After the Affair, I Made Him Leave with Nothing

That evening, I happened to glance at my husband's phone and saw his chat with a chatbot.

Wife bought a purse for five hundred bucks. Such a waste. How do I get her to return it?

The next second, a new message popped up on his WeChat.

Mr. Cox, the Herms bag you ordered has arrived.

Would you and Ms. Gray like to pick it up in person, or shall we deliver it to you?

My hand clenched around the phone and started to shake.

My husband's last name was indeed Cox. But mine sure as hell wasn't Gray.

I steadied my breathing and typed a reply to the sales associate.

"Tomorrow at ten a.m. Deliver it to the house."

"I'll take it to Ms. Gray myself."

Ten a.m. Daniel would be at work. I'd have the house to myself.

After sending the message, I opened the navigation app on his phone and memorized the address of the neighborhood he'd been visiting most often lately.

I deleted the entire conversation with the sales associate, then set the phone back exactly where it had been.

Daniel came out of the bathroom right on cue, freshly showered.

He dropped onto the bed beside me and slipped the phone away as if it were nothing.

"Evie, that purse you bought todaywhy don't you just return it?"

I looked at him, and all I could feel was how terrifyingly unfamiliar this man I'd been married to for six years had become.

"Daniel, today is my thirtieth birthday."

"You didn't get me a gift. I can't even buy myself a five-hundred-dollar purse?"

He rubbed his hands together, his expression sheepish.

"That's not what I meant."

"It's just, you know, ever since Rose was born you haven't worked. She's in preschool now, and money's tight."

"We have to be smart about spending"

I didn't want to hear another word. I stood up and cut him off.

"I'm going to shower. I still have to take Rose to school in the morning."

Early the next day, Daniel left for work and I dropped Rose off at preschool.

At ten on the dot, the courier from Herms arrived as promised.

When that forty-thousand-dollar bag was placed in my hands, my chest ached so hard I couldn't breathe.

In Daniel's eyes, five hundred dollars on a purse for me was wastefulbut forty thousand on a bag for another woman was perfectly fine. What a joke.

But this wasn't the time to feel sorry for myself.

I pulled myself together, got in the car, and drove to the address I'd memorized from his phone the night before.

A woman with a striking face opened the door.

"Hi. Who are you looking for?"

I wanted to be sure I had the right person, so I kept my composure and asked.

"Are you Ms. Gray?"

She nodded.

Once I had my confirmation, I held up the shopping bag.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Understanding crossed her face. She stepped aside and let me through.

So she'd already guessed who I was.

The moment I walked in, the place hit me like a slapGucci heels in the shoe cabinet, a Burberry scarf tossed over the sofa, a Louis Vuitton coat on the standing rack by the door, a Chanel bag sitting on the coffee table.

All of it.

I didn't know how much Daniel had paid for, but I knew he'd paid for plenty.

Julia caught the look in my eyes, and a flicker of contempt crossed her face.

"Oh, that Daniel. He's always buying me things like these. I keep telling him no, stop, I don't need thembut he just won't listen."

"But then again, he's not wrong, is he? A woman's got to look good. After all, how a woman looks is how her man looks. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Weiss?"

I didn't answer, and Julia couldn't have cared lessshe lifted the shopping bag right out of my hands as if I were a delivery girl.

"This must be the purse Daniel ordered for me last month?"

"I've had my eye on this one for ages. How sweet of you to make a special trip, Miss Weiss"

I couldn't listen to another word. My palm cracked across her face hard enough to cut her off mid-sentence.

She was clutching her cheek, mouth open to scream, when the front door swung wide.

Daniel stood in the doorway.

He was carrying bags of meat and vegetables, clearly here to cook lunch.

The second he saw me, panic flooded his face.

"Ev Evie, what are you doing here?"

Something clenched around my heart so hard I almost couldn't breathe.

Six years of marriage, and Daniel had never once bought groceries, never once cooked a mealalways too busy with work, he said. Even when I was nine months pregnant, I was the one dragging myself to the market, standing over the stove with my belly in the way. And now here was my husband, carrying groceries to another woman's door like her errand dog.

I didn't answer him. I pointed at Julia and looked him dead in the eye.

"Who is she?"

Daniel dropped the bags and rushed over, trying to grab my hand.

"Let's go, Evie, come onnot here. We go home, I'll explain at home."

I flung his hand off so hard he stumbled, and my voice rose even louder.

"Daniel! I'm asking you one more timewho is this woman?"

"What are you doing here?"

The noise drew neighbors fast.

People gathered outside the door, whispering and pointing.

"What's going on? The wife showed up to catch the mistress? See, I told you all. That Julia woman, you could tell she was no good just by looking at her."

