Page 15 of The Housewife's Robot
Each accusation hits, and my stomach churns, but I stand my ground.
“That doesn’t give you an excuse to cheat.”
“You checked out of this marriage years ago,” he continues, warming to his subject now. “You’re so busy with your meaningless career and your baby obsession that you never once asked what I wanted.”
“What did you want? To stick your dick into your co-worker?” I scream. “And you touched me afterwards?! How disgusting is that?”
“At least she likes it,” Daniel retorts. “At least she looks at me when we fuck. And she doesn’t see me as just a sperm donor.”
I slap him hard across the face before I can think.
The crack echoes in the entryway, and Daniel’s head snaps to the side. When he looks back at me, his eyes are cold with hatred.
“Get out,” I say, my voice deadly quiet now. “Pack more if you need to, but I want you gone tonight.”
“This is my house, Rose. My name is on the mortgage. If anyone’s leaving, it’s you.”
“That’s fine then,” I say, as my heart twists in my chest. After five years of marriage, he’s willing to throw his wife out whenhe’sthe one who betrayed us.
I feel tears welling in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Not in front of him. Never again for him. I turn and grab myphone from the dining room table, snatching my purse from the hook by the door. I shove my feet into the first shoes I find.
“Rose, don’t be dramatic,” Daniel says, his tone shifting to condescending. “Where are you even going to go at this hour?”
“Anywhere that’s away from you,” I say, fumbling with the door handle, my hands shaking with anger and adrenaline.
“You’re being ridiculous,” he calls after me. “Just come to bed. We can talk about this tomorrow. We can still be married.”
He’s worried about our families. That’s the only reason he married me. He hates looking bad.
I turn back one last time, meeting his eyes. “We’re done talking, Daniel. We’re done with everything. I don’t give a shit about this house or your money or anything else you think you can hold over me. It’s over.”
I step outside into the cool night air, letting the door slam behind me. The street is dark and quiet, houses sleeping peacefully all around us. I have no idea where I’m going, but for the first time in years, I feel like I can breathe.
Behind me, I hear the door open again. For a moment, I think Daniel has followed me, ready to continue the argument. But when I glance back, it’s Caspian standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable in the shadows.
Our eyes meet across the distance, and something passes between us. Like an understanding. Or something more complex that I can’t name.
“Close the door,” Daniel shouts, and the door softly closes behind me. My heart is pounding.
This is done. We’re over.
CHAPTER FIVE
ROSE
The key shakes in my hand as I jam it into the ignition of my tiny red Corolla.
My vision blurs with tears, making the dashboard swim before me. I’ve never been more grateful that I insisted on buying my own car. I was close to selling my car since I worked from home, but now I’m glad that I didn’t. My fingers fumble with the gearshift as I pull away from the curb, the house I once called home growing smaller in my rearview mirror.
I don’t look back. I can’t ever look back.
I press harder on the accelerator than necessary, the engine whining in protest as I speed down the quiet suburban street. The tears come faster now, hot rivers streaking down my cheeks. I swipe at them angrily with the back of my hand, but I can’t help the tears. I tried to stay strong for years, but now I’m crying like a baby.
“Fuck you, Daniel,” I whisper to the empty car, my voice cracking. The mental image of him and his lover flashes across my mind. Daniel’s hands on her body, her legs wrapped around him, the way they laughed about me in their messages.
Almost a year. Almost a whole fucking year of lies while I begged him for a baby. And now I’m glad it didn’t happen. I can’timagine what would happen if he were doing all this while I was pregnant.
A sob tears through me so violently that I have to pull over for a moment, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. The dashboard clock glows 1:43 a.m. in green digits.
