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With a sigh, I picked up my phone and dialed Eva’s number. It only rang once before she answered.

“Hi, Ellis.” Her voice was warm, familiar, and I swallowed hard, a lump in my throat from the anxiety of it all. Before I could speak, she continued. “When do you think you can come by? I think you could probably knock it all out in a day. Maybe two.”

“I can’t,” I said after a second’s hesitation.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be this weekend. I mean, the fence is probably the priority. I was thinking about getting a puppy and it’ll need a fenced-in yard.”

A puppy. I fought the urge to roll my eyes violently. I’d always wanted a dog and she’d rejected the idea more times than I could count. “You’re getting a dog?”

“Sure,” she said lightly. “I thought you’d be excited about it.”

“I’m not—I mean, do what you want. It’s your house.”

“Well… our house,” she said.

“Eva.” My tone was firm as I braced myself to say what needed to be said. “It’s your house. I’m not on the paperwork anymore, remember?”

“Yeah, but we bought it together.”

I sighed quietly, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “It’s your place now. I can’t come help with the fence or the gutters or the power washing, and I don’t care if you get a dog or a cat or a llama. We’re not together anymore. You need to figure these things out on your own—without me.”

“But—”

“I can’t. We got divorced for a reason. There’s no going back now.”

“We could.”

“I don’t want to.” I knew it sounded cold, cruel, but I had to say it or she’d never let go.

“Oh.” Her voice was very small. “Is there…”

“Someone else?”

She sniffled on the other end of the line and I could imagine her nodding as she hummed a yes.

“No, there’s nobody else.” As I said it, an image of Kieran popped in my mind, filling me with the warmth I felt around him, which was ridiculous. We barely knew each other. We certainly weren’t involved. But still, that’s where my mind went.

“So, what? You’re just done?”

I sighed quietly. “Eva. This was a mutual decision, remember? You wanted it, too.”

“I know, but that was different.”

“Different how?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. It was just different.”

“Okay. Well, I need to go.”

“Talk to you soon?”

“Eva.” My tone was firm. “Probably not. We both deserve a clean break. I think it’s best we stop contacting each other after this. Okay?”

“Okay.” A moment later, the call ended.

I sat in the car for a long time, processing the call. I felt like an asshole, but I also felt lighter than I had in a long time. Eventually, I got out of the car and headed inside, where I found Kieran in the kitchen, something heating up in the oven.

The moment I walked into the room, he turned to me. “You doing okay?”