He Kept a Scorecard for Our Love, So I Left Him at ZeroChapter 3

At seven thirty, I sat in Chicago Union Station with Sunny resting quietly inside his carrier, watching me through the mesh.

Departures rolled across the digital board overhead.

My phone began ringing hard enough to vibrate against my palm. Ethan's name flashed on the screen.

I drew a breath and answered.

His voice came through at once, tight with fury.

"Ava, what the hell are you doing?"

"I brought Chloe to Skyline, and the hostess said you never came to pay. Worse, you canceled the reservation."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a table here? Have you lost your mind?"

His voice was so loud that it carried through the cavernous waiting area.

I shifted the phone to my other hand. My voice remained flat.

"No, I haven't."

"You weren't planning to have dinner with me, so I didn't see a reason to keep it."

Chloe's wounded complaint drifted through the phone.

"Ethan, forget it. Ava must be angry with me."

"This is all my fault. I never should have agreed to the movie if it was going to upset her."

Ethan's temper ignited instantly.

"Ava, when are you going to stop?"

"Taking Chloe to the movie was work-related. Do you have to turn everything into a jealousy fit?"

"You ruined our anniversary and humiliated me in front of an employee."

Then came the sentence, delivered in the same lofty tone he always used when handing down a verdict.

"You have thirty minutes."

"Get over here, apologize to Chloe, and find us another place for dinner."

"If you don't, your score goes negative, and I'll make sure you spend the rest of the month earning your way back."

I listened to the threat I had heard in a hundred different forms and felt only tired.

"I'm not coming, Ethan."

Silence held for a beat.

He had not expected such a direct refusal.

"What did you say?"

"You think you can just ignore the rules?"

A line was beginning to form at the gate.

"You made the rules," I said. "But I'm done playing."

"Score anyone you like. It won't be me."

Ethan gave a cold laugh.

"If this is some stunt to make me chase you, it won't work."

"You think canceling a reservation gives you leverage over me?"

"Who else is going to put up with your constant drama?"

"Since you're determined to be ungrateful, don't bother coming home tonight."

"Take that filthy dog and find somewhere else to sleep. Maybe a night outside this apartment will teach you something."

"If there isn't a written apology waiting for me by eight tomorrow morning, you'll never set foot in my home again."

He thought taking away my right to come home was the punishment I feared most.

In the past, whenever we fought and he used that threat, I immediately begged him to forgive me. I was terrified he would throw me out and leave Sunny homeless.

Now I listened to his self-important judgment and watched the light above the gate turn green.

A faint smile touched my lips.

"All right."

"I'm never coming back."