Open Marriage, The Broken Vows

After a seven-year marathon of love, I thought Quinn and I would be happy forever.

But in the second year of our marriage, Quinn suddenly suggested an open relationship.

I was devastated and refused. She just looked at me with a cold, blank face.

I feel nothing when I touch your body anymore, she said. "We're too familiar. I need some excitement."

"My heart will always be yours. If you can't accept this, then let's just get a divorce."

That very night, she brought home a young, pretty boy.

I endured it in numb silence, hoping she would change her mind.

But then I saw her at the hospital, walking into the OB-GYN clinic with her new lover.

Suddenly, I was just tired. I asked for a divorce.

She looked confused. "Why? You've accepted this for years. Why now?"

I gave her a small, bitter smile. "Because now, I feel nothing when I look at you."

So, Quinn, let's end this right here.

1.

Quinn and that boy, Caspian, walked out of the exam room. They were excitedly discussing when the baby would be born and what its zodiac sign would be.

I followed them from a distance. A surgical mask covered most of my face, hiding my expression.

Caspian looked at Quinn with fake concern. "Will Alistair be upset if he finds out?"

Quinn waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. If I start showing too much, I'll just go to Europe to have the baby."

She paused and added softly, "As long as you're happy. I'll do anything for you."

Quinn used to say those exact words to me.

Back then, her eyes were only for me. Every smile she gave me was filled with light.

Now, that light was shining on someone else, and it burned my eyes.

A gust of wind blew a piece of paper to my feet.

I leaned down to pick it up. It was Quinn's ultrasound. Eight weeks pregnant.

Eight weeks. Two months.

Our "sexless" marriage had been going on for three years.

I had stepped back and compromised over and over again, just to keep this broken marriage alive.

My only boundary was that she couldn't have a child with another man.

She promised me she wouldn't. Now, she had broken that promise too.

Quinn, you really didn't keep a single word you said to me.

When I got home, the two of them were cuddling on the sofa as if I didn't exist.

Quinn glanced at me and spoke like she was talking to a servant. "Caspian wants creamy mushroom soup, and I want pan-seared sea bass."

"You're late today. Go make it now."

Caspian pressed a kiss onto her cheek and turned to me with a smirk.

"Sorry to trouble you, Alistair."

His tone made it clear he saw me as nothing more than the help.

I didn't acknowledge them. I walked straight to my room.

Quinn followed me in, sounding slightly annoyed.

"What's wrong with you? Are you mad because you think I forgot our anniversary?"

She tossed a beautifully wrapped box onto the bed in front of me.

"Here. I picked it out a long time ago. It's a gift."

I opened the box. It was a luxury watch, the exact same model she gave me last year.

In the past, she would hand-make gifts for every anniversary or plan a romantic surprise.

Now, it was just a chore to her. A box to check off.

What was the point of remembering the date? What was the point of the gift?

When love is gone, it's gone. These gestures felt like insults.

2.

Quinn walked over and wrapped her arms around me. She used that sweet, manipulative tone of hers.

"Honey, I'm really hungry."

My body went stiff for a second, but my heart betrayed me.

Maybe I was just too used to obeying her after all these years. I pushed her hands away and walked to the kitchen.

As I passed the living room, I saw Caspian curled up on the sofa, playing games on his phone.

The blue light flickered on his face. He looked so young and focused.

"Babe, I lost again. Send me some more credits?" he whined.

As soon as Quinn walked out, Caspian dropped his phone and wrapped his arms around her neck.

Quinn laughed, kissed his face, and promised him whatever he wanted.

Caspian looked seventy percent like I did when I was younger.

The same lean build, the same eyes. Even his whining sounded like I used to.

It seemed every one of Quinn's "boy toys" carried a shadow of my younger self.

I had transferred to Quinn's high school senior year.

I was quiet and timid, so the local bullies picked on me constantly.

She couldn't stand it and chased them off for me.

Then she made her demand. "You're pretty. I like pretty things. Be my boyfriend."

