Chapter 3The Better Person

In a coffee shop.

Mark sat across from me, his eyes full of pain.

"Claire, I..."

He couldn't say it.

I was waiting. Waiting to see if, now that I knew, he would choose to end it with her, or end it with me.

He finally, painfully, got the words out.

"Claire... I... I don't think I love you anymore."

I didn't say anything.

My body betrayed me first. My eyes burned.

He looked helpless. "Don't cry..."

He stared at me, then slid the napkin dispenser across the table.

He let out a long, heavy sigh.

"We've been together since we were eighteen, Claire. Eight years. I know I'm an asshole. I'm disgusting. But... in eight years... the love just... it turned into family. Into obligation. We can't fight that. It just happens."

"And her?" I asked.

He was silent.

"Maybe that will fade, too," he said. "But... I don't want to lie to you right now."

He looked up, his voice bitter.

"I haven't done anything. I haven't slept with her. If you want... we can stay married. We can... keep going. But all I have left to give you is... responsibility. And the rest of my time."

How could I describe that feeling?

It wasn't just sadness. It was... watching yourself drown.

You know you're going to die. You just have to wait for the water to fill your lungs.

We sat in silence.

Finally, I spoke. "Let's set a date. To file for divorce."