THE CONFRONTATION
565 Words
Daniel showed up at my apartment the next morning.
I opened the door and there he was—unshaven, bloodshot eyes, wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He looked like he hadn't slept.
"We need to talk," he said.
"Vanessa isn't here."
"I know. I came to see you."
I stepped outside. Closed the door behind me. Whatever he had to say, I didn't want Julian or Vanessa to hear it.
"Say what you came to say," I said.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair. "She's gone. Vanessa. She moved out of the apartment. Blocked my number. Won't return my calls."
"That's what happens when you lie to someone for six months."
"I wasn't lying."
"You were lying by omission. That's still lying." I crossed my arms. "What did you expect, Daniel? That she would find out about the contract marriages and the other women and just... forgive you?"
"I expected her to understand."
"Understand what? That you used her? That you were going to marry her while you were still married to me?" I shook my head. "There's no understanding that. There's only accepting it or walking away."
"She walked away."
"Yes. She did."
Daniel looked at me. His eyes were red.
"You're happy about this."
"I'm not happy. I'm relieved." I leaned against the doorframe. "Vanessa deserves better than you. So did the other women. So did I."
"I know."
"Do you? Because you keep showing up here, acting like you're the victim. You're not the victim, Daniel. You're the person who hurt everyone."
Daniel was quiet for a long moment.
Then he said, "What do I do?"
"I don't know. Figure it out." I straightened up. "But don't come here looking for sympathy. You won't find it."
"Maya—"
"Goodbye, Daniel."
I went back inside. Closed the door. Leaned against it.
Julian was standing in the hallway.
"Daniel?" he asked.
"Daniel."
"What did he want?"
"Sympathy." I let out a breath. "I didn't give it to him."
Julian crossed the room. Put his arms around me.
"I'm proud of you," he said.
"For what?"
"For not letting him back in." He kissed my forehead. "For choosing yourself."
I closed my eyes.
"I'm trying," I said.
"You're succeeding."
---
Vanessa came back that afternoon.
She looked better than she had yesterday—showered, dressed, her hair brushed. She was still pale. Still fragile. But there was something different in her eyes.
"Daniel came by," I said.
"I know. He called me. Seven times."
"What did he say?"
"That he's sorry. That he loves me. That he'll do anything to get me back." Vanessa sat on the couch. "I didn't believe him."
"Good."
"He also said you're trying to destroy him. That you've been planning this for months."
I sat down across from her.
"He's not wrong," I said. "I have been planning this for months. The void clause. The divorce. The settlement."
Vanessa nodded slowly.
"I figured," she said. "Are you going to destroy him?"
I thought about it. About the five years I'd spent waiting. About the phone calls Daniel hadn't answered. About the check that had arrived instead of comfort.
"I don't know," I said. "I thought I wanted to. Now I'm not sure."
"What changed?"
I looked toward the kitchen, where Julian was making tea. His back was to us, his movements easy, familiar.
"Everything," I said.
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- Writer