For the first time, my teenage heart felt protected. It was the first time I felt that spark.

That spark lasted through college until my family's business hit rock bottom.

Back then, Quinn was the one who insisted on marrying me so her family would help mine.

My family gained everything from that marriage.

That's why I endured it when she started sleeping around.

I had no leverage. I had no choice.

3.

Dinner was a disaster anyway.

The moment I put the sea bass on the table, Quinn covered her nose and started gagging.

I silently picked the plate back up and walked back to the kitchen.

Quinn followed me, looking a bit panicked. "Alistair, my stomach has just been off lately."

I replied flatly, "It's fine. It's just a normal reaction for a pregnant woman."

Quinn froze. she didn't expect me to already know.

I looked over at Caspian. He was watching her with a concerned gaze.

"You take care of her," I said.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

As I walked past her, she reached out to grab my hand, but I dodged her.

I wasn't lying about being tired. A high fever and a stomach bug had been killing me for days.

I had just come back from getting an IV drip, and my body was failing me.

I lay in bed, weak and shivering. The door wasn't fully closed.

I could hear Quinn whispering to Caspian in the other room. "Don't worry. Even if Alistair knows, I'm keeping this baby."

"This one is different. This is the child I actually want."

Painful memories clawed their way out of my heart.

Two months after we got married, Quinn got pregnant with my child.

But by the time I found out, she had already scheduled the medical procedure to end it.

I knelt at the clinic door and begged her. She just shoved my hand away.

"I'm not ready to be a mother," she said coldly. "I haven't enjoyed my life enough. I don't want this."

Now, she was full of hope for another man's child.

That night, the fever felt like it was boiling my organs.

I struggled to reach for the nightstand to find my meds, but it was empty.

I stumbled out of the room to find something in the living room.

My chest felt tight. I gasped for air, but my lungs wouldn't fill up.

Heavy, rhythmic breathing came from the guest room. It was unmistakable.

I was delirious from the fever. My legs moved toward the sound on their own.

Before I reached the door, the world spun. I collapsed onto the hardwood floor.

"Alistair! Why is your fever so high?"

Quinn ran out of the room, her clothes messy and disheveled. She tried to pull me up.

She gasped when she touched my burning skin.

I looked at her through blurred eyes and smiled like an idiot. "Quinn? Is it the Quinn from when we were seventeen?" I tried to touch her face.

"He's lost his mind from the fever," Quinn cursed under her breath.

She turned and yelled toward the room, "Caspian, get out here! We need to get him to the hospital!"

Caspian walked out looking annoyed. He didn't want to help.

Quinn had to beg and bribe him before he finally dragged me out the door.

He tossed me into the back seat like a bag of trash. The seat was covered in the childish plushies Caspian liked.

Quinn used to hate things like that. She said they ruined her cool, professional image.

"Is he doing this on purpose?" Caspian snarked. "I heard fevers can be dangerous for pregnant women."

"That's enough, Caspian! He's still my husband," Quinn snapped.

There was a hint of annoyance in her voice, but maybe a tiny bit of guilt too.

Caspian wouldn't stop complaining. They argued the whole way.

Quinn got so fed up that she slammed on the brakes, wanting him to get out.

That's when it happened. A loud bang. We were rear-ended by the car behind us.

The impact sent me rolling off the seat. My head hit the door, and everything went black.

When I regained a tiny bit of consciousness, Quinn was already pulling Caspian out of the front seat.

"Get out! What if it explodes?" she screamed.

She was frantic, checking him over. She didn't even look at me in the back.

I tried to call out, but my throat was too dry. No sound came out.

By the time the paramedics pulled me out of the twisted metal, I saw Quinn.

She was carefully dabbing ointment on a tiny bruise on Caspian's forehead.

"Is there a family member who can come in the ambulance?" the medic shouted.

Quinn hesitated. But Caspian grabbed her arm. "Stay with me. I'm scared."

Quinn hugged him tightly. She completely forgot she had a critically injured husband.

