Page 3 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

“Sam doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Oh? Now the woman you’ve been sleeping with over the past year doesn’t mean anything to you?” Dillyn blinked back tears. “You tried to break me, Steven. You tried to make me feel inadequate by suddenly complaining about the things you claimed to love, like my hair. After all these years, I wondered why you would want me to straighten it? Or start making rude and insensitive comments about my body every time I gained a pound or two.”

“That’s not tru—”

She cut him off. “We were trying to bring life into this world! Why would you let me start taking fertility drugs if you’d already checked out of the marriage?” Dillyn was doing her best to stay calm but held on by a thread. She spoke through gritted teeth. “The day I saw those photos was the day I stopped taking them. We didn’t need to bring a child into this mess.”

“You act like this is all on me!” Steven started, trying to turn the tables. “The breakdown of our marriage isn’t just my fault. If you would have—”

Furious, Dillyn raised her hand to slap him but managed to stop herself in mid-motion. “You’re really going to stand there with a straight face and blamemeforyoubeing a whore?!” Dillyn glanced heavenward and took a few deep breaths. “Yes. I knew that our marriage was in trouble way before you started sleeping with Sam, but it took those pictures to snap me back to reality.”

“That’s not true.”

“C’mon, Steven, stop. Just stop!” Dillyn backed away for fear of actually assaulting him. She had never put hands on another human being in her life but was afraid today might be that day. Her eyes narrowed. “You are married to a digital forensic investigator! You know I have proof. I have pictures not just of Sam, but youandSam! I have text messages, phone records, and credit card receipts!”

Steven quieted, no longer trying to explain.

“I must have been out of my mind thinking a baby would save our marriage. After all the surgeries and years of trying to conceive, you made me feel less than a woman for not being able to give you a child.” Dillyn slapped a hand hard against her chest. Her heart was pounding. Her voice broke. “How could you?”

Steven turned away. He wouldn’t look at her. “I never wanted kids with you.”

Tears stung her eyes. Dillyn wasn’t sure she could beat them back but fought hard to keep them at bay. If it weren’t for her anger, she might have let them fall.I’ve still got some pride.

“You’re still doing it. Trying to mess with my head. I won’t let you revise history. It was me. I didn’t want kids, and for years, you tried to talk me into having them. Why? It just doesn’t make any sense. I wish I had known about your concerns over having biracial children before I went through all of that hell. Yeah, I read those conversations on your phone too. The ones where you were worried about how any child we might have could affect your budding political career.” Devastated, Dillyn whispered, “You knew that I was Black before you married me. You have eyes. I’m a brown woman with full lips and a wide nose. I wear my natural hair in coils. I’ve never shied away from my Blackness.”

It was Steven’s turn to feign righteous indignation. He slammed his hand on the table. “We were in college when we got together, Dillyn!”

She remembered. It was always them against the world—and his family. Steven was her champion in a place where she most definitely felt out of place. “Was our relationship really just about sticking it to your parents who never really liked me?” Dillyn shook her head as if answering her own question. “I don’t know. Maybe it was the novelty of being in an interracial relationship. Regardless, even if you being a disrespectful, manipulative, man-whore was about your family, political aspirations, or something else, why not just divorce me instead of putting me through all of this?”

Steven would neither confirm nor deny Dillyn’s suspicions. Instead, he stood, forcefully knocking his chair over in the process. “If you want a divorce, fine. Let’s do it. But just know, what you came into this relationship with is what you’ll leave with.”

“Speaking from a man who grew up with money and power. I don’t want a penny from the trust your grandfather left you. But after all you’ve put me through, and after being caught cheating red-handed, are you really going to fight me over money we accumulated together?”Who is this man?

Steven was smug and dismissive. “I’m not worried about my trust. You can’t touch that anyway.”

Dillyn shot back. “Neither can you! Your father has been fighting you over it since before we were married.”

“My father and family are not your concern.” Steven released a sarcastic little laugh. “Let’s be clear, you might have brought in a few hundred thousand, but I’ve made millions. The keyword in that statement isImade millions. No way in hell you’re getting 50 percent of my hard work.”

Hard work?What Steven really meant was his family’s connections. He might have been on the outs with them but not so far that they would publicly disown him. Appearances were everything to the Havenhursts. Dillyn was prepared for Steven behaving like an asshole. She knew he might not have wanted her, but money and power . . .thatmeant something. He was not going to give up anything without a fight.

“My law partners and associates on the bench sit high and low. No court in New York will admit any of the shit in this envelope. I know you illegally obtained it.”

Slowly, Dillyn walked back to her chair and sat down. “Are you so sure?” She crossed her arms. “Exactly what money are you referring to, Steven? You might want to check those bank statements in that envelope.”

Steven was hesitant. He went back into the envelope and dumped out all of the contents. Steven quickly read through the statements. Dillyn had found all his accounts, including the ones he didn’t know she knew about. Slowly, he looked up. His voice was menacing. “Where’s my money?”

“Your money?” Dillyn deserved an Oscar for keeping such a straight face. “Again, I ask, what money, Steven?” Dillyn was damn good at her job. She had erased every shred of digital footprints for more than seven million in cash deposits. She had also liquidated several offshore accounts and sold all of the properties they owned together–except for their primary residence. The proceeds from those sales were firmly in Dillyn’s control, totaling an additional twenty-nine million.

Steven spoke through clenched teeth. “Where is my money, Dillyn?!”

She disregarded his rising anger. Her voice was calm. Calmer than she actually felt. “I’ll make a deal with you. You sign the divorce papers, and I’ll give you two million.”

He scoffed at her offer. “Where. Is. My. Money. Dillyn?!”

She ignored his reddened face and the steam coming from out of his ears. “Okay, I’ll sweeten the pot. I also won’t reveal any of the shady shit you’ve done at your law firm, exposing them to billions in liabilities. Quite frankly, even I was shocked. In fact, the New York Attorney General might be interested in the information I have, considering you’re planning on running against him in the next election. Funny, the things you can discover from a phone or a computer. Even when you think it’s been deleted.”

Steven’s face drained of all color.

---