The Wife Stalker(21)

“Hello, Joanna. Please come in.”

Her office was modern, all sharp corners and clean edges. A boxy gray sofa with stiff and unyielding cushions was where I spent my time, while she sat in a sleek red chair that looked just as uncomfortable. The walls were the one soothing element in the office, a warm burnt orange that made you want to curl up with a blanket and a good book.

“You sounded upset in your message. Has something happened?” she asked, settling into her chair, pad on her lap and pen in hand.

“Leo served me with divorce papers yesterday. He’s making it look like I abandoned him by moving out, even though he’s the one who encouraged me to go and take care of my mother.”

She looked perplexed. “How can he do that?”

“He’s a lawyer, and a damn good one. He knows practically every judge in the state. He wants a fast divorce, uncontested, and offered me a lot of money to sign.”

She leaned back in her chair and waited for me to go on.

I wiped a tear from my cheek and grabbed a tissue from the box in front of me. “I refused when I first saw the papers, but he threatened me. Said he’d get everything held up in court and I wouldn’t see a dime.”

“Couldn’t your attorney do anything?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have one, but I spoke to a lawyer friend who told me Leo could do that if he wanted. She offered to help me. She’d seen women married to millionaires who couldn’t afford groceries because the men had tied the money up until the final settlement. I have to take care of my mother. I don’t have a job. All the bank accounts are in his name . . .”

“What are you going to do?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I signed them. I’m hoping he’ll come to his senses and realize that this crazy affair with Piper is nothing more than a midlife crisis, an antidote to his depression. What else can I do?”

“What about the children?”

“I could have fought to have them with me, but I don’t want them around my mother. I’ve told you what my childhood was like, all the negativity and manipulation. I won’t let her do that to Stelli and Evie. Besides, there are only two bedrooms at her house. The custody can be reassessed once I have my own place, which I can’t get until my mother’s recovered, anyway.”

“Joanna, I understand that your mother’s vulnerable right now, but so are your children. Can you hire someone to stay with your mother so you can get a new place where the children can be with you?”

“I guess I could, but I’m honestly just . . . in a bit of shock. Of course I want to be with them, but I also want what’s best for them. To move them out of the house they’re used to, their neighborhood friends and school—it’s not fair to them.”

“They’re used to the house, but children adapt.”

What did she know about children? “If I recall correctly, you’re not a mother, right?”

A frown crossed her face quickly. “Well, no—”

“Then you don’t get it. When you’re a parent, you put your children first, not yourself. Evie and Stelli don’t need to be dragged all over the place. They need stability. It’s bad enough they’re having to deal with problems between Leo and me. I won’t allow them to be the sacrificial lambs.”

Celeste put a hand out. “Okay, okay. I’m not suggesting that at all. I suppose you know what’s best for your own children. I’m just saying that they need their mother more than they need a nice house.” She arched an eyebrow.

I was getting exasperated. “Of course they need me. But this is only temporary. Leo has to come to his senses. If I go and buy a new house and get it ready for the kids, he’ll think I’ve given up on him.”

And there it was again. The look of pity on her face. She took a minute before answering. “We’ve discussed Leo’s distance these past few months and your suspicions that he was seeing another woman. And now he’s admitted that he loves someone else. You’ve even signed divorce papers. Don’t you think it’s time you did give up on him? I’m concerned, Joanna, that you’re holding on to an illusion that you can magically make things right again.”

I shook my head, my face hot. “It’s not magic. It’s love. It’s believing in the power of love and the power of our years together. Yes, I signed the divorce papers, but only because I want him to come back to me of his own accord, not because I’m holding a piece of paper over his head. And besides, Piper has bewitched him and turned him against me. I know she’s hiding something, and I’m going to find out exactly who she is and what she’s done.”

She cocked her head. “Forgive me, Joanna, but you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth. On the one hand, you say Leo is a wonderful judge of character, yet he chose Piper. If he’s such a smart and savvy lawyer, don’t you think he’d be able to see through her if she really were hiding some kind of nefarious past?”

I shook my head.

“I think you need to work on acceptance,” she continued, her voice gentle. “You need to start a new life without him. I know this is probably bringing back all the abandonment issues from your father, but it’s not healthy to delude yourself.”

I could feel the vein in my neck pulsating and had to clench my hands together to keep from screaming at her. “You’re wrong! My mother drove my father away. I’ve been nothing but wonderful to Leo. He’s going to realize what he’s throwing away.”