An Iced Decaf Coffee

My husband was a university professor.

He was reserved but honest, with a gentle temperament.

On my way to pick him up from work, I felt thirsty and asked him to order me a coffee.

When I got it, it was an iced decaf coffee.

I didn't take a sip and tossed it into the trash can in his office. "Jared, I want a divorce."

He froze, his face full of confusion. "What?"

His new doctoral student, Diana Riley, stepped in to smooth things over. "It's just a coffee. If you don't like it, don't drink it. No need to make a big deal, Mrs. Cooper."

Jared frowned. "Kathy, if you don't like it, just buy another one. Why throw a fit?"

I turned and walked away. "I'll bring you the divorce papers tomorrow."

...

I glanced back, but Jared didn't follow.

Diana cautiously poked his arm. "Professor, she's upset. Aren't you going to comfort her?"

Jared let out a cold huff, his voice laced with irritation. "It's just a coffee. Who knows what flavor she likes? She's always like this. It's not the first time she's brought up divorce. She'll get over it."

A faint smile played on Diana's lips as she inched closer to Jared.

Their clothes fluttered in the breeze, brushing against each other.

Diana's hair fell out of place, and Jared instinctively tucked it behind her ear.

Their ears flushed red.

They stood close, like lovers, neither pulling away.

I pulled out my phone and called my lawyer friend Claire Winston. "A few days ago, a company in Crestwood invited me to lead a team. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

She paused for a few seconds, her voice full of shock. "You talked it over with Jared? You're okay with a long-distance relationship?"

I shrugged, a bitter smile on my face. "It's not long-distance. I asked for a divorce. Can you help me draft the papers?"

She hesitated, then sighed deeply. "Even a perfect couple like you can't survive long years?"

Jared and I were once the gold standard of campus sweethearts.

We fell in love in freshman year, got married right after graduation, and had been together for seven years.

I knew him well enough.

He never drank coffee, and when we ate out, he always stuck with the default menu options.

Yet now, he ordered an iced decaf coffee with precision.

It was because he'd bought that exact drink for someone else.

And I knew that someone wasn't me-it was Diana.

A group of students passed by, their gossip loud and carefree.

"Diana got called to Professor Cooper's office for extra lab help again. She's the first newbie to get so much attention."

"Shh, don't spread rumors. He's married."

"I heard his wife is super controlling, so he stays at the office until midnight every night."

"Is it really not because of Diana that he stays so late?"

Everyone could see his disdain for me and his favoritism toward Diana.

Everyone except him.

While packing my suitcase at home, I accidentally knocked over Jared's notebook on the desk.

A photo slipped out.

Under the disco lights of a karaoke bar, Jared and Diana were playing a flirty game, tearing a tissue with their mouths, surrounded by a cheering crowd.

The mood was charged and intimate.

The photo was covered in fingerprints, proof Jared had traced Diana's face countless times.

My heart felt crushed, like it was gripped by a giant hand.

At 3 a.m., Jared finally came home, reeking of alcohol, with a tipsy young woman stumbling behind him.

When Diana saw my cold stare, she rushed over and grabbed my arm, acting overly friendly. "Mrs. Cooper, we had a group dinner with the lab team tonight. Professor was so upset about your fight that he asked me to stay and drink with him. We lost track of time, and the dorms were locked, so he brought me here to crash for the night. You don't mind, do you?"

I pulled my arm free and stepped back three paces. "All the hotels in town are booked tonight?"

Jared's lips tightened, his anger flaring suddenly. "She's a young woman. You're okay with her staying at a hotel alone at this hour?"

Diana squeezed out a few tears, looking pitifully at Jared. "If Mrs. Cooper doesn't want me here, I'll leave. Professor, don't fight with her because of me."

I laughed, my anger boiling over. "Jared, you're a married man, and she's your student. You don't care about the rumors, drinking with her until midnight, and now you're making it sound like I'm the one in the wrong? She's a young woman you're worried about, so I'll leave. That work for you?"

Maybe it was the alcohol, but for the first time, he exploded at me. "If you want to leave, then go. Don't bother coming back!"

Without another word, I grabbed my suitcase and left.

I wasn't coming back.