With my heart a heavy burden in my chest, I trudged toward our bedroom unable to break free from the silence that pervaded the house.

The sounds of Liam’s footsteps disappearing behind me only served to highlight how empty our relationship was becoming. Upon hearing the downstairs door slam I flinched.

What was the point of chasing after him and insisting that he stay? His absence had already been more noticeable than any argument we could have.

I forced open our bedroom door in the hopes of finding some comfort but at this point it was the last place that could provide it. I could only see the cracks in everything we used to have despite the gentle shadows cast by the bedside lamp. The bed we shared. Our common recollections.

And now,a document that is currently on my side of the bed— divorce papers. I stopped.

As I made my way slowly to the bed, my legs felt like jelly. The papers were waiting neatly stacked as if they had always been there. Liam seemed to have planned this for a longer period of time than I had anticipated.

As though he had already decided. My hands shook as I reached out, reading the words that would alter everything. Divorce.

My eyes stung with tears as the paper hazed in front of me. As I tried to process it, my head whirled. My stomach rumbled. That was it. This marked the end. I was at a loss for words. The fight is over. Not after everything.

Liam entered as the creaking door opened. His face was a blank mask and he didn’t even look at me. Making his way to the dresser he began going through his clothes.

My voice was hardly audible above a whisper as my breath caught. When I held the papers up between us, my hand trembled. “Liam… What is this?”

He turned to face me after a brief pause. As if he had run out of emotions to share his eyes were icy and nearly lifeless. “Ava it’s over.”

I was initially unable to speak. It seemed as though my lungs had been sucked out of air. This was not taking place. Not in this manner.

“No,” I said at last my voice rasping with incredulity. “You can’t… I can’t—”

I dropped the papers from my grasp, my eyes darting from his uninterested face to the papers on the ground.

“Ava,” he said, his voice as icy as his eyes, “I’ve been telling you for months… We’re done. I’m done.”

I was slapped across the face by the words. My vision blurred again and I felt lightheaded but I tried to concentrate on him by blinking away the tears. He was no longer even present emotionally. Yet here he was positioned before me acting as though he was taking the simple and proper course of action.

“No, you can’t ignore this situation. Not in this manner Liam.” As my frustration increased my voice broke. “We are married. Because our lives are collapsing and you can’t manage your own you can’t just throw this away.”

Liam didn’t recoil, he seemed unconcerned that I was breaking down in front of him. His face remained unchanged. He just let out a sigh and rubbed his temples as if to relieve the headache I had obviously developed.

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