"Where have you been last night, Thane?" Mira's voice broke as she tried to hold herself together. Her hands trembled as she gripped the edge of the couch, her knuckles turning white.
Thane barely spared her a glance as he shrugged off his coat, tossing it onto the armchair as if her question didn't warrant a response. He loosened his tie, rolling his shoulders as though he had just returned from an exhausting day at work.
"Mira, it's late, I don't have time for your drama."
"I need rest." he protested.
Mira raised her eyebrows in confusion.
"Was he just dismissing her as if he wasn't absent on their third wedding anniversary?"
Mira nodded her head as her fears came to reality.
Indeed, this marriage meant nothing to Thane.
Her eyes fell to the red lipstick stain smeared on the crisp white collar of his shirt.
The lipstick was red.
Her stomach twisted painfully. She had always loved wearing red lipstick but during her first year of marriage, Thane had made it known that he detested the red color.
She had discarded all her red stuff, replacing them with the one he preferred.
She had indeed done everything to make him happy.
"He hated red lipsticks, so why was there a red stain on his shirt?" she muttered under her breath.
"Answer me, Thane!" Her voice rose this time, filled with rage.
He finally looked at her.
A tired, almost indifferent expression crossed his face as he ran a hand through his dark, slightly disheveled hair. His jaw clenched, but instead of guilt or remorse, there was nothing but irritation in his gaze.
"Mira, not now," he muttered, walking past her toward their bedroom.
Mira stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Not now?" she repeated, her voice trembling. "You disappeared on our anniversary, ignored my calls, and now you come home reeking of someone else's perfume, with lipstick on your collar, and all you have to say is 'not now'?"
Thane let out a slow, measured exhale, as if she was the one being unreasonable. He tilted his head, his dark eyes meeting hers, void of the warmth they once held.
"Mira, you're overreacting, stop all these nagging and unnecessary drama"
A humorless laugh escaped her lips. "Overreacting?" She crossed her arms, forcing herself to hold his gaze even as tears pricked her eyes.
"I waited for you, Thane. I made dinner. I wrote you a letter. I spent the entire night convincing myself that you would come home to me.." her voice cracked,
"..only to receive a picture of you in bed with another woman."
"You were in bed with another woman on our anniversary, Thane!" She yelled.
Thane stiffened. It was the first real reaction she had gotten from him, but it lasted only a second before he scoffed, running a hand down his face.
"So that's what this is about," he muttered under his breath. "You saw a picture, and now you're jumping to conclusions?"
"Jumping to conclusions?" Mira stepped closer, her body trembling with unrestrained fury. She jabbed a finger against his chest. "Are you seriously going to stand there and lie to my face?"
Thane's lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't owe you an explanation."
His words were a slap in the face. Mira felt the air leave her lungs, her chest tightening with pain.
For a moment, silence hung between them, Mira's last hope crumbling before her face.
The last three years of her life her love, her sacrifices, her efforts to hold on to a marriage that had never existed flashed before her eyes.
She inhaled sharply, blinking away the tears she refused to shed in front of him. "You're right." Her voice was eerily calm, void of the desperation that once clung to it. "You don't owe me an explanation, Thane."
His brows furrowed slightly, as if sensing the shift in her demeanor.
"Because I'm done."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Thane's jaw tightened. "What are you saying?"
Mira lifted her chin, her hands no longer trembling. "I'm saying I want a divorce."
For the first time, genuine surprise flickered across his features. He stared at her, as if processing her words, before letting out a dry chuckle. "Mira, don't be ridiculous. You're upset. You're not thinking straight."
Thane stepped forward, his gaze cold and calculating.
"You think walking away is going to solve everything? You think you can just erase three years of love?"
Mira swallowed the lump in her throat.
"You must be joking Thane" she scoffed.
"Did I just hear you say, love?"
He exhaled, shaking his head.
"Fine. If this is what you want, Mira, then I won't stop you."
Mira blinked, stunned by his easy acceptance. A small, foolish part of her had thought he would fight, that he would show some regret or some sign that he cared.
But he didn't.
He reached for the papers, penning his signature onto it.
"I'll have my lawyer review them." he said with a tone of finality.
Pulling out a stack of dollar notes from his breast pockets, he handed it over to Mira.
'Here is twenty- thousand dollars for your alimony, you can start a life with it" he uttered, as though he was discussing the weather.
Mira stared at the money in disdain as tears blurred her vision.
"Jokes on you, Thane." she said, grabbing the dollar notes.
"It's pathetic to think I married you for this" she mocked, grabbing the dollar notes and spewing it on his face.
Her heart pounding, tears blurring her vision, Mira stormed out of the living room.
As she packed a few of her belongings, her mind was a surreal of emotions as she wondered where exactly she would be heading to and what exactly to do with her life.
She barely had any paying skill at the moment or a steady source of income. She had abandoned her job and finalizing her degree when she was about getting married to Thane.
She heaved a heavy sigh of relief as an idea struck her.
With the little money in her savings account, it would be enough for her to travel to San Francisco and at least squat with her single aunt.
A new start would be assured there.