Kezia stared at the cold, empty space beside her in bed, the same space Ethan never seemed to occupy unless it suited him. He hadn't even bothered to come home that night. She'd gone to bed hours ago, her thoughts swirling in a storm of frustration, hurt, and confusion. The muffled sound of laughter from the party downstairs drifted into her ears. She knew that Ethan was entertaining another one of his "guests" — another one of the women he seemed to find so much more interesting than her.
The silence in the room felt oppressive. The house that had once felt like a home now felt like a prison — one that she couldn't escape from. How had things gotten so bad? She had once been happy here, when Ethan had still been attentive, when their marriage wasn't tainted by lies and betrayal.
The sound of the front door slamming jolted her from her thoughts. She turned her head toward the clock: it was almost two in the morning. Ethan's heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway as he staggered toward their bedroom, his voice slurred from too many drinks.
Kezia closed her eyes and counted to five. She had promised herself that she wouldn't let him break her anymore. But the words she had rehearsed — the confrontation she had been planning for weeks — all seemed so hollow now.
The door creaked open, and Ethan stumbled into the room, his cologne mixing with the overpowering scent of alcohol. He didn't even look at her as he undressed, throwing his clothes carelessly onto the floor before climbing into bed.
"Do you ever get tired of this?" Kezia asked, her voice barely a whisper, but it was enough to catch his attention.
Ethan let out a low chuckle. "What, you want to talk now?" he said, not even bothering to look at her. "Come on, Kezia, you know I'm busy. You can't expect me to stay home every night with you." His tone was dismissive, as if this was just another one of her trivial concerns.
Kezia swallowed hard, forcing herself to look at him. "You never listen to me, Ethan. Not when I'm talking about how I feel. Not when I ask for your time or attention. You just keep doing whatever you want, whenever you want. I can't keep living like this."
He sighed and rolled over to face her, his eyes half-lidded with irritation. "You're being dramatic. I'm here, aren't I? What else do you want from me? Do you expect me to cut ties with every woman I work with? Get real, Kezia." His words were sharp, and they hit her like a slap across the face.
The familiar ache in her chest flared. It had been years since Ethan had shown her any semblance of real affection, and now, even the smallest attempt to connect felt like an impossible dream.
Kezia's hands clenched into fists. "I want a husband who cares about me. A partner who doesn't treat me like I'm invisible." She could feel her heart pounding as the words spilled from her mouth. She couldn't hold them back any longer.
Ethan let out an exasperated groan, throwing his arm across his forehead as if the conversation bored him. "You want affection? You want me to hold you? Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to deal with all of your… insecurities?" He turned his back to her, already dismissing her feelings.
Kezia fought the tears that threatened to fall. She had always known that Ethan was self-absorbed, but this felt different. He was no longer pretending to care. He was openly showing how little he valued her.
The silence between them grew heavy, and Kezia sat up in bed, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on her chest. She was so tired — tired of trying, tired of hoping, and tired of waiting for a man who would never change. The memories of the past five years flashed before her: the first time Ethan had come home late, the first time she had found a woman's perfume on his shirt, the first time he had kissed another woman in front of her at the office.
Those moments had broken something inside her, and now, she was numb. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt truly loved by him. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like she mattered at all.
Kezia stood up, unable to stay in the bed any longer. She walked to the window and stared out at the city skyline, her reflection staring back at her in the glass. The woman she saw wasn't the woman she used to be. The hopeful, kind-hearted woman who had once believed in the fairytale of a perfect marriage was gone.
But in her place, a new version of Kezia had begun to emerge — one that was tired of sacrificing her happiness for the sake of a man who didn't deserve her. She wasn't going to keep pretending that everything was okay. She wasn't going to keep denying the truth of what her life had become.
Kezia took a deep breath and turned back toward the bed. She knew that staying in this marriage, in this toxic cycle, would only continue to break her. Ethan didn't respect her, didn't appreciate her, and didn't even care to try to understand her pain.
"Maybe I deserve more than this," Kezia whispered to herself, as though the words would give her strength.
The decision had already been made in her heart, but the path forward was still unclear. How was she supposed to leave him when everything about their life together was intertwined? How was she supposed to find the courage to walk away from a life that had once felt like her future?
The sound of Ethan's snoring broke through her thoughts, pulling her back into reality. She looked at him one last time, his body sprawled across the bed as if he owned it all. She felt nothing for him in that moment. Not love. Not even hate. Only indifference.
Kezia turned off the light and climbed into bed, pulling the covers tightly around herself, trying to shield herself from the cold emptiness that filled her heart. But even in the silence, she knew that something had shifted inside her. She was done.
Kezia had been a passive participant in her own life for far too long. The woman she had been — the one who let Ethan walk all over her, who lived only to please him — was gone. And in her place, a new woman had begun to emerge, one who would no longer be a silent witness to her own suffering.
As sleep claimed her, Kezia made a promise to herself — a promise that in this life, she would no longer allow anyone to hold her hostage. Not even Ethan.