I came home as usual and walked through the door, and there was an odd smell in the house. The smell of something that had been burnt. I walked through the empty house and I could see that Christine had set the table with candles as I passed the dining room.

Ah, it was dinner that had been burnt.

I frowned. I knew I hadn’t missed a dinner date.

I went upstairs taking the stairs two at a time. I went straight to the children’s room. They were both asleep. I kissed their soft faces. I knew I was missing out on too much. I could see just by how much space they were taking up in their little beds that they were growing fast. I loosened my tie and decided then that it was time to make some changes to my life. I didn’t want to completely miss out on their childhood. I went to our bedroom and Christine was sitting by the fireplace. She’d been drinking, her eyes were glazed.

“Well, well,” she slurred. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom,” I said, turning away.

“That’s right, run away. Little coward,” she taunted.

I whirled around. “Why do you drink if you can’t handle it?”

“Why do you drink if you can’t handle it?” she mimicked. “I drink because I’m unhappy, Cade. Because I’m so damn unhappy.”

I felt nothing. “Do you want a divorce?”

“Divorce,” she shrieked. “That’s your fucking answer to everything, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you’re so unhappy with me and this arrangement doesn’t suit you, I would have thought the best solution would be to get divorced. I’m not exactly jumping for joy at our situation,” I said reasonably.

She flew out of her chair. “You’re not jumping for joy. Could have fooled me. I was under the impression that things were exactly how you wanted them, you godless, heartless man. You’ve got your position, your work, your money, a wife who is begging for a little love from you, two beautiful children. What more could you ask for?”

I shrugged. “Peace of mind when I get back from work?”

It was as if I had detonated her nuclear button. She went insane. She ran at me screeching like a witch, her face contorted, her fingers extended and ready to rake her nails down my face. I caught her and held her easily. “Calm down, Christine. Calm the fuck down.”

As soon as she stopped kicking and screaming and became still, I let go of her. She stepped back and looked into my eyes. Hers were filled with hatred.

“I’ll ask Stephen to start to draw up the divorce papers tomorrow.”

“It’s so easy for you, isn’t it?”

“I don’t understand you. You hate me. You’re unhappy and yet you don’t seem to want a way out. What do you want?”

“I want you to love me,” she cried.

I looked at her in astonishment. Did she not know? You can’t make yourself love someone. You either feel it or you don’t, and I don’t. I never have. “I’m sorry, but I don’t love you, Christine.”

She shook her head. “What a fool I’ve been. Throwing my love at you. Well, enough is enough. Go on. Go and sleep in the guest bedroom. Have a good sleep.”

I stood there for another moment and then I turned around and walked towards the guest bedroom. Really, I slept so much there most of my clothes were there anyway. It was nearly one in the morning, but I still had some work I needed to finish so I lay on the bed, propped up on pillows and fired up my laptop. In no time I was so completely engrossed with the figures on my screen I almost didn’t hear the engine of a car start up. But in the silence of the night, it jarred on the edges of my consciousness. I left my laptop on the bed and went to the window. I was just in time to see my wife driving away. Instantly I knew what she had done. I ran to my children’s bedroom.

She had taken both of them.

I phoned her.

When she picked up the call she was crying so hard she was sobbing.

“Christine, come back. Let’s talk about this,” I said as calmly as I could, even though my heart was pounding with fear. In the background I could hear my son start crying.

“Shut up,” she screamed at him.

“Christine. Look, just come back. You’ve been drinking. You shouldn’t be driving.”

“Come back for what?”

“Just come back. I’ll change. I’ll be different.”

“You’re a liar, Cade Mortenson. A big, fat, liar.”

“Please—”

The rest of her words were cut off by a blood-curdling scream and the sound of a crash. For a few seconds I couldn’t even move. I couldn’t believe it. The phone never cut off. I heard the whole thing. I couldn’t let go of the phone even though the sounds I heard were horrific. They will never ever leave me. I can’t ever get those sounds out of my head. I screamed her name and I heard a raspy breath. Then she said. “I hope you’re happy now.”

Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I called the police while I ran down the stairs. I jumped into my car and sped down the road. I didn’t get too far. I slammed on the brakes and every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire.

Her car had collided with a ten-ton truck. It was so crushed it was unrecognizable. I didn’t run. I walked towards the smoking wreck in a daze. I already knew no one could have survived it.

What I saw I would never forget for as long as I lived.