On New Year’s Eve, my husband got into a fight with someone at a hotel while staying there with my college classmate, Gia. When the police called me to sign some paperwork and pay the fine, I found him comforting Gia, who was sobbing pitifully with tears streaming down her face. As soon as he saw me, a guilty smile tugged at his lips. “Gia’s building was evacuated due to an incident,” he said quickly, “I was just keeping her company.” If this had been in the past, I would’ve broken down, yelling and demanding answers. But tonight, I calmly signed the papers, paid the fine, and brought him out of the police station. Outside, he beamed at me, his face full of relief. “You’re the best, honey. I was so worried you’d be upset with me.” I forced a faint smile. What was there to be upset about? I didn’t love him anymore. Being angry seemed like a waste of energy. “Babe, the car’s parked outside the hotel. Drive us back,” Ewan said as we left the station. I had planned to head straight home after bailing him out, but he insisted on a detour. I didn’t bother questioning him. Instead, I nodded and turned toward the hotel. “You should drive, honey. I had a bit to drink,” he added as he climbed into the backseat. Gia followed suit, slipping in beside him. Sliding into the driver’s seat, I adjusted the mirror and caught sight of a pink sticker on the dashboard. A soft chuckle escaped me, bitter and dry. Since learning Ewan had taken Gia for rides in the passenger seat more times than I could count, I hadn’t set foot in his car. Now, seeing that the front seat had been personalized to suit her tastes, it was hard not to notice how comfortable she had become in claiming her territory. Following my gaze, Ewan flushed slightly and hurried to explain, “Oh, don’t mind that, babe. Gia’s still a kid at heart. You know how they are.” “A kid?” I said flatly, shifting into reverse. Funny how he conveniently forgot Gia and I had graduated the same year. Over the past three years, Ewan treated this car like a treasure, never letting me so much as adjust the air freshener without complaint. Yet, within a year, Gia could redecorate without a word of protest. I couldn’t help but admire her tactics. She had made herself at home so quickly it was almost impressive. Back when this mess started, it was during a dinner party. Gia had been lamenting her struggles at work, and out of some misguided sense of nostalgia for our college years, I asked Ewan to offer her a role as an intern. At first, he griped about her incompetence, calling it a waste of time. But as time went on, they became closer. His complaints lessened, replaced by casual compliments. By the time I caught on to what was happening, it was far too late. Take tonight, for example. He claimed he’d be away on a business trip, yet there he was, comforting Gia while the police waited for someone to pay the fine for his drunken brawl. He had punched a passerby, who was furious and called the police. They were both taken away, which led to what happened next. When I arrived, Ewan was even half-naked, yet he was still comforting Gia, who was crying uncontrollably. If it were in the past, I would have screamed and cursed him out loud. But today, I just signed the papers and bailed him out. Pretending to be indifferent, I asked, “Really? What accident?” Ewan thought for a while and then blurted out, “Uh… Gas leak. Otherwise, she wouldn’t end up in a hotel.” His lie made me sigh. I kept driving, and when we reached an intersection, Ewan seemed to remember something. “Let’s drop Gia off first,” he said. “She’s had a rough night.” I glanced at him through the rearview mirror, watching how his shoulder pressed against hers. Who knew what else they were doing out of sight? “I’m tired,” I replied evenly. “I’d rather head home. You two can figure it out from there.” Gia’s soft, simpering voice chimed in from the backseat. “It’s okay, Ewan. I don’t want to trouble Cici any more tonight. She’s already done so much.” Her tone, full of faux innocence, was enough to make my stomach churn. But Ewan, tipsy and evidently emboldened, snapped at me. “Cici, I told you to stop! Are you deaf?”
