1 The ninety-ninth time I fished my cat out of the dumpster, I sat on the curb downstairs and stared into space for half an hour. It was only when the streetlights flickered on, casting long, hollow shadows across the pavement, that I finally dragged my feet back up to the apartment. The door was deadbolted from the inside. Mochi was shivering violently in my arms, his white fur soaked and smelling of rotten garbage. Numbly, I knocked on the heavy wooden door. Through the gap, my wife’s cold, detached voice drifted out. “His fur got into Dustin’s bowl today. As punishment, he’s locked out for the week.” Dustin was a college student we used to sponsor together. Now, he was her live-in boy toy. He claimed to have severe germophobia and hated cats, which was all Valerie needed to throw Mochi out ninety-eight times before this. I squeezed the shivering cat closer to my chest. Staring at the blank face of the locked door, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me. I didn’t want to go in anymore. Mochi trembled against me. I stood on the rainy street for what felt like an eternity before an Uber driver finally agreed to take a guy with a soaking, smelly cat. The vet was just about to lock up when I pushed the door open. He paused, looking at me with a mixture of pity and frustration. “How many times has it been this month, Gavin?” I kept my head down, gently running my thumb over Mochi’s ears. “Sixteen.” Mochi nudged my palm with his wet pink nose. He was always so sweet. Meeting his trusting eyes, I pictured him trapped inside that foul, suffocating dumpster, and a lump formed in my throat. Sixteen times in thirty days. For more than half of the month, my wife had treated my cat like actual trash. Last time, she said Dustin was studying for finals, and Mochi’s quiet meowing disrupted his focus. The time before that, she claimed Mochi shed a single hair on Dustin’s sweater, which warranted immediate banishment. She had a million excuses. But looking back, they all boiled down to one simple truth: Dustin didn’t like him. And if Dustin didn’t like something, it had no right to exist in our home. It wasn’t just the cat. It was our wedding photos, our shared keepsakes, our matching coffee mugs. All Dustin had to do was wrinkle his nose, and Valerie would throw them into the trash the very next morning. Three months ago, every physical trace of our ten-year relationship was wiped clean from the apartment. Yet, Dustin wasn’t satisfied. He targeted Mochi next. The first time she threw Mochi out, I lost my mind. I screamed at her until my throat bled, while she just watched me with flat, uncaring eyes. When I finally ran out of breath, she spoke in a maddeningly calm voice. “Dustin is young, and his family is states away. Since he’s staying with us, I’m responsible for him. I won’t let him feel uncomfortable in his own space.” “It’s just a cat, Gavin. If Dustin doesn’t like it, it goes.” We had rescued Mochi together from a rainy alleyway years ago. Valerie used to cuddle him, laughing as she called herself his mommy and me his daddy. Now, she was throwing him away for some boy. Rage blinded me, and the words tumbled out before I could stop them. “What does taking care of him even mean to you? Do you have to take care of him in our bed for it to count?” She scoffed, her eyes hardening into ice. “Can you stop being hysterical? You look pathetic acting like this.” The raw disgust in her gaze had frozen me in place, burning me with a deep, humiliating shame. Looking back at how I pleaded and screamed, she was right. I did look pathetic. I decided right then that I was done being hysterical. The vet took Mochi back for an exam and returned half an hour later. “No serious physical injuries this time,” he said, though his expression remained heavy. He sighed softly. “Look, Gavin… if your wife hates him this much, you need to find him a new home. A cat can’t take this kind of constant stress.” I stared at the floor for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Thank you, Doc. But don’t worry. It won’t happen again. Ever.” I wasn’t going back to that house. Neither was Mochi. I walked to a nearby budget hotel and booked a room. Just as the transaction cleared, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Valerie. Make sure you come back early tomorrow morning. Dustin wants those artisan bagels from Sullivan’s for breakfast. And don’t bring that cat back. It ruins Dustin’s mood. She didn’t ask where I was, or if I was okay walking alone in the dark. She only cared about her darling boy’s breakfast. I stared at the screen until my fingers grew stiff, then slowly hit delete. Valerie showed up at my office a week later. As I walked out at five, she was waiting by the entrance, holding a bouquet of white lilies. “Come home,” she said, giving me a soft, practiced smile. “I miss your honey-glazed ribs.” I looked at her, my heart entirely flat. It wasn’t her who loved those ribs. It was Dustin. She had come up with the most pathetic excuse just to recruit me back as their unpaid housekeeper. She shoved the flowers into my arms as if nothing had happened, then reached for my hand. “Let’s go. Dustin has a sensitive stomach, and eating late messes up his digestion.” I hadn’t agreed to go, but she didn’t care. She assumed that by throwing me a bone, I would eagerly jump at the chance to make up. I looked down at the lilies. The petals were already brown and withered at the edges. I tossed the bouquet into the trash can next to us. “That apartment isn’t my home anymore, Valerie. I’m not going back.” I pointed to the bin. “And by the way, I hate lilies. Dustin is the one who likes