Chapter 3Happier Without My Cheating Ex-Wife

Chloe froze for a second. Then, a helpless smile played on her lips. "Still playing games, huh?" she said, her voice gently coaxing as she reached to touch my head. "Liam and I are history. We're the couple now; you have to trust your wife." She added, "I'm a little hungry. Could you make me something to eat?" It was an obvious olive branch, an invitation to return to our old routine.

But I didn't take it. "You make it yourself." Perhaps it was the first time I'd ever refused her, and she seemed unaccustomed to it. Without intending to explain further, I turned, sidestepping her, and started towards the bedroom. She grabbed my arm, her grip firm. "Alex, are you not feeling well?" Her tone was still gentle, making me feel even more like the irrational one.

At my breaking point, I lashed out. "What if I'm not? Do you honestly care, after five years of marriage?"

"We're husband and wife. If I don't care about you, who do I care about?"

"Then tell me," I challenged, "when's my birthday?"

Chloe's mouth opened slightly, then closed, speechless. How could she possibly know? It was like the time I'd bought a cake and put it in front of her, and she'd simply assumed I just happened to want cake!

"But you know Liam's!" Tears streamed down my face. I expected her to explode in anger or frantically try to explain her relationship with Liam. But she didn't. She just sighed, a weary, helpless sound. "You need to cool down. I'll be working late at the office tonight!"

Always the same. Every time I wanted to confront her, she'd retreat with an excuse about "working late." Chloe was a master of passive aggression, cloaked in a veil of polite distance. I couldn't take it anymore. I snatched the TV remote and hurled it at her. She didn't react fast enough; it struck her forehead, leaving a faint red mark. Her eyes slowly ignited with fury. "Alex, there's a limit to how unreasonable you can be."

She slammed the door shut, leaving behind a profound silence and my own shattered self. In a valley with no echo, shouting further would only exhaust me more. I slid to the floor, my gaze sweeping across our wedding photo on the wall, laughing and crying all at once.

I don't know how much time passed before, in a daze, I heard my phone ring. I pressed accept, and Chloe's furious voice blasted through the speaker. "Alex, get over here and control your friend!" Hearing Tyler's name, I hung up and rushed frantically to The Metropolitan Bistro.

The moment I stepped through the door, I saw Liam, clutching his bruised mouth, leaning weakly into Chloe's embrace. Tyler was being restrained by waiters, his face contorted in a silent roar of frustration. I quickly rushed to his side to calm him down.

Chloe didn't spare me a glance, her face dark with anger. "Tyler, don't think I won't touch you just because you're Alex's friend. Apologize to Liam, now."

"Pfft, don't you dare accuse me, you shameless woman!" Tyler spat back. "I did want to punch him, hard, but I never got the chance!"

Chloe's face turned ashen, then her fury erupted, aimed squarely at me. "Alex, what kind of nonsense have you been feeding her? I told you, Liam and I are just friends! Are you deaf?" She continued, "Today, neither of you are leaving until you apologize to Liam."

"Fine!" I said, my voice cutting through the tension. "But first, let's have the restaurant manager check the surveillance footage."

Tyler's eyes lit up. Liam, however, suddenly looked wounded. He started stalling, "Forget it, Chloe. I didn't realize Alex misunderstood me so deeply. Maybe you should just stay away from me from now on!" With that, he dramatically stormed out, Chloe rushing after him in a panic. Before leaving, she threw one last threat over her shoulder: "Alex, if anything happens to Liam, I'm not done with you." My nose stung, and my head bowed in silent pain.