“Stop the car! Now!” He slammed a fist against the back of my seat, jolting me. My foot instinctively pressed the brake as I turned to glare at him in disbelief. Was he insane? Didn’t he know I was driving? Before I could scold him, Ewan stormed out of the backseat and yanked open my door. He unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me out. “Ewan, what the hell?” The icy pavement caught my heel, and I slipped, landing hard on the frozen ground. My knee throbbed as it struck the edge of the curb. Ewan glanced down at me, his earlier guilt evaporating completely, replaced by pure irritation. “Cici, stop playing games. What’s the big deal about turning the car around? You’re just being petty because you have a problem with Gia, aren’t you? If you don’t want to drive, I will!” My knee throbbed from where it had slammed against the curb, and I grimaced, biting back the sharp words on the tip of my tongue. But before I could say anything, Ewan had already turned away and climbed into the driver’s seat. The car door slammed shut with a loud thud, and he didn’t spare me another glance. Gia stepped out of the backseat and slid into the passenger seat. As she passed me, she gave me a smug look and pretended to be apologetic. “Cici, are you okay? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen…” she murmured. “Gia! Get in the car. There’s no need to talk to her,” Ewan barked, his voice cutting through the icy air. Gia froze as she pretended to help me up. Then, she nodded obediently and slipped into the passenger seat. “Ewan! You’ve been drinking. You can’t drive!” I shouted, my voice rising in desperation. The only response was the rev of the engine as the car peeled away, disappearing into the night. Standing there in the biting cold, dressed too lightly for the weather, I couldn’t muster the energy to care whether Ewan got pulled over for drunk driving or not. It took me half an hour to flag down a cab, half an hour of shivering in the freezing wind. By the time I stepped through the front door of our apartment, my body was numb, and my heart felt as frozen as my hands. I couldn’t even shed a tear. A year had passed, and my passion for Ewan had died. Ewan was already home, lounging on the couch as if nothing had happened. “You said you were out of town for a business trip. Why did the police call me to pick you up from a fight?” I demanded, my voice colder than the wind outside. For a moment, he faltered, his expression slipping into unease before settling into a defensive scowl. “I told you already, didn’t I? Gia’s building had a gas leak, and they evacuated everyone. I didn’t want to stress you out, so I just said I was out of town. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?” His deflection was so clumsy, so transparently false, that I didn’t even have the energy to argue. Instead, I waved him off and retreated to the bedroom, unwilling to waste my breath on another pointless fight. The next morning, I woke up to a fever burning through my body. Every inch of me ached, and my throat felt like it was lined with sandpaper. Ewan noticed my pale face and furrowed brow, and for the first time in months, he seemed genuinely concerned. “Babe, I’m sorry about last night. You know how I get when I’ve had too much to drink. Are you okay? I’ll make you some soup,” he offered, his voice unusually soft. I stayed silent, pulling the blanket tighter around me. Just as he turned to leave the room, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. The screen lit up with Gia’s name, her caller ID photo smiling mockingly at me.
Ewan hesitated, his phone in hand, staring at the screen for a few moments before reluctantly answering. His face betrayed a flicker of hesitation as though he was torn between wanting to pacify me and the inopportune timing of Gia’s call ruining the fragile truce he’d been trying to build. I turned my head away, unwilling to be part of whatever excuse or justification he was about to make. Seeing my reaction, Ewan sighed and finally answered. “Hello?” “Hi, Ewan. Why didn’t you come to work today?” Gia’s sweet voice came through the receiver, making my stomach churn. Ewan glanced at me. It was as if he wanted to prove to me that he and Gia had nothing to hide. Instead of stepping away or lowering his voice, he replied as though he were dictating the conversation for my benefit. “Cici’s sick. I stayed home to take care of her.” There was a pause on the other end, followed by a delicate cough. “Oh no, really? It must’ve been from last night. The cold snap’s been brutal. I’m starting to feel under the weather too. Tell Cici to take care of herself, okay? And, um, Ewan, could you pick up some medicine for me on your way in?” “You’re sick too? What symptoms are you having?” After the call ended, Ewan became visibly distracted. Halfway through making soup, he gave up altogether. “Hey, I should head to the office and check on things,” he said, wiping his hands on a towel. “I’ll order some soup for you, and you can grab it from the door when it arrives.” “Got it,” I replied flatly, watching him hurriedly grab his coat. As he left, I felt a strange emptiness settle over me. I wasn’t heartbroken, but being weighed, found wanting, and discarded left a bitter taste in my mouth. Ewan and I met in our second year of college, dated for two years, and got married shortly after graduation. Five years later, the man standing before me now felt like a stranger. Gia had been part of my life, too. She was a friend from college, albeit not a close one. How she developed feelings for Ewan or when she began acting on them, I couldn’t say. In our student days, she’d seemed ordinary enough, bright and cheerful, like most people. It wasn’t until years into adulthood that I realized how easily some people shed their morals under pressure. Ewan’s betrayal blindsided me. He’d always been a bit careless but had never treated our relationship like a joke. Yet, in the span of a single year, he’d managed to unravel everything we had. The soup arrived quickly, but the delivery receipt bore Gia’s name and number, with only the address swapped. The delivery man muttered irritably about unreturned calls as he handed over the bag. I sighed, opened the package, and found a container of seafood soup, something I couldn’t stomach, and a few generic over-the-counter pills that didn’t match my symptoms. It wasn’t hard to piece together what had happened. Ewan hadn’t ordered these. Gia had. I ended up going to the hospital myself. By the time I’d registered, bought medication, and gotten an IV drip, night had fallen, and snowflakes were gently swirling outside. Ewan eventually tracked me down, looking disheveled and windblown. The first thing out of his mouth, however, was a sharp reprimand. “Didn’t I already order you soup and medicine? Why are you making such a fuss and coming here like you’re trying to get admitted?” I stared at him, then past him, where Gia hovered by the door. The sight of her clinging to the edges of our lives, coupled with Ewan’s obliviousness, made my fatigue and disgust overflow. “Ewan,” I said, my voice calm but resolute, “let’s get a divorce.”
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