"What's wrong with men these days? They've got perfectly fine lives at home and they're still out looking for thrills."

"Who knows? That's just how men are now, isn't it? Wife at home raising the kids, and they can't appreciate it. Rather be out doing things that'll get them struck by lightning!"

The gossip stripped whatever composure Daniel had left. His expression darkened by the second.

"Let's go! Home! Now!"

"I'll give you an explanation!"

We weren't two steps inside the door before Daniel was already jabbing his finger in my face, shouting.

"Evelyn! Did you really have to blow this up like that?"

"After that stunt you pulled, how is she supposed to face anyone? You're a womanyou of all people should know what reputation means to a woman!"

I didn't waste my breath arguing. I reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and slammed it down in front of him.

In all our years of marriage, I had never once checked his phone. He'd never bothered to delete anything.

Every transfer to the personal shopper was right there in black and white.

A five-hundred-dollar compact here. A two-thousand-dollar perfume there.

A sixty-thousand-dollar necklace. A three-hundred-thousand-dollar handbag.

Every single transaction, crystal clear.

"Now you want to blame me for making a scene? Now reputation matters?"

"Funny how neither of you thought about that when you were climbing into bed together."

I didn't miss the flicker that crossed his eyesthere and gone before he could hide it.

But he buried it fast, cranking his voice right back up.

"You went to her place over this? Do you even know what this is about?"

"She's my superiorSupervisor Gray runs my entire team. Do you have any idea how much she's helped me at the company over the years?"

"So I bought her a few gifts to say thank youis that really worth losing your mind over?"

So it was true. Everything people said about men like himevery word of it.

A man will never admit to cheating. Not unless you drag him out of the bed yourself.

When I didn't respond, Daniel softened his tone.

"Come on, we've been married this long. Don't you know what kind of person I am by now?"

"I'm just trying to keep things running at work so I can provide for this family. That's all it is."

"I didn't think it through, okay? I didn't handle it well. Stop being angry. From now on, we can just"

As he talked, my heart sank lower and lower.

Until it dropped past feeling altogether, into a silence so deep nothing could reach me.

I watched his lips moving without stopping and heard my own voice come out, raw and strained.

"Daniel. Let's get divorced."

His voice cut off mid-sentence, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Divorce? You want to divorce me?"

"You don't work. You don't earn a cent. Tell mehow exactly do you plan to survive without me?"

"Rose is still little. If you divorce me, how are you going to feed her?"

Before I could answer, he was already heading for the door.

"You're clearly not thinking straight! You're still worked up and I'm not wasting my breath on this!"

"Stay home and think it over!"

The door slammed shut, and the living room fell into dead silence.

Daniel wasn't wrong about the facts.

I had no one. It had always been just me and my brother Adrian, holding each other up since we were kids.

Four years ago, after I gave birth to Rose, Lois Cox refused to help. So I quit my job and stayed home full-time with the baby.

Every ounce of devotion I'd poured into this familythat was exactly what Daniel held over my head to make sure I couldn't leave.

What a joke.

Just then, my phone rang.

"Hello, is this Miss Weiss? Is Daniel Cox your husband?"

"Your husband's loan with our bank has been overdue for over a month. Please let him know he needs to make a payment as soon as possible, or we will be taking legal action."

A high-pitched ringing flooded my skull.

Just moments ago, I'd been wondering where Daniel got the money for all those things he bought Julia.

Now it all made sense.

I dialed Adrian right away.

"Adrianhelp me. I'm divorcing Daniel."

After I hung up, I saw it was nearly time for Rose's preschool to let out. I splashed water on my face and left.

But the moment I arrived, the teacher's words stopped me cold.

"Rose's mom? What are you doing here?"

"Her dad already picked her up. He's taking her out for three days."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Four years old, and Daniel had never once looked after Rose for a single dayand now, after everything that just happened, he shows up at her school.

I called him immediately.

"Daniel! Where's my daughter!"

His voice was full of mockery.

"The way you've been carrying on, I don't think you're in any shape to take care of her. So I picked her up myself."

"Besides, my mom's been missing her. I'm taking Rose to the countryside so she can spend some quality time with her grandmother."

"You can use the time to think things over between us"

I hung up before he could finish and drove straight to Lois's place.

Lois had two sonsDaniel in the city, and Ryan, the younger one, who'd never held a job in his life and still lived with her in the countryside. She'd always poured everything she had into Ryan's family, money and labor both. Once Ryan married, she'd taken over raising his boy herself, her precious first grandson, with her own two hands.

Six years I'd been married into that family. Because I gave birth to a girl, Lois had never once come to see Rose.

