"Fuck it." Anna Leigh slammed down her phone after Jeremy's phone went to voicemail. Again. There was about an hour before they needed to leave for the concert and she hadn't heard from him all day. His friends didn't know where he was, although she was certain they did as they were all out together last night. She was used to their lies and covering up for him. One had admitted it to her, and when she confronted her husband about what she was told, he blew up, accusing his friend of wanting to fuck her and that's why he was telling her lies. Neil never came to their house again or met them at the bar they had all met at regularly over the years. He disappeared. She saw him one time in the grocery store, but he said he was in a hurry, gave her a lame side hug, and walked away. Why did her husband have such a hold on these people? How did he convince them what he was doing was ok? Or, then convince them they had to disappear from their lives when they decided to out his indiscretions? She was so sick of everyone acting like he was such a fucking rock star. He did fit the criteria-alcoholic, drug user

at times

, womanizer, arrogant...she rolled her eyes thinking of all the shit she dealt with over the years. This might just be her breaking point. These tickets were an apology from several weeks ago when he slapped her and accused her of sleeping with her best friend's husband. The next day she found them on her nightstand with a note saying he was going to grab breakfast and would back soon..."you know I love you and I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me." She couldn't count how many times she heard something like this, but it was definitely more times than she could remember receiving a genuine compliment from him. She had gained some weight since she first met him. Back then she was skinny...well, not skinny like most girls. She was a size 4, but her curves made her look bigger. Her waist had always been tiny, but her hips, ass, and thighs were always bigger. Her tits weren't huge, but they definitely helped give her an hour glass figure her best friend said she would kill for. "Whatever," Anna Leigh had rolled her eyes, then looking down, "no one thinks I'm hot. My thighs are so gross." Truth was, the majority of her friends were guys and the majority of them wanted to fuck her. But she had always been insecure because her high school friends-more acquaintances-were size 0s or 1s, no fat on them whatsoever. It didn't matter what size her jeans were, she always felt fat, and in the beginning, he told her she was perfect. He didn't want "skin and bones". Now...now, she was actually close to being fat. Still curvy, but definitely heavier than she wanted to be. And her husband reminded her. All the time. Fat bitch, fat ass, if he was drunk there was usually a "fucking" thrown in between the two insults. And every girl he flirted with, or whom she suspected he had slept with, was ridiculously skinny. He had gained his fair share of weight over the years; he definitely wasn't the 185, slender but muscular man she fell in love with. Beer and fast food and lack of exercise had caught up with him. He didn't even have that nice, chiseled jaw line he once did. But that didn't matter. She exercised almost every day, watched her carbs, stuck to martinis...but somehow she gained enough weight that he felt he deserved to ridicule her regularly.

　　She wiped away the tears and squeezed her eyes shut to stop the stinging that had crept up on her. Fuck it. She wasn't missing this concert. She knew she would have to go alone...everyone she was close to had made plans because she had made plans with him. And she didn't want to call Ashtyn...she wasn't ready to admit what a horrible man her husband was to her former friend and coworker. Ashtyn quit talking to her after she picked Anna Leigh up at the bar he had left her at in a fit of rage. She told her she needed to leave him and asked her how many times he had hit her. An denied it-she had seen the signs early on but felt stupid after moving in and marrying him within 4 months. And, for so long, she believed he would change. She may have admitted the things like being left an hour away or being accused of all types of ridiculous things, but she would never admit she had been physically abused. She had never imagined it was something she would have put up with, but here she was, years later, trying to figure out how to get out. She had a good job, but he convinced her it wouldn't be enough to support herself and he had long ago convinced her she was too stupid to move up in her career. She liked working as a paralegal and her boss was great, but there was no way she could go back to school and follow her real dreams...So, no, she would have to go alone because there was no one she could call at this point. She would take both tickets though, because fuck him if he thinks he's gonna be able to go at the last minute.

　　"Ugh!" She screamed. She hopped up off the couch and headed down the hallway to the master bathroom. She hated how big their house was. He had always been the bragging type, showing off his money every chance he could get. It was absurd for the two of them to live in a 6 bedroom house. They didn't even have any family to come stay with them. They had either passed or removed themselves from her and Jeremy's life. Even his parents hated who their son was. She turned the shower on, as hot as she could stand, and slipped out of her clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought, I'll get back to myself, but for me. No more trying for his ass.

　　She stepped in the shower, the hot water pouring down her body, decided she was going to make the most of this night, and let the water wash away her anger.

　　She sat at her vanity, wet hair wrapped in a towel, her favorite satin robbed tied around her body. If she was going to have a great night, she was going to look her best. She rarely wore much makeup anymore, enough to look good at work, but never enough to stand out. Tonight, she was going to stand out. Contouring, smoky eyes, fake lashes, nude lipstick, a couple squirts of her favorite perfume and she headed to the closet. This was her favorite part of their lavish house. It was the one thing she had say in when they were building and it was exactly what she wanted. It was as big as the apartment she lived in when she first met him and ridiculous for that reason, but she loved the shoe shelf and the drawers in the center of the racks of clothes that held her lingerie and the vintage standing mirror she found in Rome last summer. She pulled out her favorite black lace bra and panties...it wasn't like anyone would be seeing them tonight, but they made her feel sexy as fuck. She pulled out her black polyester romper. The shorts were a bit shorter than she really felt comfortable in, but her sky high heels made her legs look a little longer and besides, she wasn't planning on seeing anyone she knew. I see you in there, she thought looking in the mirror, as she grabbed her clutch to leave.

　　The housekeeper was just finishing up in the kitchen as Anna Leigh headed to the door. "Do you need me to call the driver, Mrs. Casey? I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you and Mr. Casey had plans tonight or I would have had George here by now!" Anna Leigh always felt awful for the way the people who worked for them apologized and fell over themselves for her. Her husband was so awful to them, always talking down to them as if they lived in another time of royalty and servants. "No! Please don't apologize to me, Maria. Mr. Casey and I don't have plans. I do. Well, I'm sure he does, but it's just me tonight. I already called an Uber. Please go home and enjoy the rest of your weekend." Anna Leigh hugged the older lady and headed toward the door. Maria watched in disbelief as a lady she didn't recognize walked away, looking very much like she would be bringing hell on herself when Mr. Casey saw her. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer for her bosses wife. She knew this would not end well.

　　"Thank you very much. I will text you when I need picked back up." Anna Leigh handed the driver a $20 and exited the car. She was always overly thankful towards other and tried to tip extra to make up for how she saw her husband treat service workers. She look up at the venue as the car drove away and thought, I need a fucking drink if I'm going to get through this night alone. She handed the bouncer her ticket, got her wristband, and headed straight for the bar.