A Broken Forever(120)

"Where were you, Grey?"

The sound of Richard's voice made me jump almost through the roof. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath.

"Holy shit, you scared me! I thought you were at work tonight?" There was no gleaming smile on his face, no twinkle in his eyes, and no loving hug to greet me. He just sat in the arm chair, an empty glass of wine sitting on the stand next to him. 

"Yeah well, I came home early to see my bride-to-be. I was instead given an even better surprise. There was no note, no call, nothing. I called the salon, your brother, your mom, anyone I thought might know where you were."

"Richard, I am so sorry." I started to approach him but he threw his hand up to stop me.

"I did find something that helped me at least know you were safe."

"Oh, you did?" My face paled, nothing about that made me feel better.

"Yeah, you've been all over the news."

"The news??"

"Well, the sports segments to be more exact. Don't worry, I printed off the online version of the article." He held up a piece of paper. Somehow I made my feet move forward but the entire time my knees shook. Richard's scowl never faded from his face as I took the page from his hands.

I could have fainted. In color print was an impossibly clear picture of me and Stefan at the Red Sox game. We faced each other with glowing smiles and even from here I could feel the connection between us. The headline read in bold font, "Fan Catches Pop Fly and Cameras Catch Boston's Most Eligible Bachelor with a Date."

"I can explain." I pulled my eyes from the picture. Richard jumped from the chair with fire blazing from his eyes.

"I sure as hell hope so, sweetheart. Let's start with how in the hell do you know, Stefan Harrison."

My heart beat echoed through around the room. Tension built and Richard's glare never softened.

"He's my ex-husband."





Richard exploded at the news and began demanding answers to countless questions. I felt overwhelmed with everything and panic bubbled deep into my chest. I wanted to answer but I knew without question that I needed someone to hold my hand through it. There was only one thing I could think of and that was Amy. Many years ago she gave me her personal cell phone number in case of emergencies and this was definitely one. I called her, and she told us to come by at nine a.m. the next morning and she would make time before her first appointment. Richard was furious but reluctantly agreed. We spent the rest of the night apart with him on the couch and me in bed. To say I slept well would have been a complete exaggeration. All night I tossed and I turned and I cried with the overwhelming stress. I brought it all on myself and now I had to face the music.



"Amy said she'd be here this morning to meet with me." I told the receptionist.

She smiled but it was apparent she felt the stress building between me and Richard. The entire morning, car ride and everything in between had been done in complete silence. We said nothing, and I didn't know how to make it better. I was hurting so badly because of all the hurt I was making him feel. We sat at opposite ends of the waiting room and I mentally prepared myself to reveal everything I had worked so hard to keep hidden.

"Grey, I'm ready for you, Hun." I looked up and saw Amy standing at the door. A broken smile emerged but it quickly fell from my features. Richard saw me stand and did the same. Together we followed Amy down the hall to her office and once inside Amy extended her hand to Richard.

"Hello, I'm Amy. I'm happy you agreed to come along this morning."

"Richard." He said, shaking her hand. "I didn't really want to but it seemed to be the only way to get answers."

Amy nodded, motioning for us to take a seat. "I know it isn't easy but there is much Grey has to tell you. There aren't many people that know all about her life and I know that has to be difficult."

"I don't know why she felt she had to hide anything from me." Amy focused her attention on me and gave a nod of encouragement to proceed.



       
         
       
        

"I don't have a good reason for you about that, Richard. I have never wanted to hurt you. It's just … there is a lot from my past that has pained me and I didn't want you to share that burden."

For the first time since last night he turned his eyes to see me. "I asked you to marry me, Grey. That alone means I want to share the good and bad with you."

"There's more to it than that."

"Fine," he threw his hands up. "Why don't you start somewhere, Grey? How about you tell me about Stefan. I never knew that you even knew who he was, let alone that you had been married before!"