They kissed each other so passionately and deeply. Mona had been avoiding me, let alone kissing me.

I immediately rushed over to pull them apart.

"Are you really giving me up for him?"

"Yes! Alan, have you looked in the mirror lately? With a face like yours, you don't even deserve to stand next to her. And as far as I know, hasn't she been the one supporting you financially all these years? You're nothing but a leech."

Jeff shielded Mona behind him and mocked me. I wanted to explain—I had a job too. I could support myself. If she didn't like how I looked, I could get plastic surgery. I could look however she wanted.

Mona had told me she liked having me as a stay-at-home husband, so I...

"Mona..."

I tried to reach for her, to ask if these were the real reasons. Would we, like so many others, grow tired of each other after seven years?

But I didn't notice the shadow behind me, something seemed to be moving. My consciousness started to blur as if something was devouring me. My last conscious thought was Mona's anxious face.

"No!"

4