Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
I’m about to tell her hell no, I don’t want a divorce, but she continues. “I can go out to the pool house. It’s not right for me to stay here.”
I hold my hand up to stop her. “It’s fine. I’ll go out to the pool house. If it gets bad"—I point at her head and then at myself—“call me. I don’t want you in here suffering. I can draw you a bath before I go.”
My offer pains her, and she sobs as she takes a breath. “No, I’ll be fine.” She walks off with a muttered “Lock the door on your way out.”
I watch her walk up the stairs toward our bedroom, and it takes everything in me not to follow her. But the fact that she’s in pain has me staying where I am. I walk room to room downstairs, turning off lights. I make sure the front door is locked, and before I go out the back door, I set the home alarm and grab all my things.
Tomorrow, if she’s feeling better, I’m going to get to the bottom of this. There has to be a reason that she asked for a divorce out of the blue, and I’m going to find out what it is.
Chapter 4
Natalie
Call me back or I’m coming to find you.
I read the text from Jillian, and I know she’s not lying. Of all my friends, Jillian would probably call the cops to come find me if I don’t call her back soon.
I’m about to call her when my phone rings. Sure enough, it’s her. “Hello, Jilly.”
Even though I feel like I’m hiding it well, Jilly is one of my best friends, and she knows me better than anyone. “What’s wrong? What’s happening? I went to your class this morning, and you had a sub teaching.”
I won’t even attempt to lie to her, and it’s not necessarily a lie. “Migraine,” I say, hoping that’s answer enough.
“Oh, honey, are you okay? Can I bring you anything?”
“I’m fine now. My head actually feels a lot better.”
She’s quiet for just a second and then continues, “So then I’ll see you at class tonight?”
Darn it. “Uh, actually, I took the whole day off. I have a sub for my night class too.”
Jilly is so quiet, I almost wonder if she’s hung up. “Jilly… you there?”
“What are you not telling me?”
I sigh as I peek out the back window. When I went into the garage earlier, I saw that Beau’s SUV was still in the garage, which means he’s still in the pool house. It’s not like him to miss work. Probably in the last two years, I can count maybe three times he has. Two of them were when he got drunk with his brothers a few nights ago, and he had to recover for both those days. The third is today.
“Natalie Blaze… answer me.”
I grip the phone tighter. “I told him… I told Beau I wanted a divorce.”
I hear Jilly gasp in the phone, and almost immediately, her voice softens. “Oh, Nat, honey. I’m so sorry. What did he say?”
I pace back to the kitchen and pour a glass of tea. “What do you think he said? He sure didn’t beg me to change my mind or even attempt to talk me out of it. I believe his first question was to ask me what I want from him.”
Jilly blows out a breath. “I just don’t get it. I’ve seen him with you and yeah, he’s not all touchy-feely, but he loves you, Nat. The way he looks at you and does little things for you. There’s no convincing me otherwise.”
I lean against the wall and look out the window that overlooks the pool area and backyard. I’m a fool because I’ve spent most of the day right here, looking outside hoping to just get a glimpse of Beau. “Jilly, he wasn’t even surprised when I told him I wanted a divorce. I swear it’s like he’s been waiting for me to do it or something. Heck, he’s probably glad to get rid of me.”
“Stop, Nat. Did he say anything? Did he ask you why?”
I snort and bark out a laugh. “Yeah, he asked me if there was someone else. What a joke, right?”
When she doesn’t laugh with me, there’s a twinge of guilt I feel, and it gets worse when she asks, “Did you tell him about Mark?”
I choke on the tea I just took a drink of and sputter, “What about him? Why the hell would I tell Beau about Mark? I’m not interested in him at all. He has nothing to do with this.”
It’s as if I can hear her rolling her eyes. “Nat, stop. I know you haven’t cheated on Beau, but I still think that Mark is worth mentioning.”
“I don’t. Plus, it doesn’t even matter. Beau doesn’t care. He’s more worried about who gets the cars and the money than what’s happening between us.”