Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Fine,” she said lightly. “Well, if you don’t want to talk about you, how about we talk about me? I have some good news.”
“Oh yeah?” Thrax looked relieved to have the subject changed. “What’s that?”
“Brian finally signed the divorce papers. As of today, I’m free of him.”
Andi felt lighter just saying the words. The divorce had been a long, drawn-out process because she and her ex-husband had been on a “trial separation” for the past three years.
The trial was really for the benefit of their daughter, Lindsey. She had only been a sophomore in high school when Brian had come to Andi and said that he no longer found her attractive and he wanted to have an “open marriage.”
“I mean, you look different than you did when we first got married,” he’d said, wrinkling his nose as though Andi smelled bad. “You’re not as thin as you were—your whole body has changed.”
“Yes, because I’m fifteen years older and I had a baby—your baby—our daughter,” Andi had told him. “You can’t actually expect me to look like I did all those years ago.”
“Well, I don’t look that different,” Brian had pointed out. “Maybe a little gray around the temples…” He touched his temples with obvious pride—clearly he thought the gray made him look distinguished. “I heard some of the ladies around the office calling me a ‘silver fox,’” he added and laughed, that irritating, self-deprecating laugh of his that made Andi want to pull her service weapon and shoot him.
“Yeah, you’re a fox, all right,” she’d muttered. “And I’m guessing you can’t wait to get into the henhouse.”
“Look, I just want to explore other avenues and relationships,” Brian had protested.
“No, you want to cheat and you want my permission to do it,” Andi said flatly.
“It’s not cheating—it’s an open marriage.” Brian spoke slowly, as though she was a dim-witted child he had to explain things to. “That means you get to pursue new relationships too! Won’t that be nice?”
It hadn’t sounded nice to Andi at all. Her husband’s words had hurt her more than she wanted to admit. She was usually a light-hearted person who could shrug off trauma or insults, but she couldn’t shrug this off.
The fact that her husband no longer found her attractive because she was getting older and she was a lot fuller-figured than she had been when they’d gotten married stung her like an angry wasp. Especially since it seemingly came out of nowhere.
Their sex life had never been anything to shout about, but it had been steady—twice a week for almost their entire married life. And it wasn’t like Brian ever pestered her for more—if anything, Andi believed she had the higher sex drive of the two of them. But apparently Brian’s drive was at least high enough for him to want other women—that much was made abundantly clear by his request.
“I don’t want to see other people,” she’d told him stiffly. “I have no interest in other people.”
“Well, I do,” Brian shot back. “I can’t go on like this, Andi. And honestly, I think this will be good for our marriage. Being with other people will help us appreciate each other even more.”
“That’s the most bullshit argument I’ve ever heard,” Andi snapped. “How is fucking around with other people going to help us appreciate each other?”
Of course, Brian hadn’t had an answer for that—he really didn’t have anything but empty words and a desire to sleep around. But he refused to back down, insisting that the open marriage would be “good for them” though he couldn’t give any specific examples of how.
“I’ll tell you what,” Andi had said at last, after they’d been going around and around about it for two hours. “You can sleep with other women if you want, but I’m keeping my marriage vows—at least until we’re divorced.”
“Divorced?” Brian had opened his eyes wide in surprise, as though this was a shocking idea. “Who said anything about getting a divorce?”
“I did,” Andi said firmly. “If you really want to do this, then I’m leaving you. Not right away,” she added, when he started to protest. “We need to stay together—at least nominally—until Lindsey graduates high school. After that, we’re over for good.”
She’d been hoping this ultimatum would deter her husband, but Brian had always been stubborn. Once he got an idea about something he wanted to do, he went ahead and did it, no matter how much damage or pain it caused.
“Fine,” he’d said. “Then we’ll tell Lindsey we’re having a trial separation—how’s that?”
“Fine,” Andi said through gritted teeth. “But once we go down this road, there’s no going back. The first time you break your wedding vows, I’m gone.”
“Fine—I get it.” Brian had shrugged—as though the vows he’d taken and the last fifteen years of their lives meant nothing to him—nothing at all.