Page 85 of Whatever It Takes

The doorto the side opened and in walked my husband. His hair was longer and slicked back as opposed to the short-gelled hairstyle that he preferred. Gone were his Brooks Brothers suits and, instead, he now wore an orange jumpsuit. I didn’t think I could ever get used to seeing him this way.

He tried to smile at me and it only pissed me off.

Every emotion I could think of pushed through me. Anger for marrying him in the first place. Disgust for what he’s turned into. Embarrassment for what he has put his family through. Fear for what will happen to him once he reaches prison. But most of all, sadness for the only truly innocent person in all of this, Emery.

“I’m glad you came.”

I frowned at him. “The only thing I came here for was to talk to you about signing the divorce papers.”

“Well, today is your lucky day.” He looked over his shoulder to the guard standing by the door. “I seem to have all the time in the world.”

His attempt at humor only annoyed me further. “You think this situation is funny?” I asked, glaring at him from across the table. “You know what? Don’t answer that.” I sat down with a million questions burning on the tip of my tongue. Yet, I still didn’t know where to even begin.

I shifted in my seat and scooted forward. My mind was still trying to process what I learned, and every time I thought about it, it made me sick to my stomach.

When I got dressed this morning and practiced my speech, I swore that I wasn’t going to lead with this. But the mere sight of him had red hot fury racing through me.

“I know you tricked me into marrying you.”

His head tilted to the side, looking clueless. “Pardon me.”

I ground my teeth together and stood up. “You pretended to be my friend and you struck when I was at my weakest moment. You lied to me, played me for a fool, and controlled me for years. You tricked me into believing you were somebody that you weren’t. Was it fun for you, by the way? Did you get some sick satisfaction when you finally gained my trust?”

“What exactly am I admitting to here?”

“Oh, please, don’t pull this lawyer bullshit on me. It’s not going to work this time.” I placed my hands on the table and leaned forward. “I wasn’t just drunk when I slept with you that first night, was I Grant?”

He opened his mouth and closed it. Searched the room, probably forgetting the only exit was to his jail cell. His shoulders dropped, and I watched him pinch his eyes shut in discomfort.

It seemed like it took him forever to respond. I waited on bated breath for him to answer me. But when he finally did, I wanted to reach across the table and throttle him.

There was no apology. No remorse. And certainly no guilt. Just his typical bullshit.

“Charlotte. It was an Ambien. It was a just a sleeping pill.”

“Which was crushed up and put in my drink. You have a fucking law degree, don’t you dare act stupid.” I felt like I was staring at a complete stranger. “It was rape.” A sob broke free and I felt ashamed and disgusted. Everything inside of me cracked wide open, the truth of my words ripping apart everything I was led to believe about our life together.

He averted his eyes to the guard and nervously moved his gaze back over to me. “I never wanted you to find out. I was afraid you would see it that way. I didn’t want you to jump to the wrong conclusion. I know it sounds bad, but that wasn’t my intention.”

“Well, Grant, you know what they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions…And you seem to be in the express lane right now.”

Denial. Lies. Deceit. Here we went around and around. God forbid Grant Anderson own up to anything.

“How could you do that to me?” I swallowed down my anger, not even sure how I was supposed to feel anymore.

“Do what to you? Want something real with you? Want that genuine smile and affection that you gave him?” he spat. Clearly, my relationship with Quinn was a trigger for him.

“So, let me get this straight. You thought the best way to build something real between us would be to trap me into a relationship by drugging me?”

He drew his eyebrows together and brought his thumb up to his chin, toying with the little dimple in the center. Emery had that same dimple. She may have been my mini me, but her skin coloring and the curve of her chin, along with the tiny cleft in the middle were all Grant. She also had his smile and that reminder hurt like hell.

“You only saw me as a friend and I wanted more. I wanted a chance with you so that you could see how good we were together. I won’t apologize for loving you. I’m not sorry for that.” He shook his head. “I do regret spiking your drink, but I don’t regret my daughter.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “Do you hear yourself? Are you listening to yourself? It’s all about you, Grant.” I threw my hands up in frustration, wishing I had the balls to punch him in the face. “You wanted what Quinn and I had, but you were too arrogant to understand that it could never be yours. I wasn’t some trophy to be won.”

His eyes fell forward to the floor. Maybe my words had finally pierced his thick skull.

“You are always saying how much you love me.” I said the words as calmly as I could, trying to push past the hurt and the betrayal. “Well, actions speak louder than words. Prove it. I’m done, Grant. I want a divorce. I want your signature on the papers. Today. I want to move on with my life. I don’t want to be tied to you a second longer than I have to be. In fact, I want nothing more to do with you.”

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