Belong (Seven Year Itch #3)(56)
Rachel kissed me quickly, pulling away while staring at the door in fear someone would step inside. “I better get going. I’ll pull Ronald aside and sign whatever I need to before I leave. Go do whatever it is you think will help us. You know where to find me. I’m going into the office for a while, but I’m be home later. I have my cell on me.”
I grabbed her and pulled her back into my arms for one more kiss. “You can’t leave without saying goodbye.”
A chaste kiss left me wanting more, while watching her continue out the door.
Several minutes later Veronica came in the room. Her hands were on her hips as soon as she came to a stop in front of me. “I’ve already called our lawyer at home. We’ll get this taken care of. There’s no way that bitch will keep us from selling that house.”
I rolled my eyes, preparing to ignore her because I knew it was better that way. “Where’s Harper?”
“She’s coloring at the receptionist station. Tell me what’s going on, Chad. You knew didn’t you?”
“Not that it matters, but no, I didn’t have a clue. He never said a word to me about Rachel.”
“Well this just seems too convenient. I know what you’re thinking.” She waved her hands around as she spoke. “You think you can use this against me. That’s probably why you were in here alone. You were scheming with your little whore about how to take me down?”
“You have a vivid imagination. Rachel was only explaining how she also had no idea what my grandfather had done. She didn’t even know why she was involved in the reading. You saw the shock on her face.”
“What I saw had nothing to do with the reading of the will. You were with her the other night, supposedly to say goodbye, but here’s the strange thing, neither one of you seemed the least bit emotional when she walked in the room earlier. You were both relaxed. Now, I may be a bit out of line, but I’m inclined to think there were no goodbyes the other night. I think the two of you are concocting some kind of plan to get rid of me.”
This made me cackle at her. “Get rid of you? You think I’m going to hire someone and have you taken out? There are movies about that, you know. It’s too obvious. If I wanted you gone it would be when you least expected it, just saying.”
“Don’t be an ass, Chad. I’m fully aware how you feel about me. It’s just funny, you never showed as much when we were home. As soon as she walked back into your life I became the enemy. Now, all of a sudden I’m supposed to step aside so the two of you can live a lavish life. It’s not happening. I’ll fight you. I’ll make sure you’re left with nothing.”
“Go ahead and try. If you know anything about me, you’d understand I’m a man of my word. Don’t threaten me with your bullshit. You and I are getting a divorce. I agreed to come home with you for the sake of our children, but that’s the only reason. You and I will never reconcile. We won’t be friends, or fall back in love. Our marriage is a train wreck, and it’s been that way for too long. You and I know what we talked about the night before I came here. You knew where our marriage was headed. I’m done talking about this with you. You can threaten me all day long, but I’m not about to stand down. I’m a good father, and I was a hell of a husband before you walked all over me and ruined what we stood for. I don’t have to explain my actions. You have no right to judge me. If I were you, I’d take Harper home and start packing your bags. Once I’m done with this paperwork we’re on the next flight out of here.”
I could tell I’d gotten under her skin. Instead of coming back at me with her angry lashes, she peered away and sniffled, as if she were about to cry.
“I’m sorry. This is hard for me. I’ve been a good wife, with the exception of this year. Sometimes I hate myself for what I’ve done, but you don’t have to keep rubbing it in. I’m the one with the baby growing inside of me. I’m the one who will be raising him or her primarily on my own when you leave.”
“Don’t you dare go there, Veronica. If I’m nothing else, it’s a good father. I won’t allow you to belittle me.”
She sunk down in a chair and covered her face with her hands. Veronica’s tough fa?ade was damaged. She could no longer play the evil woman she’d portrayed. She’d been stripped of her ability to pretend she could stay in control of our situation.
I sat down beside her, knowing we only had a small amount of time before Ronald joined us. “What happened to the woman I married?”
“She’s gone, Chad. You made sure of it.”
“Bullshit. Be honest for once.”
“This relationship isn’t doing anyone any good. We need to stop fighting. I know we can be friends if you’d stop fighting me tooth and nail. I get you’re pissed, but how do you think it felt for me to discover you’ve been having an affair for months? I loved you and you took me for a fool. You were selfish first, and maybe I did things wrong in the past week, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t go back to pretending our marriage could be fixed. I wanted to feel something good for once. In the midst of my life crumbling apart I fell into the arms of someone familiar and I’ll be damned if I regret one second of it. If this proves anything, it’s that we shouldn’t be together.” I was quiet for a second and thought about my next words before allowing them to expel from my mouth. “You’re holding this pregnancy over my head and it’s wrong. I didn’t know about the baby, but the fact remains, we can’t get back together for our children. They’ll hate us. We’ll be teaching them that living a lie is okay to do. What happened to you in your past was horrible, but you have the opportunity to right the wrongs. Be a good mother, and a better friend. Be the person you’d want your kids to grow up and become. I realize I’ve only known about this for a couple days, but I know in my gut this is how I’ll feel in the future. Now, with that being said, I’m willing to go home with you and Harper. I’ll find a place close like we discussed, and we’ll make a schedule for all of us. We can make it work.”