Page 37 of Punish Me

“I didn’t want to raise Cee-Cee separately, and I didn’t want to take her from her mom. While we were separated, it was hell on Cee-Cee, which is why I moved back in. I stayed in a guest room. Until I decided to divorce her.

“I woke up one day and realized that I was doing more harm to Cee-Cee by staying than I was protecting her. Cee-Cee’s old enough to understand. She sees the shit her mom gets into. I won’t sue for full custody because that wouldn’t be fair to our daughter, so we have joint custody. She wants both parents.”

“Is that why she’s got the sullen, moody teenaged thing going on?” I ask before popping a cheese cube into my mouth.

“That and she’s a teen,” he says, chuckling. “Truth?”

“Sure.”

“I found out that she got pregnant the last time she cheated.”

“Yours?”

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Stopped having sex with her two years before the marriage ended. We’ve been divorced for three.”

“Two years and no sex?”

He pulls a hand down his face. “No. If I was married to a whore, then I might as well find a whore that I wanted to fuck.I flew into North Carolina when the urge hit. Had a couple of regulars that I spent time with.”

“North Carolina?” I choke on my wine.

He nods. “Privilege and Prestige. It’s where the rich go to play and a private club that caters to your every whim.”

“Ro!”

“I’ve not been a great man, Bryn, in all these years. I’ve just been the best man I know how to be.”

“Do you...?”

“No. I haven’t gone in eight months.”

“You haven’t had sex in eight months?” I shriek.

“Thanks for the PSA,” he says drily, looking at the patrons around us.

They’re definitely staring, and I damn sure was loud.

“Sorry,” I apologize sheepishly.

“Got tired of that. I knew that I was better than that. So, I’ve focused on this company, my daughter...and my fucking hand. What about you?”

“I, um...it hasn’t been that long for me. I just broke up with Santiago Cruz.”

“Yeah?”

“With his move to Houston, there was no reason to hold onto something that wasn’t going anywhere.”

“So, it’s been what?”

“Four months.”

“You regret it?”

“No. We had fun while it lasted, but it was for the time it was.”

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