Those words sat in my chest like a wad of wet cotton, suffocating and heavy.
I wiped the tears from my face and pointed at the door.：“Get out!”
“If we're divorced, then get out of my house! My son stays with me. Get out!”
The hand holding his cigarette dropped to his side, and something like guilt crept across his face.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Karl came running over from the couch where he'd been playing with his toys, his little feet pattering against the floor.
He threw himself at Murray's leg and clung tight, his small face set hard, glaring at me like I was the enemy：
“I don't want to stay with you. I want to be with Daddy and my new mommy.”
I stared at this child I had carried for nine months, the child they'd cut me open three layers deep to deliver, and felt something tear wide open inside my chest.
Cold wind howled through the gap, straight through my body.
My own son, my own flesh and blood, had sided with his father against me.
It could only have been a few seconds, but it stretched longer than a century.
“Then you get out too. Go with your father. Get out of my house.” The words ripped from my throat, raw and hoarse, my eyes burning red.
Murray stubbed out his cigarette, reached over, and closed his fingers around my wrist. The look in his eyes was complicated.
He turned to Karl, his voice sharp with reproach：“Karl, you can't talk to your mother like that! Apologize to her right now!”
Karl pressed his lips together and stared at me without saying a word.
“Eva, just give me some time, okay? You're the only one I love. We have ten years together.”
He softened his voice and tried to pull me into his arms.
The next second, a distinct ringtone cut through the air. He glanced at the caller ID on the screen and picked up without a moment's hesitation.
Iris's coy, wheedling voice floated through from the other end.
“Honey, I just saw a bracelet online. It's so pretty.”
Murray let out a low chuckle, his tone dripping with indulgence：“I'm heading home with Karl soon. We'll swing by the mall and I'll grab it for you.”
Iris：“Thanks, honey.”
Murray pocketed his phone and looked at me：“I……Karl and I will come see you another time.”
The man who had just sworn I was the only one he loved took Karl by the hand and walked toward the door. Karl turned back and stuck his tongue out at me.
The door slammed shut with a ‘bang’ and something inside me broke loose. I crumpled to the floor, sobbing into the cold tile.
But no matter how broken I felt, life didn't stop. The next morning I dragged myself to work, my eyes still swollen and red.
Murray and Iris were standing side by side in the office, holding bags of wedding favors.
“Manager Hughes finally brought his wife out to meet everyone! She's gorgeous!”
“We always wondered why he never brought his plus-one to company dinners. Turns out he was keeping her all to himself.”
“Well, I guess certain people can finally give up their little fantasies, huh?”
A coworker who'd never liked me let her gaze drift in my direction, her eyes sliding over me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe.
Their intertwined hands seared into my vision, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the bitter sting rising in my throat.
Murray used to say that office romances reflected poorly on leadership, that we should act like any other boss and employee at work.
I'd always respected that. I thought he was principled, that he refused to let personal feelings compromise his professionalism.
Turns out his principles only ever applied to me.
“You must be Eva! Thank you so much for taking care of Murray all these years. Here, these are wedding favors from the two of us.”
Iris walked over to me with a bright smile, grabbed my hand before I could pull away, and pressed the candy into my palm.
Then she leaned in close and dropped her voice, triumph oozing from every syllable：“Eva Cox, you really are a failure as a woman. If I were you, I wouldn't even have the nerve to show my face in this world.”
