Page 41 of Best Served Cold

“This isn’t you.”

“Yes, actually, I think it is. This is me without you talking down to me for expressing interests you don’t agree with. This is me without anyone to tell me I’m being ridiculous. This is me figuring out what I want for myself. And I think I like it. I know I certainly do love not having to bury my head in the sand because I can’t admit to myself that you are some jerk who doesn’t deserve me.”

Thomas stared at her with his mouth open.

Straightening in her chair, she squared her shoulders and pressed onward. “And if you refuse to sign the divorce papers...” What could she bluff with? She was just as guilty as he was of having an extramarital affair.

Thankfully Demetri picked up where she left off. “We have pictures of you and your mistress. You really should learn to be more discreet in your affairs.”

Stacy watched as Demetri opened a folder he had placed in front of him. She only barely glimpsed the pictures as her lawyer slid them over to Thomas, and for that she was grateful. She may not want him any longer, but that didn’t mean his blatant affair didn’t still sting.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see how it’s any of your business what I do after my wife has walked out on me. It’s not like I could find her.”

“Don’t you think there was a reason for that?” Stacy said.

“Ms. Jones, please.” Demetri reached out as though he was going to touch her, but pulled back.

“And you think just because you couldn’t find me, that was permission to carry on with your—”

Feeling Demetri’s hand on her leg shut her up. Right now, she was thankful for that. She’d been about to call his mistress a whore. Again. Even though he hadn’t said anything, he was right. She didn’t need to do that. It would hurt her case more than it could possibly help. Though she was tempted to say it anyway just to watch that vein bulge in Thomas’ neck, the way it always did when he was pissed. A moment later Demetri’s hand was gone, but with that simple action, he’d calmed her.

“Just sign the papers,” she told him. “Look, I don’t want anything that isn’t mine. I just want the few things that are special to me. The pictures of my parents, a few knickknacks and my CDs. You can have everything else.”

“I’m going to have to think about that. I really do just want things to go back to the way they were, Stacy.”

Though all outward indications said she was calm and collected, inside her head, she couldn’t stop the sarcasm. Translation: you don’t know what your whore wants to do. If she wants to move into the house I took the time to furnish and decorate, then you’ll give me my freedom. If she isn’t sure, you will refuse.

“You have exactly one week. If I have not heard from you this time Monday I shall proceed in the courts. We will, of course, be going after a divorce on the grounds of adultery if you cannot agree to Ms. Jones’ rather generous separation agreement.”

Stacy had to hide a smile when she saw the vein start to bulge and Thomas’s face turn red. She hadn’t been able to do it, to say a word, but then again, she didn’t need to. Demetri really did seem to have her back. She’d have to figure out how to thank him for that. Several erotic scenes entered her head, forcing her to shift in her seat.

Thomas stormed out of the room.

Demetri leaned back. “May I ask you a personal question?”

Her eyes closed slightly, his question confusing her. If anyone she’d met had any rights to ask her a personal question, she figured it was probably him. “Sure. But that doesn’t mean I’ll answer,” she tried to tease.

“Why did you put up with that asshole for so long?”

She sighed. He deserved an answer. Especially since he was going to have to deal with the asshole until the divorce was final. “I loved him. Or at least I thought I did. Because of that, I could overlook a lot of things. His ‘absent-mindedness’ and the way he seemed so selfish. I told myself he was the same man I married. But he isn’t. He hasn’t been that man for years. I tried to tell myself if he had changed, well, it isn’t like I’m exactly the same person I was years ago.”

“So you just fell out of love with him because you found a pair of underwear in his pocket and saw him kissing another woman?”

“No. When I finally allowed myself to admit the truth, I figured out I’d fallen out of love with him years ago. I was still in love with the man I thought he was, not the man himself. I—I haven’t been happy for a while, but I didn’t allow myself to admit it. It felt like I was betraying my vows if I did. There were a ton of times I’d have left him in half a heartbeat if we weren’t married. But I promised to be there for him for better or worse, in sickness and in health. I took my vows seriously. I was just hoping the ‘worse’ would end soon. It didn’t. I guess finding the underwear and actually seeing him kiss another woman simply allowed me to admit I wasn’t happy. It gave me permission to feel everything I tried to bury and say enough was enough.”

Demetri nodded.

She sat there silently for a moment, then started to get up. “I have to go. I have an appointment with Savon.”

The edges of Demetri’s mouth quirked upward. “Do I really unnerve you that badly?”

“This entire situation does. Have you ever had to sit in a room with two lovers? One present and one past,” she clarified. She didn’t want him to think she still had any of those feelings for Thomas.

“Yes.”

“Oh. Well, this is a first for me. I’m sure you can understand it doesn’t fall inside my comfort zone.”

“What are you doing later?”

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