You slam the front door behind you. Not subtle You want her to hear.
Addison’s in the kitchen. Wine in one hand phone in the other. She looks up startled. “Hey”
You cut her off “How long?”
She freezes You’ve never seen her this still.
“Don’t lie to me, Addison.” Your voice shakes, but it’s sharp.
She sets the wine glass down carefully. “It’s not what you think.”
You laugh coldly “Really? Because what I think is that my wife has been screwing someone else while I’ve been in and out of clinics with hormone needles shoved into my stomach for our family.”
Addison’s jaw tightens. “It was a mistake.”
“That’s supposed to make it better?”
She steps toward you, desperate, eyes glossy. “It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t- And it didn’t mean anything.”
You flinch like she hit you. “Don’t you dare say it meant nothing.”
She swallows hard. “I messed up. I’m not making excuses—”
“You are making excuses!” you snap. “God, Addison. How could you? After everything we’ve built? After everything I’ve given—” You choke on your words, blinking back furious tears. “You threw us away for what?”
Her eyes burn with something you don’t understand — anger, maybe, but not at you. “You don’t get it.”
“Then help me understand!” you yell. “Because right now, I am looking at the woman I promised forever to, and I don’t even recognize you.”
She clenches her fists. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You did hurt me. And now you’re standing here, acting like this just... happened to you?” You shake your head, stepping back. “God, I defended you to everyone. My mom, your coworkers — when they said you didn’t care enough, that you weren’t ready for this life, I said they were wrong.”
Addison’s breathing hard now, trembling with guilt and something else she won’t name. “You don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me.”
Silence.
She doesn’t. She won’t.
You laugh again, emptily. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
You turn away, but not before you catch the way she folds in on herself, like she's breaking apart right in front of you — and maybe she is.