Page 68 of Playing With Fire
Chapter 25
Shannon
Greg texts me at six to tell me he’ll be home for dinner by six forty-five, so I have to cut Hudson and I’s aquarium date short, but not before we’ve both committed to seeing where this relationship is going. It feels good to have a timeframe for announcing that I’m leaving Gregor, and I’ll feel even better about it next week when, hopefully, I’m able to put a deposit on an apartment.
I’m in the middle of cooking chicken breasts in a sundried tomato sauce when Greg comes in the door at six-thirty.
It’s the earliest he’s been home in ten months. He greets me at the stove with a kiss. His dry lips press against mine, and I’m so uncomfortable I’m at a serious risk for puking. Ironically, it feels like the adulterous sins I’m committing are against Hudson instead of the man I said my marriage vows to.
“Did you check the liquor cabinet and get what we needed for Sam and Renee’s visit tomorrow?”
Of course not. I was too busy gallivanting around the aquarium with my boyfriend.
As soon as the title enters my mind, it embraces my insides like a hug.
Hudson is my boyfriend.
“Shannon?” Gregor asks again, fighting my inner thoughts for my attention.
“Oh, I had planned to go tomorrow morning,” I answer. “I was going to see if you could reach out and ask about Renee’s preference so I only have to make one trip.”
Gregor shoots me a satisfied smile like my answer pleases him. I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
“How thoughtful of you,” he says in a tone that makes it more than apparent he thinks I’m seeking his praise. “I’ll check with Simon and let you know.”
“Great,” I reply sarcastically.
We eat in awkward silence while Greg checks his emails and I feed Serafina. He doesn’t offer to reheat my cold dinner or help with her bath and bedtime routine, and when I come back downstairs to go through patient charts and check on my schedule for tomorrow, Greg is sitting on the couch and asks me to fix brownies, like I’m his fucking chef.
“I can’t tonight. I have about fifteen patient charts to review before bed, but we have all the stuff to make them if you want to throw them in the oven,” I tell him, working hard to keep the bite out of my voice.
“Do I really ask that much of you?” he asks over the rim of his reading glasses.
“I said not tonight,” I fire back.
He blows out a dramatic breath. “Christ, Shannon. I thought going back to work was supposed to make you happy. All it’s done is make you even more of a bitch.”
My eyes grow wide and I can’t help the laugh of disbelief that escapes from my mouth.
“Excuse me?Greg, are you on drugs?” I ask, now completely serious.
“Of course not,” he scoffs. “Maybe I should ask you the same thing after your complete personality change.”
“Yes, I’ve made some changes, but that’s what we’re supposed to do. As humans we grow, we evolve. Becoming better versions of ourselves often requires change. You ought to know about change since I haven’t seen the man I married in quite a while,” I argue, angrily shoving my laptop in my bag. “I’m sleeping down here in the guest room tonight.” He no longer has the power to hurt me and I assume he knows that, so he’s lashing out.
“Just do me a favor and try to behave yourself when Simon and Renee are here tomorrow,” he fires over the back of the couch, causing me to stop in my tracks halfway down the hall.
“I’m not a child, Gregor,” I say calmly, walking back to the living room, knowing the inevitable is about to happen.
“Then stop acting like one.” His tone is bitter and arrogant.
I feel the words roiling inside me, like that nauseating feeling you get when you know the only thing that can stop the churning is expelling the poison from your body.
Except, I need an apartment. I need an attorney. And I need them before Greg realizes that my paycheck isn’t going into our joint account.
One more week.
Simon and Renee are set to arrive promptly at eight the next night. Greg is used to staying up late so this is early for him, butI’m now used to going to bed as soon as I get Serafina down for the night and I’m exhausted.
