A Marriage Never Meant To Be

she wailed into Ethan' s chest. "I wanted to see if it was fixable, and now

heaving. It was a masterful performance of guilt

r. He glared at me over the top of her h

, were standing in the doorway. They must have come up with Chloe. Thei

tle but chiding. "She was just trying to

h added, moving to rub Chloe' s back.

, the constant emotional erosion, the deliberate destruction of something sacred. They saw what Chlo

iting, hoping for a flicker of recogni

upset her. This is exactly what my mother was talking about. You're being dramatic and c

ely, piece by piece, destroyed the last physical thing I had of my b

n't just break; it turn

d not

eavier than Chloe's fake tears. I watched the confusion in his eyes turn to anger, then to frustration. He didn't understand. He didn

my resignation from this relations

l-sniffling Chloe and their friends toward the door. He

authority, like a father scolding a child. "You need to get your atti

He just closed the door, lea

fume. Then, I looked at the crushed remains of the watch on the floor. A small, bitter laugh esc

straight. That's

a problem to be managed, an obligation to be ful

e could fix this, was extinguished. My plan to leave wasn'