When Love Wore Thin

Invisible

Chapter 2

I woke to an empty bed and cold sheets. Richard had not come home at all.

I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, waiting to feel something. Anger, hurt, betrayal. But all I felt was numb. Maybe I had used up all my emotions last night. Maybe there was nothing left.

The sound of small footsteps in the hallway pulled me from my thoughts. A second later, Invisible Victoria appeared in the doorway, still in her pajamas, her rabbit dragging behind her.

"Mama, is Daddy home?"

I sat up and forced a smile. "Not yet, sweetheart. He had to work late."

It was the same lie I always told, and she accepted it the same way she always did, with a small nod and no more questions. She was six years old, and she already knew not to expect her father.

"Come here," I said, patting the bed beside me.

She climbed up and snuggled against me, and I wrapped my arms around her. This, at least, was real. This love was not one-sided or complicated. Victoria was mine, and I was hers, and nothing Richard did could take that away.

"Can we make pancakes?" she asked, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Of course."

We went downstairs together, and I made her favorite breakfast while she chattered about a dream she had. I listened and laughed in all the right places, but part of me was somewhere else, planning. I needed to call a lawyer today. I needed to figure out where Victoria and I would go. I needed to start untangling my life from Richard's before I lost my nerve.

Just as I was flipping the last pancake, I heard the front door open. My whole body tensed. Victoria jumped down from her chair and ran toward the hallway.

"Daddy!"

I stayed in the kitchen, gripping the spatula, listening to Richard's low voice as he greeted our daughter. A moment later, he appeared in the doorway, still in yesterday's clothes, looking tired but unbothered.

"Good morning," he said flatly, as if he had not stayed out all night, as if yesterday had not been our anniversary.

"Good morning," I replied, keeping my voice even.

He poured himself coffee and leaned against the counter, scrolling through his phone. Victoria tugged at his sleeve.

"Daddy, are you going to eat with us?"

"Not today, sweetheart. I have to shower and get back to the hospital."

"But you just got home," she said, her voice small.

"I know. But I have patients who need me."

He ruffled her hair absently and left the kitchen without another word to me. I watched him go, and the numbness from this morning cracked just a little. He had patients who needed him. What about the daughter who needed him? What about the wife who had waited for him?

But I did not say any of that. I just finished making breakfast and sat down with Victoria, pretending everything was fine.

An hour later, Richard came back downstairs, showered and dressed in fresh clothes. He grabbed his keys and briefcase, and I thought he would leave without saying anything. But then he stopped and turned to me.

"I am taking Victoria out this afternoon."

I looked up, surprised. "Where?"

"Mirabel is hosting a charity event at the children's hospital. She thought it would be nice if Victoria came along."

My stomach dropped. "You are taking our daughter to spend time with Mirabel?"

"It is a charity event, Evelyn. There will be other children there. Victoria will enjoy it."

"I did not agree to this."

"You do not need to agree. I am her father."

Victoria looked between us, her eyes wide. I swallowed my anger and kept my voice calm.

"We should discuss this first."

"There is nothing to discuss." Richard's tone was final, dismissive, the way it always was when he had made up his mind. "I will pick her up at two."

He left before I could argue further. The door closed behind him, and I sat there, shaking with a fury I could not release. He was taking our daughter to parade her in front of the woman he was clearly infatuated with, and he did not even have the decency to ask me first.

Victoria tugged on my sleeve. "Mama, are you sad?"

I forced another smile. "No, baby. I am fine."

But I was not fine. I was so far from fine that I did not even know how to begin explaining it.

At two o'clock, Richard returned. Victoria was excited, bouncing on her toes as she put on her coat. I watched them leave together, and when the door closed behind them, I finally let myself fall apart.

I sank onto the couch and buried my face in my hands. How did it come to this? How had I become so invisible in my own family that my husband could take my daughter to spend time with another woman and not even see the problem?

I thought about calling Sarah, about crying to her the way I had so many times before. But what was the point? She would comfort me, tell me I deserved better, and then I would go right back to accepting whatever scraps Richard threw my way.

No... Not this time.

I picked up my phone and searched for divorce lawyers in London. My hands were shaking, but I did not stop. I read reviews, compared rates, and finally settled on a firm that specialized in family law. I called and made an appointment for Monday morning.

The woman on the phone was kind and professional. She did not ask why I was calling or try to talk me out of it. She just took down my information and confirmed the time. When I hung up, I felt the kind of relief I had not felt in years.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house, doing laundry, keeping my hands busy so my mind would not spiral. But every time I passed Victoria's room or saw one of Richard's jackets hanging in the closet, the reality of what I was about to do hit me again.

I was going to divorce my husband. I was going to break apart the only life Victoria had ever known. I was going to become a single mother with no career and no income of my own.

But I was also going to be free. And that had to be worth something.

Richard brought Victoria home just before dinner. She was chattering excitedly about the hospital, about the children she met, about how nice Miss Mirabel was. I listened and nodded, my heart breaking with every word.

Richard did not stay. He said he had paperwork to finish and left again without even looking at me. Victoria did not seem to notice. She was too busy talking about Mirabel.

"Mama, Miss Mirabel said I could visit the hospital again next week. Can I?"

I knelt down so I was eye level with her. "We will see, sweetheart."

"She is really nice, Mama. You would like her."

I smiled, even though it felt like swallowing glass. "I am sure I would."

That night, after I put Victoria to bed, I sat alone in the living room and thought about everything I was about to lose. This house, this life, this version of myself that had tried so hard to make a broken marriage work.

But I also thought about everything I might gain. My music, my independence, my self-respect.

I did not know if I was strong enough to go through with it, but I knew I could not keep living like this.

So I made myself a promise. On Monday, I would walk into that lawyer's office. I would start the process.and I would not look back.

Because I deserved more than this. And it was time I started believing it.