Obligation(33)

I looked over at him and then back to the building. “I’m sure.” I opened the car door and climbed out. “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” I murmured before slamming the door closed and heading for the building.

When I was halfway there, I stopped myself from turning around, heading back to the car, and telling Pika to take me home. I knew I couldn’t do that. I knew I couldn’t let Kai be the decider of my future, and waiting for him to get me the divorce papers was doing exactly that.

As soon as I opened the door to the building, the bell over the door rang and a beautiful woman wearing a business suit walked out of the back office and greeted me in the lobby.

“Myla?” she questioned, giving me a small smile and sticking out her hand.

“Hi,” I replied, placing my hand in hers, surprised by the firmness of her shake.

“I’m Tammy. My receptionist took the afternoon off, so I hope you don’t mind if we just get down to business?” she asked.

“No, that’s fine.”

“Would you like a bottle of water or a soda?” she asked.

I shook my head and wrung my hands together.

“It will be okay.” She smiled again. “Just follow me and we can get started.”

“Sure,” I agreed and followed her into a large office, where she nodded at me to sit down in a chair in front of her desk.

“When we spoke yesterday, you said that you were wanting to file for divorce. Is that right?”

“Yes,” I whispered, and then I looked at the door, wanting to make a run for it.

“Can I ask you why?” she probed.

I looked at her then back at the door. “I think I made a mistake,” I whispered.

“I think a lot of women feel like that,” she muttered.

I started to laugh hysterically until tears were falling down my cheeks. It took a minute to get myself under control, but when I did, I looked at her and found a smile on her face.

“I needed that,” I told her, wiping under my eyes and relaxing into my seat. After that, the rest of the meeting went by quickly, and when I left, I felt like I had not only made the right decision by filing, but that I had done the right thing as far as stopping all the lies.

Tammy had told me that she would get the papers prepared and have Kai served. She’d also explained that, if Kai didn’t agree to sign them, we could proceed without him because I wasn’t requesting any of his assets that had rightfully become half mine when we’d married without a prenup.

I come out of my thoughts when I hear voices coming from Kai’s office. Since he’s been gone, no one has been in this part of the house, so I’m surprised to hear the hushed tones of men speaking behind the closed door. I tiptoe across the hall, careful not to make any noise. I slowly put my ear to the door and my hands around my ear so that I can zero in on the sound.

Weight and warmth press me harder into the door.

“What are we listening for?” is whispered in my ear.

I scream as strong arms wrap around me.

“Easy,” says an all-too-familiar voice, causing my body to instantly react and pain to compress my chest.

“No,” I whisper as Kai’s office door is opened and Pika’s and Aye’s eyes land on me. I tilt my head back, praying I’m wrong—that Kai isn’t home—but my eyes collide with his.

“Let me go,” I whisper, bucking against his hold.

His eyes go soft as he whispers, “Makamae,” tightening his arms around me almost as if he doesn’t want to release me.

“Let me go,” I repeat a little louder this time.

“We must talk,” he says calmly.

“Ha!” I lean my head back and scream at the top of my lungs. “Well, then, if you say we must talk, Kai, by all means, let’s talk.”

“I know you’re upset.”

“No, Kai, I’m not upset.” I franticly shake my head back and forth, knowing I probably look insane.

“If you’ll just listen for a moment, I can explain everything.”

My body stills and I force myself to relax as his hold on me tightens almost painfully. “Okay,” I breathe, wanting to hear what he’s going to say. I so badly want him to make this right, to make me understand so the pain in my chest will go away.

“I needed the people who were trying to harm you to believe we were no longer together.”

My gut twists, and I know that, even if that were the case, even if he was doing it as a way to protect me, no one would have known he’d left me a note. No one would have known he told me that his lawyer would be in touch. No one would have known I cried for hours, alone, in our bed, surrounded by his smell. He could have spoken to me, could have told me what he wanted to do, but he didn’t even give me a choice in the matter. He left me without so much as a “fuck you.”