Chapter 1

1.

The day I asked my Harvard professor husband for a divorce, he was in an intimate photo with his college sweetheart on Instagram.

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was the end of a three-year marriage.

Three years where he remembered every anniversary, picked me up from work, and even rescheduled a class during a snowstorm just to bring me a coat.

But none of that mattered after Mia, the one that got away, sent him a single text: “Julian, I’m back.”

In that moment, I saw a look in his eyes I’d never seen before: thrilled, nostalgic, completely captivated.

So tonight, when he went “missing” again―phone silenced, no classes on his schedule, yet a picture of him and Mia raising a glass appeared on Instagram―I called him directly.

“Zoe, I’m sorry, I―”

I didn’t want to hear his excuses.

“Julian, are we getting a divorce?”

Dead silence on the other end.

I hung up and glanced at the positive pregnancy test on the counter.

What he didn’t know was that the stakes in this negotiation had just doubled.

…

I came home from work to a dark apartment. I knew Julian’s schedule. He didn’t have a class tonight.

I flicked on the lights. The whiteboard by the kitchen door was empty. Everything was exactly as I’d left it this morning. The last message on my phone was from yesterday, Julian reminding me that a cold front was moving into Boston and to wear a coat.

What was going on? We had a rule: we’d always let each other know what was happening.

I called Julian three times in a row. All went to voicemail. That had never happened before.

Panic started to creep in. I worried he’d been in an accident. I texted his colleague, who replied that Julian had left right after his afternoon class.

After hanging up, I felt lost.

I aimlessly opened Instagram and saw that Julian’s friend, Leo, had just posted. The caption read: “Long time no see.”

The photo showed three people. Julian was standing very close to a girl, holding up a wine glass. The smile on his face made no attempt to hide his joy.

Julian’s colleague, still worried, texted again to ask if everything was okay. I forced myself to calm down and replied, “It’s fine, Julian just called me back.”

Then, I went to Leo’s post and typed out a comment, word by word: Tell Julian to check his phone.

I refreshed the page. Leo’s post was gone.

Julian called back almost immediately.

“Zoe, sorry, my phone was on silent, I forgot to change it back. I…”

I didn’t want to hear it. I cut him off.

“Julian, are we getting a divorce?”

The other end of the line went completely silent. I hit the end call button.