The Last Straw

I'd never brought up divorce, no matter how fiercely we fought in the past, so this clearly took him off guard.

He immediately came close and wrapped me in his arms, moving away my hand gently to check on my face. "Does it hurt? I'm so sorry, Mel… I-I just got worked up, I didn't mean it… Let me take you to the hospital."

Without missing a beat, I moved away from him and walked into the bedroom wordlessly, closing it in his face.

This, clearly, didn't go well with him, and he started shouting outside the door. "I wouldn't have slapped you if you weren't being unreasonable, Melanie! Stephanie and I only had each other growing up, so you know how important she is to me! How could you say that to hurt me?"

How laughable. Did he forget that I was there for him in his most trying times too? I was even the one who paid for his sister's university tuition!

I was his lawfully wedded wife, yet he was fine with Jenny making rumors about me being with another man?

How could he have allowed her to hurt me like that?

Seeing that I wasn't planning on opening the door any time soon, Steven kicked the door hard, and it became completely silent.

That night, a storm raged outside, thunder and lightning crackling, and I suddenly felt a warm and familiar embrace from behind me.

It was Steven.

"I know you're afraid of thunder, so I flipped the entire house upside down to find the spare key. I'm here with you now, so don't be afraid.

"Please, don't be mad at me? I know it was my fault for not going back to see Grandma with you. I'll go back with you at the end of the mourning period, alright?"

I didn't speak a word, silent tears soaking my pillow.

Steven sighed and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Don't cry. I'm here."