Chapter 2

The sound made them look up.

Mark's eyes widened slightly when he saw me, then narrowed.

Jessica just smirked, a smug, triumphant look on her face.

Emily, our daughter, just stared, her expression unreadable for a moment.

"Sarah! What are you doing here?" Mark asked, his voice attempting a casual tone that didn't quite land.

"What am I doing here?"

My voice was a low tremor.

"What is she doing here, Mark? And what did you mean, Buster was 'taken care of'?"

Jessica placed a perfectly manicured hand on her pregnant belly.

"Mark was just telling me how he ensured my peace of mind. That dog was a menace."

"He was not a menace!" I cried, stepping forward, my whole body shaking.

"Where is he, Mark? Where is Buster?"

Mark sighed, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face before he smoothed it into an expression of pained patience.

"Sarah, don't make a scene. It's just a dog. He bit Jessica. I had to do something."

"He wouldn't bite anyone! You're lying!" I insisted, my voice rising.

"Where is he?"

Emily, my sweet Emily, then piped up, her voice sharp and cold, "Daddy sent him away because he was bad! He scared Jessica and the new baby!"

The words, from my own daughter, hit me like a physical blow.

"Emily, no, that's not true..."

Mark cut me off, "See? Even Emily understands. It's done, Sarah. I'll get you another dog if you want. A puppy, maybe."

He tried a charming smile, the one he used to close deals at the dealership.

His casual dismissal of Buster, my loyal companion, my shadow, the one creature who gave me unconditional love, was like a shard of ice to my heart.

"Another dog?" I whispered, the enormity of his betrayal washing over me.

"You sent my dog, our family dog, to be killed, because she wanted a stress-free environment?"

My gaze shifted to Jessica, her eyes gleaming with malice.

"He was old and smelly anyway," she said, her voice dripping with disdain.

Then Emily, my daughter, twisted the knife.

"Yeah, Mom! You always cared more about that stupid dog than me! I wish Jessica was my mom! She's way cooler, and she's giving Daddy a new baby, a boy probably!"

My breath hitched.

My vision blurred.

The sounds of the restaurant, the clinking of glasses, the low hum of conversation, all faded into a roaring in my ears.

I felt my world tilting on its axis.

The casual cruelty from Mark, the venom from Jessica, and the shocking betrayal from Emily, it was too much.

"A mutt?" I repeated Mark's earlier sentiment, my voice dangerously quiet now.

"You think our family, our vows, mean so little you can just... discard parts of it for her?"

Mark scoffed, "Oh, here we go. Are you really going to throw away our family over a mutt, Sarah? Get a grip."

That was it.

The final straw.

The years of his subtle neglect, the financial "struggles" that never seemed to affect his own comforts, the growing distance between us – it all coalesced into this one, monstrous act of cruelty and deceit.

"Our family?" I laughed, a harsh, broken sound.

"There is no 'our family' anymore, Mark. Not after this. I want a divorce."