Chloe stepped into the kitchen, her hoodie pulled tightly around her, as if the fabric could shield her from the weight of the morning.
Kevin stood by the stove, flipping eggs onto a plate, moving with the same ease as if nothing had changed.
But everything had.
Carter sat at the table, swinging his legs absentmindedly, absorbed in his cartoon. Oblivious to the tension stretching between his parents.
Chloe exhaled slowly, planting her feet, voice firm. "We need to talk."
Kevin sighed, wiping his hands on a towel, turning to face her. "Yeah, I figured."
She crossed her arms. No small talk. No circling around it. "I've started looking at apartments."
He stared at her for a beat, unreadable. Then—finally—he pushed back.
"You don't have to do this," he muttered.
She blinked. "I do."
His jaw tensed. "And Carter? What happens to him?"
"He stays with me." Chloe inhaled. "You can have visitation. We can figure out the details. But he lives with me."
Kevin let out a humorless chuckle. "Of course. You always want control."
She scoffed softly, shaking her head. "I want stability."
Kevin exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "You never understood me, Chloe. You never listened."
Her spine straightened. "Really? That's what we're doing now?"
Kevin ran a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding into his voice. "Sophia—she gets me. She listens. She—"
"Don't," Chloe interrupted, voice sharp.
But Kevin didn't stop. "She makes things easy." His gaze was pointed now. "She sees me for who I am, not just who I'm supposed to be."
Chloe inhaled slowly, pressing her nails against her palm to ground herself. There it was—the cruel truth spoken aloud, the comparison, the rewriting of their history.
"I did listen, Kevin," she murmured, voice like steel. "I listened when you said you were struggling. I listened when you couldn't pull yourself together. I picked you up when you couldn't stand on your own."
Her breath was steady, controlled. "Tell me—when was the last time you listened to me?"
Silence.
Because they both already knew the answer.
Kevin swallowed, shifting his weight, frustration flickering into something quieter. Realization. Guilt. Maybe even acceptance.
But it didn't matter anymore.
"I'm filing for divorce tomorrow," Chloe said, final.
Kevin exhaled. "Don't regret it."
She met his gaze, unwavering. "I already regret staying this long."
And with that, the fight was over.