Author's Note: I am absolutely amazed at the feedback I've gotten on this story. Thank you guys so much! The next few chapters take place in the past, as if our wonderful characters are having flashbacks of how it all went wrong. This one is some more angst for all of you to "enjoy," and I hope that it feels real to you. And don't worry, all will be explained as the story moves along!

Disclaimer: Not mine…so not mine. Sad day.

She remembered their last fight like it was yesterday. Patty Lamont had approached her only the week before. It had struck her hard—harder than any other cruelty in the previous months—but she had demanded proof. She'd gotten the letters in the mail days later. They not only detailed exactly what he wanted to do to Patty Lamont but also how much he loved her and how he was going to leave Kate for her. It didn't even stop there. He complained about how he was tired of pretending to love someone he didn't, and how distant she had been in the past months…how he'd enjoyed the comfort Patty could offer from his now loveless marriage.

Kate rarely cried, but she did as she read each of the twenty-three letters. It felt like a personal affront. It felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest. She wanted it to be a dream. She wanted none of it to be real, but each typed document bore his signed first name: Richard. Each letter read like one of his books. There was no denying it was he who had written them.

He was away for the London Book Fair that week, and she had two pop and drops. By the time he returned on Thursday evening, she was more than ready to explode. He'd barely made it through the door before she cornered him, holding the letters up as evidence.

"You son of a bitch. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Find out what?"

"Don't play stupid, Rick. I know about her. How you want her and not me. How I make you—"

"What? Wait just a damn minute, Kate. Who—?"

"Patty Lamont!" She shoved the letters in his face. "Or do I need to refresh your memory? You told her you loved her. I thought you were supposed to love me. I thought that's why we got married, Rick—because we loved each other."

"I thought we did, too."

"Well, you sure do have a way of showing it, now don't you, Richard?"

He grimaced at the use of his full given name, but decided to ignore it. He held his hands up defensively. "Kate, I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"You wrote her letters. You told her how alone you felt in your relationship with me. You told her that you couldn't love someone who didn't love you back. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

"Kate, whoever this person is, I can assure you I've never met her, much less had an affair with her."

"I should have seen the signs. I knew you were growing more distant. I thought it was just…everything else. I never thought you'd do this. I trusted you. You betrayed me."

"Are you even listening to me? Are you listening to yourself? I didn't sleep with her, Kate. I haven't slept with anyone since—"

"Don't, Rick. Just don't. You think that I don't love you, but if you'd looked my way even once, you would have seen that I never stopped."

He stood there, back to the wall, her face inches from his. His mouth worked for a few moments, opening and closing, as if he wasn't sure what to say.

She spared him the effort. "I'll leave these for you. Don't bother destroying them. I made copies." She threw them down on the floor as if they had burned her, but she never broke eye contact. "As for me, don't bother trying to call. I won't answer. Goodbye, Rick."

The words held so much more finality than she could have hoped. She left him there, dumbfounded, as she grabbed her coat and a small travel bag from the couch and left the apartment without another word. Only when the elevator doors had closed did she allow the tears to fall.

I know I'm not moving fast from the first scene and the chapters are short, but I'm trying to keep similar themes in each chapter. I promise I'll have a longer one soon. Please review!