The 100-Point Divorce Plan

t was my 100-point divorce plan: for every time my husband, Blake, chose his firs

bleeding out from a car crash. I was eight we

y called him-the star surgeon of

out. She's pregnant, and we're about to lose them both

er the speaker, c

ld. Do what you can for the patient,

death to ensure his ex-girlfriend had re

pte

er expected to f

nst a leather-bound journal tucked away in a shoebox, hidden behind Caroline' s winter boots. It wasn't hers; her journals were always b

roline' s neat, precise handwri

He read the rul

g Point

s this marriage is a mistak

zero, I will file for

lly game his wife was playing. He flipped through the pages. Each

nniversary. Again. He was

because Ariana' s dog was sick. He

called me Ari

vintage wine I' d been searching for, on

e, not guilt. He saw it not as a record of his failures, but as a testament to Caroline' s obsession with his fri

ble choice from a good family, a person who could manage the Santos household

nothing. He found his cufflinks and shut the closet door, the notebook already fading from his mind. He had more important things to think

a large pad, her brow furrowed in concentration. She looked up when he e

arly," she said

he replied, loosening his tie

er eyes dimmed

a drawing of a nursery, detailed and full of soft light. A crib, a mobile with tiny stars, a rocking chair. He felt a

lient?" he asked

osed the sketchbook

looked at the clock. He should leave soon. He wanted to be t

etween them, when his phone ran

news! Now!" Mark'

eport filled the screen. A building was engulfed in flames. Thick blac

d Gallery downtown, where a massive fire broke out

blood r

ia

nd bolted for the door without a word to Caroline. He didn' t look back. He

her needed to see it for herself. She drove through the city, her hands tig

ing lights, the roar of the fire. Blake had abandoned his car a

o get her!" Blake yelled,

The structure is unstable!"

care! She'

restrain him. "Blake, cal

ine had never heard from him. Not for her. Never for her. He looked at the burni

ay and made a run

? I' m Blake Santos! These hands are insured for millions! They perform miracles! But I

fession. A truth so brutal

ding in the shadows, her fac

line..

e' s been obsessed with Ariana since high school. I thought m

just neglect. It was a love story she had no par

She had decorated their home, managed his social obligations, comforted him after long surgeries, and endured his

ll along, in every missed anniversary, every canceled plan, e

e. A way to give herself a finish line, an escape hatch from a marriage that was hollowing her out. And to

ious, coughing, but otherwise seemed unharmed. He held her like she was the most precious thing in the w

ce looked f

e' s body finally gave out. The adrenaline faded, and he c

k. She remembered the charity gala where she first met him. He was the most brilliant, captivating man she had ever seen.

hat. But when he proposed six months later, she thought she had wo

, drunk and loose-lipped, telling someone the truth. "Blake only married her because Ariana got mar

marriage. It was the day she went out and bought the plain black journal. It was her la

elerated everything. The points on her list disappeared with terrif

antos? Your husband is stable. He inhaled a lot of smoke, but he

ne, he' ll come to his senses," Sarah said, placing a hand on h

te in her mouth. She stood up and walked o

walked to the closet and took out the bla

n into a burning

d he would give up

er pen. Her ha

saving her, and his first and l

a few points left. Very