Page 73 of Blindsided
“Kori, please.” His voice softens, taking on that reasonable tone I once found so comforting. “I came all this way to fix things. To explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain. You slept with my sister.”
“It was one time,” he insists. “A stupid mistake. I was drunk, she was upset about her breakup.”
“Stop.” I hold up my hand, surprised by how steady it is. “I don’t need the details. I saw the photos, Mark, and it was more than ‘one time’. I saw how you looked at her.”
He has the grace to look ashamed, at least. “I’m sorry. Sorrier than you can imagine. But we can work through this. Couples therapy, a fresh start—”
“Fuck you.” The words come out stronger than I expected. “We can’t work through this because I don’t want to.”
Mark stares at me as if seeing me for the firsttime. “Because of him? That tattooed—”
“This isn’t about Kane,” I interrupt, though the memory of his hands on my skin is still fresh. “This is about us. About how I’ve been shrinking myself to fit into your life for years. About how I gave up my career to follow yours. About how I stopped painting, stopped singing, stopped being me.”
“That’s not fair,” Mark protests. “I never asked you to give those things up.”
“You didn’t have to. You just made it very clear they weren’t important. That they were childish hobbies.”
He shakes his head, frustration evident. “So, you’re punishing me for not supporting your art enough? By sleeping with some random guy you just met?”
“I’m not punishing you at all,” I say, surprised by how calm I feel. “I’m freeing myself. From you, from our marriage, from the box I’ve been living in.”
Mark takes a step toward me, his expression shifting to something more calculated. “You’re not thinking clearly. You’re hurt, you’re angry—I get that. But running away to Ireland, hooking up with strangers... this isn’t you, Kori.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I say, standing my ground. “This is me. Maybe the real me, the one I lost somewhere along the way.”
He studies me for a long moment, and I can seethe exact moment when he realizes I’m serious. His shoulders slump slightly, the fight going out of him.
“What about our life together?” he asks. “Our home, our friends, our future?”
“Our life together ended when you chose to stick your dick in my sister,” I say simply.
“Have you spoken to her?”
The mention of my sister sends a fresh wave of pain through me. “No. And I don’t plan to anytime soon because I’m cutting toxic people out of my life.”
Mark runs a hand through his perfectly styled hair, messing it up in a way that would have bothered him before. “So that’s it? Five years, just... over?”
“Yes.” The word feels like freedom. “I’ve already contacted a divorce lawyer. They’ll be in touch.”
He looks around the cottage, taking in the cozy space that’s become my sanctuary. “And what happens now? You stay here forever with your new Irish boyfriend?”
“What I do next is none of your business,” I say firmly. “But no, I won’t stay here forever. I have a life to rebuild.”
“Without me.”
“Without you.”
The finality in my voice seems to hit him harder than any anger could have. He stares at me for a longmoment, as if memorizing my face.
“I still love you,” he says quietly.
Once, those words would have melted me, sent me rushing back into his arms. Now they sound hollow.
“And I don’t care,” I reply. “Because clearly, I wasn’t enough for you.”
Mark glances toward the door where Kane waits outside. “Is he... are you two...?”