I lay on the stretcher, my vision fading as the sirens wailed.

The figures of Quinn and Caspian grew smaller and smaller until they vanished into the blinding white lights.

4.

The doctor told me I had broken ribs and needed to stay for observation.

My pneumonia had worsened, and I now had chronic asthma as a complication.

The doctor warned me that rainy days would be hard for me from now on.

Quinn didn't show up until the third day.

She carried a thermos and acted like nothing was wrong. "How are you feeling?"

I looked down, hiding the bitterness in my eyes. "Fine."

My voice sounded like a broken bellows.

She opened the thermos. The heavy scent of seafood filled the room.

She poured a bowl and held it out to me.

"Have some abalone congee. It's good for recovery."

the nurse checking my IV frowned. "What are you doing? He has open wounds. He can't eat shellfish."

"As his family, how could you be so careless?"

Quinn's face flushed with embarrassment. She pulled the bowl back.

"Oh. Right. I didn't know."

She did know. She just didn't care enough to remember.

Back in college, whenever I had so much as a cold, she was different.

She would grill the doctors about my symptoms and take pages of notes.

When I had my appendix out, she pulled every string she had to find the best specialists.

She made me custom soups every single day back then.

Now, she wouldn't even remember the most basic medical advice for me.

I stared at her, my heart finally still. "Quinn, let's get a divorce."

She froze. Her eyes were wide with genuine shock.

This was the first time I had ever said the word. Even during her worst behavior, I had never mentioned leaving.

"Why?" she asked.

"Is it because I didn't visit you for a couple of days? Are you just throwing a tantrum?"

She seemed to think my decision was a joke. Like a child being moody.

I let out a short, dry laugh.

"A tantrum? Quinn, I'm way too old to be mad about things like that."

"I'm serious. I want out."

Once, if she even frowned, I would panic and try to fix it.

Now, watching her act surprised just made me feel exhausted.

My family's business had finally gone under earlier this year anyway.

In a way, it was a relief. I didn't owe her family anything anymore.

Quinn bit her lip. She realized I wasn't backing down this time.

"What is it? Caspian? I can make him go away. You won't have to see him."

"I know the pregnancy broke our deal, but I want this baby."

"You're not so heartless that you'd force me to end it, right?"

I took a deep breath, pushing down the surge of emotion.

"It's not that. It's just that when I look at you now, I feel nothing."

"I don't love you, Quinn. I just want to go."

I used her own words against her.

Her face turned ugly. She glared at me with pure rage.

"Think about it. I'll come back tomorrow."

She turned and practically ran out of the room.

I closed my eyes and breathed.

Quinn, it's really over between us.

For the next few days, Quinn didn't come back.

On the day I was discharged, I went home and packed a single suitcase.

I walked to the nightstand and pulled out the drawer.

There was a divorce agreement inside. Quinn had prepared it two years ago.

She had it drawn up when she first demanded an open marriage.

She was just waiting for me to sign it and end this mistake.

I picked up a pen. Without a second of hesitation, I signed my name.

When I took the papers to Quinn's mother, the joy on her face was obvious.

From the start, the Sterlings looked down on me as a fallen prince.

If Quinn hadn't insisted, her mother never would have allowed the wedding.

Me asking for a divorce was a dream come true for her.

"Alistair, what are your plans?"

Mrs. Sterling put the papers down, pretending to care.

I held up my plane ticket. "I'm leaving in an hour."

She blinked, surprised I was moving so fast. "Where to?"

"Somewhere else."

I didn't want her to know where I was going. I wanted nothing to do with them.

Before I left, she wired three million dollars to my account.

"Take it. Consider it a fee for taking care of my Quinn all these years."

I didn't refuse. I was leaving with nothing else, and I needed the money.

The moment I stepped out of the Sterling villa, I felt a thousand pounds lift off my shoulders.

While waiting at the airport, my phone buzzed. It was Quinn.

I didn't hesitate. I blocked her number.

Some things, once ended, should never be looked back on.