“I just can’t go,” huffed Maria, her arms crossed over her chest in bed. I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I slipped out of bed, away from my wife and her excuses.

“It’s Luna’s first play, Maria,” I said, looking over at her as I got dressed. “She’s really excited for you to be there.”

Maria waved my words away. “She won’t even notice I’m not there. Not with Daddy there cheering her on.”

“Why are you missing our four-year-old daughter’s first play?”

“I have a job,” Maria said, staring at me with her wide dark eyes, her hair wild around her face. She really was beautiful—still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

“What job?”

“A commercial,” she said, a smile spreading across her face. She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“Congratulations,” I said through clenched teeth. Maria was getting steady work as an actress and yet there was still an eviction notice on our door. Judging from the car she’d bought a month ago and her freshly-manicured blood red nails, I knew exactly where the money was going. I couldn’t bring it up, though. Last time I did, Maria threatened to take Luna away from me for good.

“Thank you,” Maria said, as if she didn’t hear the anger.

“What do you even come home for, Maria?” I asked her. She stood up naked, letting the sheet drop from her breasts. I couldn’t help but stare at her, so beautiful yet so poisonous and toxic in a way I’d never anticipated when we’d started dating. I’d been head-over-heels for Maria from the moment I’d met her, and when she’d fallen pregnant three months later, I had been happy to settle down and marry her. I had no idea what kind of a person she was—what kind of mother she would be.

Maria approached me and wrapped her arms around my neck, rubbing up against me like a cat.

“You know what I come home for, baby,” she purred, reaching down to slip her hand into my jeans, taking my cock out and stroking it with her palm. I pushed her hands away and readjusted myself, walking away and into the bathroom. She followed me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her face in my back.

“Why are you mad at me?” she asked. I turned around and looked at her incredulously. There were dozens of reasons to be angry at her, but the way she treated Luna was the worst.

“You don’t give half a shit about our daughter, Maria.”

“I love Luna,” she said defensively, though there was an emptiness to her voice that I recognized all too well. It was the same way she’d always spoken to and about our daughter, like she was nothing but a burden.

“Then do something for her for once. Go to her play. If you’re starring in this commercial, they can reschedule it. Or you can just cancel it.”

She snorted. “And wait for you to make some money?”

The words hit me like a blow to the chest. It was a good point. I’d started out as an actor along with Maria but hadn’t had much success—I never really had time to go to auditions because I was too busy picking up Maria’s slack with Luna. I was the one who went to our daughter’s daycare trips, took her to the zoo and made her dinner, tucked her into bed at night after reading her at least two stories. I didn’t have time to find jobs like Maria did.

“Maria,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “When am I supposed to look for jobs if you’re never home to help me take care of our daughter?”

“I’m out making money!” she said, raising her voice. “I don’t see why you can’t handle a four-year-old on your own.”

“I can handle Luna. But I can’t be her mother and her father at the same time.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to be her mother,” Maria said, putting her hands on her hips. “She’s already got one.”

“She’s got a fucking lousy one.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Fuck you, Lucas. You’re just a loser who can’t even provide for your family.”

I sighed. It was always the first thing she went to in order to insult me, and it always got under my skin.

“I want you out of here, Maria,” I said. She stared at me for a moment, mouth open. Then she gave a small laugh and wrapped her arms around me again.

“No, you don’t,” she said, tilting her face to kiss me. I moved away from her, into the bedroom.

“I do,” I said, pulling her suitcase out of the closet. “I want you out. Now.”

She glared at me, realizing I was serious.

“Fine,” she said, stomping across the room. She put her hands on my chest and shoved me away so hard I nearly stumbled. Then she started to pull her things out of the closet, folding them carefully before putting them in the case. She carried it out to the front room where Luna was asleep on the couch. I’d wanted to move her to her room but Maria wouldn’t let me. Instead, she’d dragged me into the bedroom as soon as she got home, taking the one thing she wanted from me.

Maria opened the door and rolled her suitcase out. She looked at me over her shoulder, a cold look, one that made me shiver even in the warmth of the house.

“I really don’t ever want to see you or the brat again,” Maria said, her voice like ice.

I shut the door, a lump forming in my chest. I turned around to see Luna sitting up on the couch with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a frown on her tiny face.

“Where’s Mommy going?” she asked.

I didn’t know what to say. I went over to the couch and sat down, pulling her into my lap. “Doesn’t matter, baby,” I said. “Daddy’s still here.”

She snuggled into me and I heard her sigh contentedly. She’d never formed the bond with her mother that she had with me, but it still made me furious to think Maria had just left her without a thought, without even a goodbye.

Luna fell asleep in my lap after a few moments and I slid out from underneath her. I went into my room and sat at the desk, pulling the eviction notice out and staring at it. Thirty days. I had thirty days to find somewhere cheaper to live. I would have to sell my car for a down payment, but it was something I was willing to do if it meant Luna and I could start a whole new life without Maria.

While Luna was sleeping, I spent the rest of the morning looking for apartments, bookmarking them for later when I had more time. I had no idea what we were going to do without Maria, how I was going to pay the rent, but every moment I started to feel desperate made me think of Luna and how I had to keep going to take care of her, knowing nobody else would.