Chapter 1
I felt my blood boiling, an urgent need to send her to hell every time I got home, and Samantha complained that we had been married for eight years without having children, or about how little time I spent at home because of work, something I patiently explained to her every time.
Although I was a long-distance truck driver, I liked being at home with my wife. But that day I had a surprise for her.
I arrived earlier than usual, two days early, to be exact. The house was incredibly quiet, which was not unusual. I took off my shoes and sweater in the hallway and put them in the small closet. I walked through the living room, where the TV was hanging on the back wall. The brown L-shaped sofa was in the middle of the room, covered with a red blanket, the one we used to snuggle up with while watching TV shows or playing board games.
The coffee table was where we used to put our food when we didn't feel like using the dining room. The back wall was painted navy blue, the others white, with white curtains framing the window.
But this time, instead of finding a drink or leftover food, I found papers, initially I didn’t think much of it; Samantha usually left her work lying around. Except when I tried to find her, she wasn’t there.
Only my clothes were left in the closet, her suitcases were gone. Her perfumes and cream were missing too; the room didn’t smell like her anymore. I walked back to the living room, looking for any hint of her, but I only saw those papers on the coffee table.
I picked them up and felt the color drain from my face. I collapsed onto the couch, and the void on my stomach was growing wider as I saw the ‘Divorce’ and her signature on it. Although I saw this coming, I never thought she could do this to me, I love her so much, my mind went blank.
Every sound faded from my ears except my heart which was beating faster. I started to see water spots on the paper. I looked up, searching for a leak, but there was none... until a drop fell on my hand and I realized I had started to cry. I… I don’t remember the last time I did.
The knot in my throat grew tighter and heavier with every passing second. I began to gasp for air while the tears fell without stopping. Life is ironic; just when I came home to tell her I had quit my job to give her the life she wanted, she left me.
My parents died when I was fifteen, and I ended up in foster care. I was never a brilliant student, so college was never in my plans. Being a trucker was the most logical option; I was good at driving and I liked it, and the pay was good, even if it meant I didn't have a life.
The divorce destroyed me. Seeing her so radiant, so splendid without me... it hurt. I ended up with no money, well, very little. I couldn't stay here, where I would see her in every place we had ever visited. I will move far away and start a new life. A life without her."
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