“Except a husband who loves me. Who respects me. Who wants only me.”
“This isn’t some fairytale, Talie. This is the real world.”
I didn’t realize love and respect was only for the movies. Silly me.
I picked up the pen. “Sign the papers.”
His eyes widened.
“If you think I’m the type of girl who will sit home and take care of your kids while you go shove your dick into any hole that will take you, just so I can have the prestige of your name, then you have no clue who the hell you married.”
Twin spots of pink flushed his cheeks. “That was crude.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s nothing compared to what I’m thinking.”
“We’re married. For better or worse. We are not getting divorced.”
“Oh, we are,” I said, rising up to my full five feet two inches. “And if you don’t sign these papers right now, the name that you so graciously gave me on our wedding day will be filling up the gossip columns around here. Whatever will your daddy say about that?”
He paled. “You wouldn’t.”
“Freaking try me.”
He studied me for long moments, and I didn’t back down. I meant it. I was so utterly shocked and horrified by the things he just said to me that I could barely breathe. But I wasn’t going to let him see that. He’d only try to use it to his advantage. I was going to be a freaking pillar of strength until I left here.
He must have realized because he signed the papers.
“This isn’t over,” he said, handing me back the pen.
“Oh, but it is.”
He pursed his lips. “I changed all the passwords on the bank accounts. Don’t think of trying to clean me out again.”
“Oh…” I made a little shocked face. “I thought that was our money and not just yours.”
“You know damn well who brings home the bacon,” he snapped. “Your job is basically something to fill your time.”
I didn’t bother mentioning I was no longer employed.
That would be embarrassing.
Thank goodness I “cleaned him out” when I did. At least now I had enough money to last me a few months before I would be totally broke. By then, I would hopefully have another job.
I picked up the papers, the papers making our separation official. “I’ll have these filed immediately.”
“Enjoy your little tantrum now, Talie,” Blake called behind me. “Because when you come back to me, I will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
I laughed.
“Laugh now,” he replied. “You won’t be laughing when you realize I’m the only man that will ever want you.”
His words pierced something inside me. Something close to my heart withered a little. Those words hurt me, probably more than they should. I knew the reason they hurt so much was because he was voicing a fear I never wanted to admit.
The truth was no one had been interested before Blake, and I secretly realized no one else would be after him either.
Even so, I kept walking.
I’d rather be single than married and utterly alone.
6
Talie
I drove straight to Jack’s office and gave the papers to his assistant. I made her promise to get them filed that day. After vowing she would do it, I left before someone could tell Jack I was there. I wasn’t up for another “family intervention” about my marriage.
I kept my end of the deal. I talked to Blake. It was offensive and frankly disturbing. How could I have been so wrong about him? Sure, he’d always had an ego, and yes, he knew he was successful. But I truly had no idea he had such a… a… good ol’ fashioned southern boy hidden beneath his exterior.
You think you know a guy…
Maybe I had seen the signs of the real him. Maybe I just didn’t want to admit what kind of guy he really was, because if I did, I would also have to admit I let myself get duped. That I was just as guilty for his behavior because I gave him the impression I would be okay with it.
It was a mistake. A mistake I was correcting.
Since it was too early in the day to start drinking (hey, a girl has to have her standards), I pointed my stuttering car toward the store Claire managed. I couldn’t really afford to shop right now since I was unemployed, but I could look… and maybe buy myself one thing. After the last few days, I think I earned something sparkly and new.
Her “office” was on the corner of a popular street in Raleigh. Just about everyone I knew shopped there. They had the best clothes by the best designers and their accessories were always flying off the shelves.
It was a mainstream store, with many locations across the US, so the prices weren’t completely ridiculous like some of the specialty boutiques in this area.
The interior was brightly lit and well air-conditioned. Even though it was early in the day, shoppers milled around, most of them with purchases already draped in their arms. I browsed around for a bit, decompressing from the morning. Even though I was shopping, I barely paid attention to the things I was looking at because my thoughts were still focused on the things Blake said to me.
He thought I would allow him to sleep around. He expected me to be grateful that he chose me to be his wife. He made me sick. And I won’t lie; his words were a huge blow to my self-esteem. I never thought I was the prettiest or the smartest, but I never really thought I was unworthy of anyone’s full love either.
But that’s exactly what he implied. He implied I wasn’t enough to keep him happy. He implied I wasn’t enough.
“Talie?” a familiar voice said from behind. I spun, blinking away the silent accusation.
“Hey, Claire,” I said, mustering a smile for my best friend. She looked good in a cobalt-blue lace blouse, a pair of white skinny jeans, and her sassy red hair all styled out in an arranged tousled mess.
She was enough to keep a man happy.
“What happened?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on my face.
“I signed the separation papers.”
She grabbed me by the wrist and led me through the store toward the back where we went through a door with a sign that read: “Employees Only.” After making a sharp right into a small office, she closed the door and dropped down behind her desk with a sigh. “I hate inventory.”
“Inventory sucks.” I agreed just because that’s what BFFs did. They agreed with each other. I’d never actually done inventory before so I wouldn’t know, but I would take her word for it. That thought gave me an idea. “Is this place hiring?”