Page 119 of A Chance for Us
Well, this time, I’m not going to go quietly into the night. I’m done with being used by women, and she is the worst out of all of them. I’m married to her, and shestilldoesn’t want me.
“No, you thought . . . hey, my dad is dead, I don’t need to keep up with this, never mind the fact that my husband has shown me in every way short of screaming it from a rooftop that he’s falling in love with me. I think I’ll file for an annulment.”
“That’s not what—”
I slam the papers onto the table. “What was this weekend, Maren? Just one more weekend where I fuck your brains out before you end it all? A chance to get what you need before you walk away as though you’re the victim?”
“Oliver, wait, I’m doing this for us.”
I laugh because that’s the most ridiculous fucking thing I’ve ever heard. “Spare me. I have the goddamn paperwork in my hands.” I scan the document and shake my head. “On grounds of false pretenses. Well, isn’t that sweet? I tricked you into this now?”
“No, of course not,” Maren says quickly. “The lawyer and I agreed . . .”
“I don’t fucking agree!” I yell and get to my feet. “I can’t believe this. I can’t fucking believe this!” I run my fingers through my hair. I must be the biggest idiot who has ever lived. Here I was, ready to tell her that I needed her, that I was falling apart, and all the while, she was planning on leaving.
I grab the envelope, head into her room, and start to throw my shit into my bag. Fuck this. I’m not going to stand here and listen to this crap. I have enough on my mind, and this annulment is the last thing I need.
No, I need to go and get my chemotherapy, go back to my fucking miserably lonely life, and be the second choice that no one even wants.
“Oliver, stop,” Maren says as I sweep the room, grabbing whatever is lying out.
“For what?”
She goes to touch my chest, but I move away. “Listen to me, please.”
“You know what? I won’t. I won’t listen to another speech about how I’m a great guy but you want something else.”
I’ve already heard this story.
“I want to be with you.”
“So much that you want an annulment?”
“Yes! Don’t you see? I don’t want to be married because we can date.”
“That makes no sense. I came here because I needed you. I . . .”
“I love you,” she says quickly, causing me to rock back on my heels. If she loves me, then what the hell is the annulment for? No, she doesn’t love me. She’s grieving and has found a way out that will make her look good. Now, she can tell her family that I somehow tricked her into a marriage and she walked away.
She probably came back here, talked to the first Oliver, and has a plan to make it work with him. Just like every other woman I’ve loved.
Always good but never good enough.
I laugh once. “You don’t know what love is.”
She rears back. “I do know what love is, and I love you.”
She’s unreal. “You don’t. You orchestrated lies. You lied to yourself about the first guy. You’re lying again about me. Well, I’m done lying and going along with your insane plans that only hurt people.”
Her breath catches, and she steps back.
“I knew it was a bad idea when you showed up at my resort, asking me to go along with your insane plan. I said no, but then I felt bad, thinking how hard it must be to love someone and lose them the way you were. Against my better judgment, I went along with it, but I always wondered . . .”
Her eyes fill with fake tears. “Wondered what?”
“How you could have feelings for me so quickly. You didn’t love the first Oliver, yet you were going to marry him. You didn’t love me, and you actually did marry me. Now you want to say you love me enough to end the marriage?” I shake my head in disgust at myself. I knew better, and yet, here I am, the fucking fool who thought she was capable of being in a relationship after her last attempt. I came here, ready to tell her I’m sick and needed her. Thank God I didn’t make that mistake. I toss the rest of my shit into my bag and tuck the annulment papers under my arm. “You can spare me whatever excuse you have. You got everything you wanted—your job, your family farm, and the happiness of your family.”
“Please stop,” she begs quietly with tears running down her cheeks. “I’m not a liar and I’m not trying to hurt you. I was trying to fix this!”
