Only ten years

Ten years. That's how long I'd been with Liam.

Then, I accidentally picked up his phone.

"Hey, babe, the little kitty just had a whole litter of kittens!"

It was a sweet, feminine voice. The contact was saved as "Sweet Pea."

"He's in the shower, call back later," I said coldly before hanging up.

That night, Liam went ballistic, grabbing whatever clothes he could find, and rushed out the door.

Meanwhile, I trashed "our" place, erasing every trace of myself, and bought a one-way ticket overseas.

Three years later, Liam found me on some tropical island. He stared, eyes red-rimmed, at the little boy standing next to me, who looked a lot like him.

"Is he... mine?" he asked, his voice cracking.

1

Liam was a powerhouse. I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open.

My phone kept buzzing. Half-asleep, I answered.

"Hey, babe! Our little kitty just had a whole litter of kittens!"

The voice was soft, almost bubbly, but it jolted me awake. My eyes snapped open, and I looked at the caller ID: "Sweet Pea."

"Babe?" she asked.

I took a breath, making my voice sound calm. "He's in the shower, call back later."

She paused for a second, then hung up.

Liam came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Water droplets trickled down his muscles, disappearing into the towel. He had some new scratches on him too, my handiwork from earlier.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

He looked at the marks on my collarbone, his eyes darkening. He was about to lean in, but I held out his phone to him.

He frowned, snatched the phone, and tossed it aside. He pinned my hands down, his breath hot against my skin.

"Sweet Pea," I said.

He froze.

"She called you, said your kitty had babies."

Liam went pale, then bolted, throwing on random clothes and rushing out the door like a man possessed.

I was alone in the "home" we'd made together.

Watching him run to some other girl.

2

She was his "fix up"—someone his family had set him up with. They'd been seeing each other for about three months, and only officially started dating a month ago. They even adopted a stray cat together.

She'd send him photos of food, songs, even a random cloud, and he’d engage with her. He’d snap a photo of dinner, making sure I wasn't in the shot, and then send it to her.

Meanwhile, my texts with Liam were all business. Just work, work, work.

It was only late at night, when we were in bed, that he'd murmur "babe" in my ear.

A term of endearment, maybe. For me, it was a treasure I'd held close for ten years.

I laughed.

I pulled out Liam's pack of smokes from the drawer.

I guess it had been a while, because I choked on the first puff, coughing until my eyes teared up.

My coworker, Sarah, texted me:

"Hey, did you know that Liam's dating someone?"

Liam and I always acted professionally in front of others, often arguing over work stuff.

No one would ever imagine him holding me on his lap, purring into my ear, "What am I gonna do? I'm stuck with you!"

Such a c...