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."
