Page 205 of Hate Mates

I calmly walked to the bar cart and poured her a glass of Syrah. “I’m offering a chance to change your lives,” I explained, handing her the drink. “On some level, you must feel the same way. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

She set the drink on the coffee table without tasting it. This was a business meeting to her. “I’m here because you made my husband feel worthless and you’re turning our lives upside down.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. I didn’t tell Stefan he was worthless, rather I complimented his wife and family by valuing them at over market rate.”

She jabbed a finger at my chest. “You made an unethical proposition to people who don’t have a safety net. He feels his only choices are to either accept your offer or end things to make room for you. And I feel like I have no choice but to cave.”

“As I explained to Stefan, I enjoyed family time with you and the kids. I don’t have a family of my own, or the time to cultivateone. I made an offer for something that’s missing in my life. It was at his discretion whether to accept or reject it. I’m not holding a gun to his head.”

She wanted to defend his actions but also saw my point. Amelie picked up the glass and took a sip. She spared the drink a second glance as soon as she lowered it. She liked the wine but would never admit it.

“By now, you’ve figured out the kind of money and power I possess. If I wanted to break up your family through unsavory means, I could have done something unethical, such as extortion. I could close every avenue to you until the only one remaining is the path to me. But I didn’t want to destroy anyone’s happiness. You don’t lack love but the lack of money is stopping you—or at least him—from being happy. I’m adding that missing component without any guarantees in return. You and Stefan have a preexisting relationship. The kids are his siblings. The only person without personal connections in this marriage would be me. I’m the only one who stands to suffer damages if you change your mind and leave with him and the kids. But I’m not outraged. I’m fully cognizant that we have free will and make decisions that’re best for ourselves. So help me understand my crime when all I did was offer an option, not make a decision for you.”

Once more, she wanted to argue, tell me I was wrong, but couldn’t find the flaw in my logic. She took two more long sips of the wine and resentfully thrust the glass back to me.

With a small smile, I returned to the cart and poured her a second drink.

“How did it come to this?” she muttered, speaking mostly to herself.

I handed her the glass and sat on the couch. I motioned for her to do the same but she was busy pacing. I loved watchingher, especially from this proximity. Soon, I could watch her to my heart’s content.

“There’s no precedent for something like this. What happens next?” she wondered out loud.

“You and Stefan will get a divorce,” I replied calmly.

She stopped pacing. Her haughty nature came out when the situation demanded. It subsided just as fast when she made peace with the outcome. That was why I knew she would eventually accept this proposal. “When?”

“Next week.”

“That’s so soon.”

“Best to rip off the Band-Aid, don’t you think? I’ll help you expedite it with a mediator. We’ll do a small ceremony right after. We’ll explain to the kids that you’ll be married to both of us. They’re still young and probably won’t ask too many follow up questions. As they get older, they’ll understand it for themselves. Triad marriages aren’t that uncommon, especially for the new generation. I believe they’ll be perfectly fine with it.”

She shook her head. “This doesn’t seem right. I think we need to discuss this more.”

“Talking will only delay the inevitable. Your bills at home aren’t getting any smaller, and isn’t back-to-school shopping coming up for the kids? I’m sure Stefan has already told them they can buy anything they want this year. If you back out now, can you face the kids with a clear conscience?”

She sat on the oversized armchair with a thump. “This is irreversible. None of us can come back from something like this. Why are we agreeing to this when all three of us know it’s insane?”

“Or is it what needs to be done? If you don’t go through with it, the resentment will break your marriage anyway. Every time you have another financial crisis, you’ll always remember the moment you could have changed your destiny.”

She glanced at me with a knowing look, as if the thought had already crossed her mind. “Aren’t you philosophical?”

“Determined, is what I am. If you love your husband, then you must sympathize with how unfair life has been to him. All his talent being shoved down for a job as an office manager. What kind of life is that? He’s losing himself every day, and you’re feeling the loss with him. What if you could give him the world? Why deny him and everyone in your family the opportunity of a lifetime?”

“We’re supposed to be the unbreakable couple, nothing in this world can tear us apart. What if our relationship doesn’t survive the repercussions?”

I watched her for a moment. “Then I suppose you were never the unbreakable couple to begin with.”

FIVE

Amelie

It turned out divorce was an easy process when you had endless resources and neither party held the other accountable for emotional damages. Though Stefan and I shared guardianship of the children, custody battles didn’t exist either when everyone was willing to make this ‘transition’ as smooth as possible.

Everyone was just so damn willing. Was I the only one to see this marriage for what it was—a farce?

Both men were fighting over what the other had like a pissing contest. But this wasn’t about the rich-slash-poor or married-slash-single thing, this was a man-versus-man thing.

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