them.” Valerie’s hand froze in midair. The warm, accommodating facade vanished instantly. “You used to beg me to pick you up from work,” she said, her voice dropping into a sharp, defensive register. “Now I’m here, and I even bought you flowers. What more do you want from me, Gavin?” I had asked her to pick me up once, years ago. Back then, some nasty rumors were going around my office about me and my boss, and I wanted her to show up just to put them to rest. But when I begged her, she had dismissed me without a second thought. “Maybe next time. I’m too busy right now.” It was only later that I found out what she was so busy with. While I was struggling with anxiety and panic attacks, Valerie was busy spending her evenings building a massive custom Lego portrait with Dustin. They spent a whole week assembling a picture of the two of them leaning against each other, framed it, and hung it in our living room. Dustin had smirked at me when it was finished. “Gavin, look what Valerie and I made. Isn’t it cute? Your old wedding photo was so outdated anyway. This actually makes the living room feel alive.” Whether he was deliberately mocking me didn’t matter. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer. The room had gone dead silent. Valerie had shot me an annoyed look before turning to smile at Dustin. “Exactly. Your taste is so much better than Gavin’s. From now on, you get to decorate our home.” Our home. Who did she mean by “our”? Her and me, or her and Dustin? I couldn’t hold it in anymore. My voice shook as I confronted her. “I was drowning in rumors at work, begging you to help me clear my name, and you said you were too busy. Did you think about me once while you were playing with legos with him?” Valerie blinked, then scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. “But you’re fine now, aren’t you? Stop being so dramatic.” In that exact second, something vital inside me shattered. That was the day the silence began. Now, weeks later, here she was, treating this pick-up like a grand act of charity. The gesture I had once craved had finally arrived, but I had already survived the worst of the storm on my own. I didn’t need her anymore. I stepped around her, but she blocked my path. “Are you still throwing a tantrum over that cat?” she snapped. “Look, Dustin is being the bigger person here. He’s already forgiven you and that stupid cat.” “I promise, as long as the cat doesn’t annoy him, I won’t throw it out again.” She stared at me, waiting for me to cave, apologize, and follow her home like a good little dog. I looked at her, completely detached. “Valerie, Mochi and I are never coming back. I want a divorce.” She stared at me in disbelief. “Are you insane? You’re ruining our marriage over a worthless cat?” She blamed the divorce on the cat. I didn’t bother correcting her; arguing was pointless. The real cancer in our marriage was Dustin, but she would always find a way to justify his behavior and deny her own betrayal. “I’ll have my lawyer send over the paperwork,” I said, my voice flat. “Just sign it.” I didn’t yell. I was entirely calm. Valerie used to complain that I was too loud, too emotional, too crazy. But now that I was standing before her in absolute silence, her face paled. “You’re getting more delusional by the day,” she sneered, resorting to her usual defense mechanism. “Honestly, if Dustin didn’t miss your cooking, do you think I’d waste my time coming here?” It was always the same. Every disagreement ended with her comparing me to Dustin. I wasn’t as smart as him, wasn’t as handsome, wasn’t as understanding. In the past, those insults cut deep. I would scream and beg for her to respect me. Now, I simply nodded. “Then hire him a private chef.” I knew she wasn’t lying about Dustin missing my cooking. My entire culinary repertoire had been carefully curated to suit his delicate palate. Back then, I foolishly thought I was just helping Valerie care for a student we sponsored. What an idiot I had been. They had spent an entire year laughing at my expense while I served them. During the week I stayed at the hotel, Dustin had been posting constantly on Instagram. I watched their daily life through his stories; they looked like a blissful, cozy young couple. If Dustin hadn’t complained about wanting my ribs, Valerie probably wouldn’t have remembered my existence for months. “Let’s see how long you can keep up this little act,” Valerie sneered before walking away. That night, I had my lawyer draft the divorce agreement and sent a copy to her phone. A red exclamation mark popped up immediately. She had blocked me. I didn’t even flinch. I deleted her contact, opened Instagram, and sent the document to Dustin instead. Here’s the divorce agreement. Tell her to sign it. And congratulations. You finally got what you wanted. A minute later, a voice message came back from Dustin, dripping with malice. “Divorce? Oh, Gavin, don’t make me laugh. How can you divorce her when your marriage license is fake?” My heart seized. I stared at the message, unable to comprehend the words. Then, he sent a photo. It was a picture of Valerie, Dustin, and a little girl. The girl had Valerie’s exact eyes and nose. Dustin’s next text was smug. Valerie and I were promised to each other since we were kids. We’ve been together since I was nineteen. If your family wasn’t wealthy, and if Valerie didn’t need your mother’s connections in the industry, she wouldn’t have spared you a single glance. Technically, Gavin, you’re the side piece. My vision blurred, and the world seemed to spin on its axis. The marriage license was fake. Her falling in love with me at first sight was a lie. Everything