Chapter 3

3

After Caleb stormed out, he didn't come home for a week.

Through Scarlett's social media, I saw they had flown to Iceland.

When Caleb proposed to me, he promised we'd see the Northern Lights for our honeymoon.

Sharing that moment with him was my biggest dream since we got married.

I believed that if a couple saw the Aurora together, they would stay together forever.

Three years ago, I begged him to take me.

Caleb had looked at me with pure disgust.

"We've been married for four years. Stop acting like a lovesick teenager. It's a waste of time!"

Now, he was in Iceland with Scarlett.

It wasn't that the Northern Lights were meaningless. It was that seeing them with me was meaningless.

During that week, I didn't call or text him once.

He eventually messaged to ask if I wanted a necklace or a bracelet for my birthday. I didn't reply.

He didn't ask a second time.

The law firm sent over the digital divorce papers. Everything looked fine. I scheduled a time to sign the hard copies next Monday.

That night, Caleb finally returned.

He opened a small, elegant box and pushed it toward me.

"Your birthday is coming up. Do you like it?"

I looked down at the necklace.

It was the one I had kept in my online shopping cart for months.

I took it and set it carelessly on the table.

"It's nice. Thank you," I said flatly.

This was the first time I hadn't acted thrilled over a gift from him.

Caleb squinted at me.

"The necklace... aren't you going to try it on?"

I kept my eyes on my phone. "No need. I like whatever you give me."

I stood up to go to the bedroom.

Caleb grabbed my wrist. His voice was thick with irritation.

"Lyra, are you still throwing a tantrum over those burritos?"

To him, my change in behavior was just me being difficult.

I looked at him, confused.

When I used to cry and scream about Scarlett, he told me to be rational.

Now that I was calm, he said I was throwing a tantrum.

There was no winning with this man.

Seeing my silence, Caleb assumed he was right.

"You know I hate women who play these dramatic games. You're actually making me sick!"

He shoved my hand away with pure loathing.

I lost my balance and fell toward the bed.

My arm slammed against the sharp edge of the nightstand. Tears pricked my eyes from the sharp pain.

Caleb slammed the bedroom door. A few seconds later, I heard him slam the office door too.

In seven years of marriage, we had fought countless times.

I was always the one to swallow my pride and beg for forgiveness.

I used to be unable to eat or sleep if he was angry with me.

But that night, I slept perfectly.

Caleb waited in his office all night, but he never heard me knock on his door.