I replay his words in my mind as I walk towards the courthouse to finalize the divorce. Why does he have to do this? Why does he have to break my heart over and over again?

He must think I'm a masochist. Staying and taking the pain over and over again. Watching him grow cold towards me, watching him take a girl home every night. People might think I like the pain, but I call it love.

That's why I'm going through with the divorce. I can take the pain his words and actions cause me, but I can't stand to see him unhappy. That's all I make him feel: unhappy.

I still remember the times he would hold me close and whisper in my ear how happy he was and how happy I made him, but the fairy tale ended. The high we were on after we got married disappeared and all that was left was the reality that we weren't meant to be together. We were never meant to be together.

So I force myself to keep walking towards the courthouse where the man I love would end this marriage, end us. And beneath the gut-twisting sadness and hurt, I feel a sense of relief and freedom. Because he wasn't the only one stuck in that marriage, I was too. I couldn't let go of that hope that everything was able to be fixed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I enter the courtroom slowly, preparing myself for the glares and hateful words of the Daniels family. They don't disappoint, as soon as I step foot in the room I hear Blake's mother saying that she knew I was no good and how her son should've never married me.

What's sad is that I expect these words and hatred. After Blake announced the divorce, she went from the loving mother-in-law to the evil stepmother. I don't know how she could change this much and this fast, but I would never know why because I wasn't even there when Blake told his family.

I ignore the comments as I walk closer to the end of this story, Blake's and my story. Or so I thought, no one told me that our story was only beginning.