Page 49 of Best Served Hot
Nicole shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter now. In case you hadn’t sussed, I want a divorce.’
Ethan paused. He looked at Alex. ‘Get out of here. I need to speak to my wife.’ Alex didn’t move. ‘Alex! Leave!’
‘Why should she?’ Nicole asked.
Ethan looked at her as though she’d lost her marbles. ‘Because we need a private conversation about this,’ he told her. ‘Obviously!’
Alex looked at Nicole. ‘You want me to?’
‘Nope,’ Nicole said easily.
Ethan glared at Alex, his teeth grinding. He looked back at Nicole. ‘Look, Nicole, I haven’t… I’ve made mistakes here. I own up to that. But you’ve… You nailed me. OK? I’ve made a prat of myself these last few days. So if that’s what you needed to see, to punish me, you’ve done it. And I’m fine with that. And whatever else you wanted todoto punish me,’ he said, nodding at Alex. ‘That’s OK, too. I mean, it’s certainly creative revenge. What’s good for the goose and all that.’
A gasping laugh fell from Nicole. ‘That’s how you think this is going to go? Even stevens? The marriage is fine?’ She looked at him in amazement. ‘How did you pull the wool over my eyes this long? You’re a complete idiot!’
‘Hold on a second, Nicole,’ Ethan said. ‘We’ve both done wrong. I’m just trying to—’
‘I found your tablet,’ Nicole said. She didn’t want to keep having this conversation. She wanted him to accept the loss and leave.
‘Tablet?’ Ethan said, trying to pretend he didn’t know what she meant.
‘Ethan, Jesus, can you cut it out? You’re done. We’re done. I know what you’ve been up to the entire time. It was all there. Just walk away.’
‘No! I’m fighting for us!’ he declared.
Nicole had to chuckle. ‘Ethan… I realise you don’t want to get divorced because you’ve got quite a lot more money than me, and a divorce would be pretty costly. But we’re not coming back from this.’
‘That’s not what I care about,’ he said hotly. ‘Anyway, I caught you in the act. You wouldn’t get anything. Lena would testify.’
Nicole scratched her temple. ‘That may well be true. But if you want to avoid a public, embarrassing divorce and the legal fees associated with it, there’s an easier way. Get me a postnup protecting yourself fully, and I’ll sign it. How about that?’ Nicole said. ‘It gets a lot simpler if I sign one of those, doesn’t it?’
Ethan paused. ‘You’d do that?’
‘Not fighting for the marriage anymore? That was quick,’ Nicole remarked.
Ethan swallowed. ‘If there’s a chance to save us, I’ll take it. But if what you’re saying is true, then I suppose I might have to start thinking about myself,’ Ethan said.
‘You’ve never done anything else,’ Nicole snorted. She checked her watch. ‘And I need to be on set. So can we call it?’
Ethan breathed a sigh. ‘If that’s what you want.’ He licked his lips. ‘I’ll contact my solicitor about that postnup.’
‘You do that,’ Nicole said, rolling her eyes.
Ethan turned to leave.
Nicole felt relief it was over. At the very least, she was now free. It was all she wanted.
And then something unexpected happened.
Alex, silent for minutes, spoke up. ‘You piece of shit,’ she murmured.
Ethan turned. ‘What did you call me?’
Twenty-Eight
He’d taken years of Nicole’s life, chipped away at the self-esteem of a woman he was nowhere near good enough for, and now he was gonna skip out of here to do as he pleased?
Alex wanted to follow Nicole’s lead. But she couldn’t have it. She couldn’t let it be.
