his phone password. Started bringing it into the bathroom when he showered.

Every now and then I caught a whiff of perfume on his jacket, a brand that wasn't mine.

Every time I asked, he'd frown.

"Picked it up at a work dinner. Stop being paranoid."

And I'd actually believed him.

Now that I thought about it, he probably saw me as a fool.

"I don't have time tomorrow. Let's make it the day after."

He didn't even turn around. "Works for me. We can finalize the divorce, then go have dinner and break the news."

I barely slept that night. I lay there staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The next day, I left work an hour early.

At five o'clock sharp, I stood outside the convenience store across from his office building.

Coffee in hand. Eyes locked on the lobby exit.

At five forty, he appeared.

Not alone.

A young woman walked beside him. Early twenties, by the look of her. Long hair, dressed trendy but fresh-faced.

They were close together, laughing as they walked.

She said something, and he reached over and ruffled her hair.

I followed them all the way to a restaurant.

The girl was feeding him cake with a fork, her eyes crinkling into little crescents when she smiled.

I walked straight to their table.

Clement looked up. The smile on his face froze solid.

The girl followed his gaze and turned around.

When she saw me, her expression shifted from confusion to surprise.

Then to a flicker of smugness she barely bothered to hide.

"This is why you want the divorce. Isn't it?"

My face was blank when I asked him.

Since last night, my heart had already gone cold toward him.

Even now, learning he'd been cheating, I wasn't all that surprised.

Clement panicked for a few seconds, then quickly composed himself.

And did the one thing I genuinely hadn't expected.

He reached out and took the young woman's hand.

"Since you've seen it, there's no point hiding it anymore."

"This is Hayley Porter. She's the new assistant in our department."

Hayley didn't speak. She just gazed at Clement with adoring eyes.

I listened, but something inside me had already died.

"So she's the one you've been cheating with."

"Don't make it sound so ugly." Clement frowned. "We're simply a better match."

Hayley picked her moment to chime in, her voice syrupy sweet.

"Meg, you can't force these things."

"Clement and I are happy together. I hope you can let him go gracefully."

She called me Meg, like we were familiar. I was barely a few years older than her.

"Gracefully?"

I repeated the word. It tasted like a joke.

Hayley blinked. "You're not getting any younger. Dragging this out isn't good for anyone."

"Why don't we end this on good terms? At least we'd all walk away with some dignity."

I looked at Clement, the man I'd married three years ago.

He didn't argue. He just stared at the table.

As if he agreed with every word Hayley had said.

"Clement, do you remember what you said on our wedding day?"

He looked up, his gaze shifting.

"You said you'd be good to me for the rest of your life."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Turns out your 'rest of your life' only lasted three years."

Hayley was getting impatient.

"What's the point of bringing all that up now? Clement loves me—"

She didn't get to finish.

I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.

"You... how dare you hit me?"

The slap stunned her. She stood frozen, clutching her cheek.

A few seconds later, her eyes turned red, tears pooling along her lashes.

I lowered my stinging hand. "That's for being a homewrecker."

"Women like you aren't welcome anywhere."

She tried to lunge forward, ready to argue.

I raised my hand again, and she flinched.

She scrambled behind Clement, grabbing fistfuls of his sleeve.

Clement's jaw tightened as he stepped in front of her.

"Are you done?"

"It is what it is. What else is there to say?"

I looked into his eyes. The warmth that had once lived there was gone.

All that remained was indifference and irritation.

So I nodded. "You're right. It is what it is. No point in trying to save something that's already dead."

"The divorce terms: the house goes to me, the car goes to me."

"If you agree to leave the marriage with nothing, we can head to the county clerk's office right now."

Clement was quiet for a few seconds. Then he nodded.

"Fine. I'll leave with nothing."

That easy? I hadn't expected that.

Beside him, Hayley's face changed. She tugged at his sleeve.

"You're giving up the house? Then where are we going to live?"

Clement leaned toward her and lowered his voice. "My family's property is about to be demolished. If I want, I'll get at least a million or two from the settlement."

"Plus I'm about to get promoted. I can take care of you."

Hayley pursed her lips but said nothing more.

The resentment in her eyes, though, was hard to miss.

I turned and walked out.

At the county clerk's office, Clement showed up with Hayley in tow.

She clung to his arm like she was staking a claim.

The paperwork went surprisingly fast.

When the clerk asked about the property division, I handed over the agreement.

"All set."

The clerk stamped the papers and handed us each a divorce certificate.

Walking out through the front doors, I actually felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

After all, the one who'd be suffering from here on out was the assistant.

The next evening, I went to the Chavez house for dinner as planned.

And to let them know that Clement and I were divorced.

I showed up empty-handed.

When I knocked, my former mother-in-law opened the door with a warm smile.

The moment she noticed my empty hands, that smile froze on her face.

"Meg, you're here."

"Come in."

Her voice cooled several degrees as she turned and walked back inside.

My former father-in-law took off his reading glasses and looked up curiously. "Where's the goose?"

"Didn't bring one."

I changed into house slippers and stepped inside.

Clement came out of the bedroom, glanced at me, and said nothing.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was stiff.

Four dishes: two vegetable sides and two plates of leftovers.

Halfway through the meal, Clement set down his chopsticks.

"Dad, Mom, there's something I need to tell you—"

Before he could finish, his mother cut in.

"Meg, dear, I heard your family's property is being demolished?"

My hand paused over the dishes.

Clement looked surprised. "Well, that's quite a coincidence. Both our families are getting demolition notices at the same time."

"Our house is getting demolished? Since when? How come nobody told me?" Gloria asked, confused.

"Wasn't that what you just said?"

Clement trailed off, and something seemed to click. He turned to me with a strange expression.

"The demolition you're talking about... is your family's house?!"

I ignored him. Across the table, Earl's eyes had taken on an eager gleam.

"That's right! I heard the Dickersons are getting six million dollars for the demolition!"