“Can you sit down?” I interjected. “We need to talk.”
Delaney pulled the wooden chair back and sat across from me. Cracking my knuckles, I sighed. “I want a divorce.”
“What?” Her eyebrows pinched together.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to keep living like this anymore. I think it would be better if we part ways.”
“So you can run after her?”
I wasn’t shocked that she knew. I’d assumed as much.
“You’d throw your family away for some whore?”
“Del . . .” I kept my voice steady. “For ten years I’ve been by your side and have given you everything you’ve ever wanted, but I’ve never been truly happy. And I won’t deny that I love Brielle. I always have. The only reason I didn’t go after her was because you were pregnant.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I knew you two were fucking around in college.”
“And clearly, you were fucking Austin,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“You son of a bitch.”
“I’m not stupid, Delaney. But regardless, I made you an honest woman and took care of my family. Caleb will always be my son. I just don’t want to be married to you anymore.”
She slammed her hands on the table. “If you think for a second I’ll sign papers so you can run away with Brielle, you’re out of your fucking mind.”
“Delaney, I’m trying to make this as easy as possible.”
“Fuck you. Lawyer up, because I want full custody of my son.” She yanked her purse off the counter and stormed out of the house.
At least I was one step closer to being with Brielle.
Epilogue
Brielle
Happily-ever-afters were indeed for pussies. I read that once and believed it to be true.
I never imagined my story would get a happy ending. How could it? It wasn't in the cards for me. I believed God gave me a crappy father, so I never expected anything great from any other man in my life. I learned to accept that on my twelve-hour car ride.
I was thirty-one years old and a widow. My abusive husband shot himself in front of me. The man I loved had a family. Fuck happily-ever-afters. Happily-ever-afters were for pussies.
The guy doesn’t always get the girl. Sometimes the girl packs her shit, stands on her own two feet, and decides she wants to conquer whatever the world throws at her.
But as sad as it seemed, I was finally happy. There was no longer anything holding me back. There was no one to respond to. If I wanted to pick up and leave, I could do that. I had no one to answer to but myself.
But it also meant I was alone.
I packed up my belongings, left the key on the counter and never looked back. It took me two days to get home. The moment I was on the highway, I called Yve.
“About damn time!” Yve barked. “I’ve been going freaking crazy over here! What the fuck, Brie? You tell me Julian is dead and then hang up? Mother hell,” she mumbled under her breath. “You didn’t . . . Did you? I can be your alibi if you need me.”
“No, I didn’t kill him. He found out about me and Nate and tried to shoot me, but instead, he shot Nate and then killed himself.” I said it all in one breath.
“Fuck! Shit! Are you serious?” I waited as the phone went silent. “Wait? You and Nate?”
“Yeah.” I wiped the tears from my face. “It’s been one bad decision after another.”
“Okay, I have tequila. And we have plenty of time to talk.”
I sniffled. “I’m the most fucked up person.” I began to tell her how Nate and I started our affair. Every kiss, glance, touch—I didn’t spare any details.
“Sweet baby Jesus, mother of Pearl,” Yve said once I finished. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Me neither. I need a drink.”
“That sounds like a smart plan.”
“I think I’ll stop for the night once I hit the six-hour mark. I’ll be home tomorrow morning. Actually, I don’t even know if I have a home. Clearly, I didn’t think this through.” I cracked my neck.
“Don’t worry about it, Brie. Everything always works itself out.”
After six hours of driving, I stopped at a hotel near Lexington for the night and made my way down to the lobby bar. I figured drinking the pain away would be better than sitting in a empty hotel room by myself. I was wrong.
My mind wouldn’t stop replaying the past eleven years of my life. The happiness, the sadness, the heartache. Everything crashed into me.
Pulling into my driveway, I glanced up at our condominium. To my surprise, there was no eviction notice on the door. A familiar car pulled in behind me. Yve hopped out and ran toward my driver side door. I had sent her a text message when I was ten minutes away. I stepped out of the car and she greeted me with her warm embrace.