2 Leaving

"Clink"

"Click"

The sound of a key being turned can be heard due to the quietness of the night. Not long after, the door was slowly opened and dim lights entered the living room. The light crept into the surrounding as the shadow of a man could be seen entering the front door. With ease, he reached for the light switch before taking a couple more steps. It was by reflex, he knew where the light switch was located even without a light source.

"Click"

The hall was illuminated as he took slow steps to the living room. There he saw Anne sitting on the corner of the couch, in front of her was a laptop but Anne was sleeping soundly. Her single arm was used as a pillow as her head lay on it, beside her were empty bottles of beer and booze scattered all around the living room. The room was emitting a foul stench of alcohol and cigarettes, as he got closer to Anne the smell of alcohol and cigarette became stronger. Broken glass, photos and magazines were scattered everywhere but he did not seem to care. He seemed to be familiar with such a scene.

He looked at his lovely wife and felt pain in his chest. She was not the same person after the accident. She became conscious of the people around them. As she lost her confidence she became possessive, asking him where he was and what he was doing. He spent all of his time in the laboratory after his wife turned for the worst.

He could not take it, his once loving wife turning into something else. He thought that with his love, care and devotion, he could prove that he was the same man she loved even without her career. Even if she was disabled that did not matter, but she still changed. She felt words are not enough to comfort her, to assure her, to prove to her that he did not change.

He tried his best not to wake her up, he picked her up gently and carried her to their room. However, the slight movements woke Anne up.

Anne was about to be carried to their room when she felt someone touching her body. She opened her eyes slowly, her head hurts from drinking too much and that slight movement made her dizzy. She looked at the person in front of her who was trying to help her up. He looked at Anne and realized she was awake.

Anne's expression suddenly changed, realizing it was her husband. Her expression was full of anger and a hint of disappointment. She shook the hand that was holding her shoulder and looked intensely at the eyes of her husband.

Anne asked with a harsh tone., "Why are you late?!"

"We were doing some research that is almost complete. I could not leave early, I couldn't leave the work to my co-workers." He said apologetically to his wife.

She scowled once she heard his reasoning, with an accusing tone she said, "You were working this late?! You never once arrived this late!" She looked at the wall clock in the room and her expression turned worse. "It's 2:00 am and you are telling me that all you did was work, Timothy?"

It has been a while since she called him by his given name which made him surprised. He knew something was wrong once Anne used his name. She always called him with endearing names like Dear or Honey. She was not one to shy away with her affection and would show it with her words and actions. She started changing how to address him these last couple of weeks. Timothy felt stifled, this was much worse than the physical pain he felt from her previous action.

Timothy was her husband's name. They've been together for years and he always came home on time. It was her who used to come much later due to her working schedule which was irregular.

When she was still working, she would inform him of her schedule beforehand. If there were extensions to her working hours, she would immediately call him and would ask for permission from him. However, he was the total opposite.

Now that she was always at home, she noticed the changes in her husband. He came home later than usual, sometimes he would stay at his workplace giving the reason that their research was having some breakthroughs.

This was not the first time this has happened but she tried to understand him. She started having doubts but she still believes in him without question. However, the news article was the last straw. It was as if she opened Pandora's Box and all of her emotions came gushing out like a tide.

She could not contain her emotions anymore as she started to cry. Timothy approached her and tried to comfort her but she shook the hand that was approaching her.

"Thwack"

The sound of skin being hit was loud. Her actions were swift, she even surprised herself. She looked at him and her body shook. She did not want to be violent but then she was reminded of her husband's doing, her determination became firm as she looked at her husband's eye with a piercing gaze.

"What's wrong with you?" Timothy asked with concern but he did not approach her this time. He gave her some space as they talked face to face. He was concerned that she was starting to have an episode.

She tried so hard to not let the tears fall, but she utterly failed. She wanted to appear strong even if she was hurting inside. She knew she had been unreasonable in the last couple of months, as she was fighting her depression. She had even started to blame herself for her husband's actions.

It was all her fault!

If she was a complete woman her husband would never approach another woman to satisfy his needs.

Her breathing became rough as her thoughts rampaged like a wild horse.

She felt like she'd been struck by lightning by this sudden realization.

She bit her lip as she was afraid to say the next words. She did not want to utter something that she knew she would regret. But, her emotions got the better of her as she utters, "I want a divorce." Her voice was quiet but she said it clearly word for word.

Timothy's eyes widen in surprise for a second with what Anne said. He could not believe that what he heard.

The tension ran high between the two once there was the mention of divorce.

"Are you serious?" Timothy asked in a cold tone.

Anne looked at her husband and started to have doubts. She almost faltered as her head moved the other way as she could not continue looking at his eyes filled with coldness. But once she looked the other way, she saw the laptop, the light was still on and the picture was still there. She gripped her hand tight once she remembered everything. Still, she did not reply to her husband's question.

Timothy approached Anne and held her shoulders tight. They were so close that their bodies are touching. Anne could feel the warmth of her husband's body, she felt weak from his touch as her body reflexively lean on his wide chest.

Timothy reached for his wife's chin and slowly lifted her beautiful face. His face approached hers intending to give her a kiss when her body jolted out of her reverie. She used all her strength to push his body with only her one arm. Timothy did not fight back and took a step back looking at his wife with an injured look and confused eyes.

"Do you think I'm stupid? You want to sway me with your actions?" Her voice started to increase in volume.

"Stop it. Why are you so mad? Is it because I'm late? I told you it was for work." Timothy tried his best to persuade Anne with his words.

Anne had enough from the discussion as it was not going anywhere. "You think I won't know that you are cheating on me!" She took the laptop from the table and gave it to Timothy. "See for yourself."

Once she gave the laptop to him. With rushed steps, she entered their room and started packing her clothes. She did not care for appearances and inserted everything that could fit in one bag. It was past 2 in the morning but she did not care. She did not want to stay in the same place with her cheating husband.

"Thump thump thump"

Heavy footsteps were fast approaching her but she ignores the person and continues with what she was doing.

"This is a mistake, a misunderstanding," Timothy said with a pleading tone.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa.