Marcus stepped toward me and handed me a large envelope.
I laughed through my tears.
“What is this?”
He didn’t answer.
I opened it.
Divorce papers.
For a second, the words made no sense. I kept looking at them, waiting for them to rearrange into something human.
“Marcus?”
His face had gone completely blank.
Not angry.
Not proud.
Just empty.
Like he had already decided to remove himself from the moment before I even opened the envelope.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Then he turned and walked away.
I don’t know how long I stood there.
He had a diploma waiting in one hand.
I had divorce papers shaking in mine.
The crowd kept moving around me. Parents were taking photos. People were cheering. Somewhere nearby, someone popped a bottle of champagne.
I started walking just to have something to do.
To keep my body from collapsing in front of everyone.