Page 2 of Claiming His Wife

Wine. I need wine.

With the biggest glass of wine known to man I plop down on the couch and send a text breaking the bad news to Zack.

He forgot. He’s still at work.

The message barely goes through before my phone is ringing. I tap the green button, and before I even have the phone to my ear, I can hear Zack ranting.

“…Fucking prick.”

I hear someone in the background agree, probably our friend Jen, who apparently knows a good hitman.

“Seriously, Mal, you deserve so much better than this.” The ferocious certainty in Zack’s voice brings on another wave of tears because he’s right. I do deserve better than this. So does Scott.

“Damn straight she does!” Jen agrees.

“I know. You’re right,” I reluctantly admit. Up until this moment, I have defended Scott to my friends, but in my heart of hearts, I know it’s over.

“Halleluiah! Finally, you admit it.”

I can’t hold back a sob, my tears falling in earnest now.

“Oh sweetheart, don’t cry. Scott is the biggest fool in the world. You’re amazing, and he’s a fucking dick for not treating you like a princess.”

“He used to. What did I do to make him stop loving me?”

I can practically hear Zack grinding his teeth. I know exactly the look he has right now, eyebrows furrowed with a death glare, his jaw tight, and lips thinned to white lines turning his handsome face into a mask of rage that would send even the bravest person running. “You didn’t do anything. You’re the same woman you were five years ago when you married the dumbass. He’s the problem.”

I want to believe that he’s right, but the months of rejection have done a real number on my self-confidence.

“Mallory Jean, stop it. You are not the problem,” Zack insists. “Repeat after me, ‘I am not the problem. Scott is a douche who doesn’t deserve me.’”

“Zack…”

“Do it.”

I take a long drink of my wine until the glass runs dry. Liquid courage for the win! “I am not the problem.”

“And…”

“Zack, he’s not a douche. He’s a good man.”

“Who treats you like you don’t exist. Who forgets anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine’s day, Christmas. I still don’t understand that one. Your house looked like Santa’s workshop threw up both inside and out. It takes a special kind of stupid to miss that one.”

I cringe at the memory. Ever since our first Christmas, we’ve always gotten up early, excited to exchange gifts. We were like a couple of kids. After presents, we cooked breakfast and snuggled on the couch watching our favorite Christmas movies. It’s always just been us. Scott’s family lives in Utah, and rarely visits and my parents both died in a car accident years ago. He made it his mission to give me the kind of Christmases I had when my parents were alive. His thoughtfulness never ceased to amaze me. The fact that he missed Christmas was even more heartbreaking than missing our anniversary.

“I know. What do I do?” I don’t know if I’m asking Zack or the universe itself, but Zack seems to have the answer.

“You move in with me.”

“Zack, I can’t do that. You hate having roommates.”

“No, I hate living with slobs and sluts. Especially slobby sluts. You’re practically OCD in your cleanliness. Besides, you’re family.”

I mull it over. Can I really leave Scott? Is that what I want? Am I ready to give up on my marriage? On the man I love with my whole heart? I just don’t know. I’ll give him one more chance. If he brushes me off tonight when he gets home, then I’ll decide.

Maybe.

“I need to think about it. I can’t decide while I’m upset and a little drunk. I need a clear head.”

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