Page 38 of The Breaking Point

They don’t deserve this.

They don’t deserve a mother who is so miserable, she sometimes forgets how to breathe.

When I get home, the house is silent. I leave my keys in the bowl by the door, take a breath, and walk straight to his office. The door is half-shut. I knock once, then push it open.

Aiden is behind his desk, sorting through a stack of papers, glasses low on his nose, pen resting against his lip. He looks up as I step in and sit down across from him.

“Hey,” he says, setting the papers aside. “I texted you.”

“I know,” I say. “I thought this conversation was better had face to face.”

His brow tightens. “Did something happen?”

I don’t answer, just stare at him, and I know my face says it all.Are you really going to ask me that? After everything?

He swallows. “Oh.”

I nod once. “What happened this morning can’t happen again.”

He leans forward slightly. “I agree.”

I fold my hands in my lap to stop them from shaking. “I think it would be best if you moved out.”

He blinks. “Move out? Wait, what?”

I keep my voice steady. “Our relationship has been hanging by a thread for a long time. And this… this recent development severed that thread.”

His face darkens. “You’re kicking me out over a mistake I made ten years ago?”

“I’m asking you to leave because I can’t live like this anymore,” I say. “This isn’t about the past. It’s about the present. And it’s about what’s ahead if we keep going like this.”

He shakes his head, anger flashing across his features. “What about the boys? This is my house too.”

I hold his gaze. “I would move out, but I have a feeling the boys would want to come with me.”

His eyes narrow. “Because you told them.”

“I didn’t mean for them to find out the way they did,” I say. “That being said, I don’t regret that they do know.”

Standing, I walk to the window. The sky is dimming, the rays of the sun a little less harsh. I press my fingers to the glass wishing I was outside.

“I’m really good at spotting liars,” I say quietly. “Really good. And I kept asking myself, why didn’t I know? Why didn’t I see it back then? Why not in the years since?”

I turn to him, my arms folded across my chest. “And the answer is, I don’t know you. Not really. You’re the man I sleep beside. You’re the father of my children. But somewhere along the way, I stopped knowing who you are.”

He shifts in his chair. “I’m your husband.”

“No,” I say. “You’re the man who works all day, then goes to the gym or out with friends, then comes home to either have sex or fall asleep. You take the boys on trips sometimes, but I can’t remember the last time you and I were together. Really together. Just the two of us. Outside our bedroom.”

He’s quiet now. No excuses. No deflection. Just silence thick enough to drown in.

I speak softly. “I’m not asking you to leave to punish you. I’m asking because something in me broke. And I don’t know how to fix it while you’re still here pretending everything’s fine.”

“I will never poison the boys against you,” I say, my voice firm. “Or anyone else, for that matter. As long as you do the same.”

Aiden opens his mouth to respond, but I keep going.

“Because I will not stay quiet while you tell people this is my fault.”

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