I made my way to the living room, the site of Kendra’s betrayals. The evidence was clear in my mind, yet seeing the room in person, unchanged and unassuming, filled me with a cold anger. I sat down, waiting for Kendra to wake up, replaying all the possible conversations in my head. Each one felt inadequate, unable to capture the turmoil of betrayal, love, and disappointment.
Eventually, I heard her footsteps from the hallway. She appeared, groggy and unsuspecting, until her eyes met mine. Shock rippled across her face, followed by a flicker of guilt. “You’re home,” she finally managed to say, her voice catching.
“Three weeks early,” I replied, my voice steady. I watched as realization dawned on her; she knew I knew.
“I didn’t expect you,” she said, her voice trembling slightly, but there was defiance there too, a challenge.
“I know,” I replied, keeping my demeanor calm, despite the storm inside me. “I know about everything, Kendra. About the men, the money, all of it.”
She opened her mouth to protest, to lie, but I held up my hand, stopping her. “Please don’t. Haley saw. She told me.” Mentioning Haley made her flinch, a pang of guilt piercing through her defenses.
Silence stretched between us, a chasm filled with unspoken words and broken promises. Finally, I spoke again. “I want a divorce.” The words hung in the air, heavy and irreversible.
Kendra’s eyes filled with tears, but I felt a strange calmness descend over me. It was the calm after the storm, the clarity that comes after you’ve made a decision. “I need you to pack and leave,” I continued. “You have until the end of the day.”
She nodded, tears spilling over as she turned and walked away, leaving me alone with the remnants of our life together. I took a deep breath, letting the weight of the decision settle over me. It was a new beginning, albeit a painful one.
Later, I would talk to Haley, reassure her, and start to rebuild our lives. But for now, I sat in the quiet of my living room, feeling both the loss and the liberation that comes with the end of a chapter. As the sun rose higher in the sky, I felt the first tentative stirrings of hope.