was a lie. Suddenly, so many things made sense. I had wanted kids, but Valerie always made excuses, saying she wanted to enjoy our time as a couple first. She didn’t want to wait; she just didn’t want my child. Dustin’s messages kept rolling in. Why do you think Valerie lets me do whatever I want? She feels guilty about what we had to do, so she lets me use you as my personal punching bag to make up for it. The words swam before my eyes. Mochi nestled against my arm, watching me with big, silent eyes. Clutching his warm little body, I forced myself to breathe. I pulled up my contacts and sent a message to a friend who worked at the county clerk’s office. The reply came early the next morning. Hey Gavin… I checked the database. There’s no record of a marriage license for you and Valerie. Legally speaking, you’re single… I closed my eyes. A dark, bitter laugh escaped my lips. It was actually easier this way. Leaving her would require no paperwork at all. I went to the office, handed in my resignation, and packed my bags. I planned to take Mochi and clear my head at my parents’ house out of state. I had only stayed in this city because Valerie’s career was rooted here. Now that she was gone, there was nothing keeping me. The day before my departure, I took Mochi to the pet groomer for a bath. As I was walking out of the clinic, carrying his carrier, I ran straight into them. Valerie, Dustin, and the little girl. They were walking hand-in-hand. Valerie was looking down at the child, a tender smile on her face that I had never seen before. As they laughed, Valerie looked up and spotted me. She instantly dropped the child’s hand. Stepping forward, she instinctively shielded Dustin and the girl behind her. “This is… Dustin’s niece,” she said, her voice tight with panic. “Don’t you dare start spinning some sick story in your head.” She didn’t realize Dustin had already spilled everything. Her eyes darted around nervously, though she tried to maintain her composure. I used to think I would love this woman until my dying day. Now, looking at her made my stomach turn. “Whatever you do is none of my business,” I said coldly. Valerie wasn’t used to this level of indifference from me. She marched over and grabbed my wrist tightly. “What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?” “Let go of me,” I said, twisting my arm to break her grip. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dustin holding the little girl, glaring at me with raw hatred. He whispered something into her ear, and the girl suddenly ran forward, grabbing the handle of my cat carrier. “I want the kitty! Let me play with the kitty!” Before I could pull it away, Valerie snatched the carrier right out of my hand. “Rosie likes him. Let her play with him for a second.” Rosie unzipped the top and dragged Mochi out by his tail. Mochi let out a sharp, agonized screech, but the child wouldn’t let go. “Let him go!” I yelled, lunging forward. Valerie blocked me, her face darkening. “Don’t be so petty. He’s just a stray. I’ve thrown him in the dumpster a hundred times and he’s still fine. Stop making a scene over nothing.” She talked about abusing my pet as if it were a joke. Rage boiled in my veins. Before I could push past her, Rosie suddenly burst into tears. “Ow! The mean kitty bit me!” Valerie panicked. She shoved me back and kicked Mochi with terrifying force. The small white cat flew through the air, crashing hard against the brick wall. He hit the brick and fell, instantly still. Blood began to seep from his nose and mouth, staining the pavement red. I fell to my knees, scooping his limp, fragile body into my arms. My hands were immediately covered in warm, sticky blood. Valerie froze, staring at the bloody heap. “I… I didn’t mean to do that,” she stammered, stepping back. “But he… he bit Rosie.” Dustin cradled the crying girl, but a smug, cruel smile played on his lips. “Gavin, I know you hate me,” Dustin said, raising his voice so the bystanders could hear. “But there’s no need to take it out on a child. A feral cat like that deserves to be put down anyway.” My vision went red. Clutching Mochi to my chest with one arm, I stepped forward and slammed my fist directly into Dustin’s face. Mochi had been my companion for five years. He was family. And they had just killed him. I raised my fist to strike him again. Valerie shoved me back with all her strength. “Have you lost your mind? If your stupid cat hadn’t bitten a child, I wouldn’t have had to kick it! This is your fault for not training it!” They were the ones who stole him, hurt him, and killed him, yet they turned it around on me. I stared at Valerie, my gaze cold enough to kill. “You killed him. I’m going to make you regret this for the rest of your life.” Valerie let out a mocking laugh. “And what are you going to do about it?” she sneered. “It’s a cat. I’ll buy you a better one. Stop crying about it.” Dustin wiped the blood from his lip, glaring. “You’re not leaving until you apologize to my daughter.” They stood side-by-side, blocking my path. I looked at them one last time, pulled out my phone, and texted my lawyer: Go ahead with the plan. I refused to apologize, and the standoff dragged on. Valerie checked her watch, growing increasingly impatient. “Hurry up and apologize. Dustin and I have dinner reservations, and we don’t have all day to waste on you.” I didn’t say a word. I just turned my head toward the street. Valerie shoved my shoulder. “I said, apologize!” Before she could finish her threat, a police cruiser pulled up to the curb. Two officers stepped out and walked straight toward her.
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