02
1335 Words
Regret
EVA
"We need to talk."
Oliver didn't look up from his phone when I cornered him in the kitchen the next morning. He stood there in his expensive suit, sipping coffee like he hadn't destroyed my entire world yesterday.
"Do we?" He finally glanced at me. "I thought yesterday made things pretty clear."
"Three years, Oliver. Three years of my life." My voice cracked. "How could you do this to me?"
He set down his mug with a loud clink. "Do what? Finally, be honest? You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you?" I stepped closer. "You cheated on me. You humiliated me. You.."
His hand shot out and grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into my skin hard enough to bruise.
"I what?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "I gave you a reality check?"
"Oliver, you're hurting me."
"Good." He dragged me across the kitchen. I stumbled, trying to keep up, my feet sliding on the tile. "Maybe now you'll pay attention."
He shoved me hard. My back slammed into the wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. Picture frames rattled around me.
"Listen carefully," he said, his face inches from mine. "I've been cheating on you for two years. Two. Whole. Years. Jessica's been more of a wife to me than you ever were."
"Two years?" The words felt like glass in my throat. "But our anniversary dinner last month, you said.."
"I said what I needed to say to keep you quiet." He stepped back, straightening his tie. "Jessica was waiting in the car that whole night."
I slid down the wall until I hit the floor. "Why?"
"Why what? Why did I cheat? Look in the mirror, Eva. You're boring. You're clingy. You cry at commercials and think that's cute. You're everything I settled for when I couldn't do better."
Each word was a knife twist. I wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to disappear.
"Get up," Oliver said. "We're going to my mother's for dinner tonight. You're going to smile and pretend everything's fine until I figure out how to handle this mess."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Yes, you are. Because if you don't, I'll make sure everyone knows exactly how pathetic you really are."
+++++++
The dinner was at Oliver's mother's house, the same house where I'd spent dozens of Sunday dinners, helping in the kitchen, laughing at his father's terrible jokes, feeling like I belonged somewhere. Now I sat at the familiar table feeling like a ghost.
"Eva, you look pale," Mrs. Chen said, passing the roast beef. "Are you feeling alright?"
"She's fine," Oliver answered for me. "Just tired."
Jessica sat across from me, wearing a red dress that probably cost more than my car. She kept touching Oliver's hand, playing with his fingers, shooting me little smiles that made my skin crawl.
"So, Jessica," Mr. Chen said, cutting his meat. "Oliver tells us you work in accounting?"
"I do. It's how we met, actually." Jessica leaned into Oliver. "He came down to my floor one day, said he needed help with some numbers. But really, he just wanted to ask me out."
My fork froze halfway to my mouth. "That was two years ago."
Everyone went quiet.
"Eva," Oliver's voice carried a warning.
"Two years ago, you told me you went down there to fix a billing error. You came home and said.."
"Eva."
"You said the girl down there was sweet but not your type. You said.."
Oliver's hand slammed on the table. The glasses jumped. "Enough."
Jessica giggled. "It's okay, baby. She was bound to figure it out eventually."
Then she leaned over and kissed Oliver. Right there at the dinner table, in front of his parents, in front of me. A long, deep, claiming kiss that made me want to crawl under the table and die.
When they broke apart, Mr. Chen chuckled. "Well, that's new."
Mrs. Chen nodded approvingly. "It's about time you found someone with some fire, Oliver."
My stomach lurched. The room spun. I tried to swallow but couldn't. The taste of bile filled my mouth.
I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up everything I'd eaten. My knees hit the cold tile as I retched again and again, my body trying to expel the poison of what I'd just witnessed. Laughter echoed from the dining room.
"She's always been too fragile," Mrs. Chen's voice carried down the hall. "I told you from the beginning she wasn't wife material, Oliver. Too emotional. Too weak."
"Jessica's different," Oliver replied. "She can handle things. She's strong."
"Much better match," Mr. Chen agreed. "Eva's a sweet girl, but you need someone who won't fall apart when life gets tough."
More laughter.
I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my reflection. Red eyes. Pale skin. Weak. That's what they saw when they looked at me. That's all they'd ever seen.
When I came back to the table, dessert was being served. No one acknowledged that I'd been gone. No one asked if I was okay.
Jessica was showing Mrs. Chen something on her phone.
"Oh, that's beautiful!" Mrs. Chen gasped. "Where did you get it?"
"The dress shop on Fifth Street. It was hanging in the window, and I just had to have it."
I glanced at the phone screen and my blood turned to ice. It was my wedding dress. The one I bought three months ago when Oliver finally proposed. The one hanging in our closet with the tags still on.
Jessica was wearing it in the photo, posing in front of a mirror with a caption that read: "What was hers is now mine. #NewBeginnings #UpgradeComplete"
"When did you.." I started.
"Today," Jessica said sweetly. "I hope you don't mind. Oliver gave me the key to pick up a few things."
"A few things?"
"Well, I am moving in. We need to make space."
The room tilted. "Moving in?"
Oliver pulled an envelope from his jacket. "I was going to give this to you later, but since we're all here..."
He slid the papers across to me. Court documents. Legal language I didn't understand, but the meaning was clear enough: I had seven days to vacate the house.
"But it's our house," I whispered.
"Check the deed," Oliver said. "It was never in your name. You never contributed to the down payment. Legally, you're just a tenant who's been served notice."
"Oliver, please.."
"Seven days, Eva. That's generous."
+++++++
I tried calling Sarah when I got home. She'd been my best friend since college. She'd understand. She'd help.
The call went straight to voicemail. I tried Mike next. Then Jenny. Then Lisa.
All blocked.
Finally, my phone rang. Sarah's number.
"Sarah, thank God.."
"Don't call me again, Eva."
"What? Why?"
"You're toxic. All this drama with Oliver? We can't deal with it anymore. It's exhausting."
"Drama? He cheated on me! He threw me into a wall!"
"There are always two sides to every story. Maybe if you'd been a better girlfriend—"
"Sarah.."
"We talked about it. All of us. You're just... too much. Too needy. Too dramatic. We're done."
The line went dead.
I sat on the couch, Oliver's couch, apparently and stared at the ceiling. Seven days. That's all I had left of the life I'd built.
I must have fallen asleep there because I woke up in the middle of the night, soaked to the bone. My clothes clung to my skin. Water dripped from my hair.
The couch was destroyed. The cushions soaked through. Water everywhere.
"Oops."
I spun around. Oliver and Jessica stood by the front door, fully dressed, watching me with matching grins.
"Bad plumbing," Jessica said, holding up a bucket. "These old houses, you know? Pipes just burst sometimes."
Oliver shrugged. "Guess you'll need to find somewhere else to sleep tonight."
They walked out together, leaving me shivering in the dark, surrounded by the wreckage of everything I used to call home..
- Writer
