Exhausted, I got up to leave. She grabbed my hand. “Don’t run away. We need to finish this.”
I pulled away. “What’s left to say? You don’t love me.”
“That’s not what I said,” she insisted. “I know you’re hurt, and I regret it, but you’re twisting my words.”
“Right, because you understand me so well,” I sneered. “When did you stop loving me? Before or after you started cheating? Because I don’t remember you ever mentioning it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Being an idiot won’t make this easier.”
“My mistake. I didn’t realize how tough this was for you,” I responded sarcastically.
She started to respond, but stopped. Her patience was finally gone.
“You know what, Artie? You’re right. I should stop apologizing. You’ll just twist everything I say.”
I couldn’t resist one more jab.
“Was this you trying to spare my feelings?”
That was it. Her face hardened, and she smirked.
“Yes, I was sparing your feelings. I wasn’t going to tell you that you’re a boring, overweight man who’s terrible in bed, or that the last time we had fun was before I got pregnant. But since you insist.”
Her words cut deep. I wanted the truth, but not this brutally. So I retaliated.
“Well, when your wife just lies there like a blow-up doll, what do you expect?”
Unfazed, she delivered the final blow.
“If you’d seen me with Derek, you’d know what I’m like with a man who knows what he’s doing.”
That hit me hard. My pride shattered. I was speechless, her words echoing in my head. Seeing my reaction, her anger shifted to regret.
“Artie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,” she began, but I left the room before she could finish.
The next morning, I woke up in the guest room, disoriented and late for work. Her words, “boring, overweight man,” echoed in my mind as I stared at my reflection. Before yesterday, I thought my life was good, comfortable with a decent job, a nice house, and kids in private school. But apparently, that wasn’t enough for her.
She wanted someone who wasn’t me. As I left the bathroom, Paige and I awkwardly crossed paths in the hallway.
“I need to wake Josh,” she said.
“Okay,” I mumbled.