Chapter 5

Alex texted me saying we both needed some "space."

Kate: Where are you staying if you're not coming home?

Alex: None of your business.

Our chat history ended on that freezing note.

I didn't text him again. I didn't ask where he was.

Until his birthday.

I dialed his number.

"What?" he answered, his voice impatient.

I swallowed my pride and kept my voice soft.

"It's your birthday. Come home for dinner."

He quieted down for a long moment. "Fine. I'll be there."

We had made a pact when we first started dating: no matter what, we would always spend our birthdays together.

But by 9:00 PM, the seat across from me was still empty.

The food had gone completely cold. I called him again.

"When are you coming home?"

The background of the call was incredibly loud. Music was blasting, and then, I heard a girl's sweet, giggling voice.

"Alex! Come on, hurry up and blow out the candles!"

My eyes slowly drifted to the beautiful cake sitting on our dining table. The box wasn't even opened yet.

The candles were still sealed in plastic.

Alex covered the phone's microphone, and the noise grew slightly fainter as he walked away.

"I'll be home soon. Stop calling me, I'm busy!"

He hung up.

I slowly set my phone down. My gaze landed on the drawer beside the door. Inside lay the divorce papers I had drafted days ago.

At 11:00 PM, the door finally opened.

Alex walked in looking slightly guilty. He tried to offer a peace offering.

"My coworkers insisted on throwing me a party. You know how it is, I have to network if I want to survive in that place. I couldn't say no."

I smiled, a tiny, empty smile.

"Okay."

Seeing that I wasn't going to yell, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

He eagerly opened the cake box and started placing the candles on it.

Through the flickering candlelight, Alex looked at me with a soft smile.

"Kate, sing me Happy Birthday?"

I stared at the faint smudge of pink lipstick on the inner collar of his shirt. My smile vanished completely.

"Alex, as of today, we've been together for six years."

"Yeah? What about it?"

As the candles began to melt, his familiar impatience started to creep back in. But I was done.

"Let's get a divorce."