Ryan's son was four years old. The same age as Rose.

Bryce Cox had been spoiled since birtha little tyrant who terrorized the village and answered to no one.

Daniel's mother was the kind of woman who believed sons were gold and daughters were dust, and she took her grandson's side in everything.

If Daniel had brought Rose there, there was no chance she wasn't being bullied.

The thought hit me like ice water. I called my brother immediately, told him to get to the countryside as fast as he could.

The second I hung up, I floored the gas. I would have flown there if I could.

It was already dark by the time I arrived.

The car barely stopped before I unbuckled my seatbelt and ran toward the courtyard.

One step through the gate and my legs almost gave out.

Rose was on the ground, sobbing, screaming for her dad, her mom, over and over.

Bryce was sitting on her stomach, pinning her so she couldn't get up.

He was grabbing pebbles off the ground and throwing them at her face, cursing the whole time.

"You're bad luck! Nobody even wants you! Why won't you give me your snacks!"

"This is my house! You have to do what I say, or I'll beat you to death!"

"And my uncle said your mom doesn't want you anymore! You worthless little nothingyou're gonna get sent back here to be my servant!"

While my daughter was being treated like this, Daniel sat at the wooden table with his mother, his brother, and the rest of the family, eating dinner.

As if none of this was happening.

I couldn't take another second. I charged forward, shoved Bryce off hard, and pulled Rose into my arms.

That kicked the hornet's nest.

The whole family, deaf and blind a moment ago, shot to their feet.

Daniel's mother rushed straight at me and scooped the wailing Bryce into her arms.

"My poor baby, my sweet boy, Grandma's here. Did she hurt you anywhere?"

"Let Grandma see, let Grandma see. Are you hurt? Why are you crying so hard?"

Daniel stepped forward and shoved me.

"Evelyn, have you lost your mind!"

"Bryce is only four! How could you use that kind of force on a child?"

I knocked his hand away so hard my palm stung. I wanted to tear him apart.

"Daniel, are you even human? She's your daughteryour blood! She was crying for you and you just sat there!"

"Bryce is only four? Rose is four too! You watched him do that to her and didn't move?"

"If Rose is hurt because of this, I swear to God your family will answer for it!"

His mother, satisfied Bryce was fine, strode over to me.

"Oh, you can't compare that. They're childrenthey shove, they scuffle, that's what kids do. What business does a grown-up have jumping in?"

"You're a grown woman. How could you put your hands on a child?"

"The day this family married you was the day our luck turned. Can't even bear a son, and now you want to hurt my grandson too?"

Daniel's brother sauntered over to Daniel's side, picking his teeth.

"Bro, this wife of yours is something else. Look at that faceready to bite someone's head off. She's gonna be walking all over you any day now."

"I'm not one to talk, but come onyou're the eldest son of the Cox family. Forget that you haven't carried on the family name. You couldn't even find a wife who knows her place?"

"Take it from meyou can't give women an inch. You think my wife would dare open her mouth to me like that?"

Daniel's expression was getting uglier by the second. My heart slammed once, hard.

Rose was still in my arms. I couldn't fight all of themnot like this, not holding her.

I tightened my grip on my daughter and walked straight for the door.

Daniel's voice hit me from behind.

His jaw was clenched, every word forced through gritted teeth.

"Stop right there! Apologize to Bryce. Apologize to my mother!"

I turned around slowly, unable to believe what I'd just heard.

"Daniel, your daughter was the one getting hit!"

"I have nothing left to say to your family. Daniel, I want a divorce!"

The second those words left my mouth, Lois's fury shifted into something else entirely.

She dropped to the ground, slapping her thighs, and started wailing.

"Old man! Old man, you get over here and look at this! Your son and his wife want me dead! They're trying to put me in the ground!"

"I broke my back raising two boys on my own, and now this woman's poisoned my son against his own mother!"

"Why didn't you take me with you, huh? I should just go join yoube done with it!"

Her wailing drew the neighbors out.

Slack season, everyone home, dinner just finishedone by one they drifted to their doorways and peered into the little courtyard.

"Hold on, isn't that the older Cox boy? What happened? Why's he back tonight? That his wife and daughter with him?"

"Word is the daughter-in-law's demanding a divorce. I'm right next doorheard every word of it."

"Lord have mercy, isn't he supposed to be the one who made it? Good job out in Riverton and everything? What's she divorcing him for?"

The whispers spread. Daniel's face went tight with humiliation.

He couldn't take it anymore. His hand shot up, aimed straight at methe neighbors watching, his pride in shreds, and hitting me the only answer he had left.

Then a familiar voice reached everyone's ears.

"Stop!"

"What do you think you're doing!"