Page 61 of Trust and Obey

I spent the night tossing and turning. It was easily the worst night of sleep I had gotten at the resort. I finally gave up a few hours before dawn, showered, shaved, and dressed.

By the time it was a decent hour, I was ready for a fight. Thankfully, Lauren was up for giving me one.

I had no sooner stepped outside my front door than I spotted her, a tray in hand as if she had just come from the recently opened breakfast buffet.

Her step faltered as I came into view. It was clear she was surprised to see me.

“Deacon,” she said, sashaying up to me in a cute little sundress that showed every inch of her long legs. “I’m so glad to see you up early. I was hoping we could share this breakfast together.”

I glanced down at the tray. “Yeah, that’s obvious. I’m not hungry.”

“But I had the cook make your favorite by special order: Salmon eggs Benedict.”

I frowned, a little thrown off. Had I ever had that dish before? “That’s not my favorite. Maybe it’s one of your other boyfriend’s.”

She pouted. “Come on, Deacon. Let’s just go in. This tray is getting heavy.”

In answer, I held out my hands. She handed me the tray and I quickly turned to set it on a nearby bench a few steps away. I hated to make more work for the staff, but I was not sharing another meal with her for as long as I lived.

Her jaw dropped.

“Enough,” I said before she could complain. “You and I need to talk—and not over a meal. We are getting divorced, Lauren. We’re not talking over a meal like we’re old friends.”

“Well,” she said, “no need to be rude about this.”

“You know what’s rude? Sashaying your way into someone’s private vacation. Trying to pay off the staff to tell you my secrets—”

“How dare you! Is that what your little manservant told you? Deacon, I swear, I would never—”

“Stop. Just stop with the lies, stop with the bullshit and the stupid little mind games. I’m not giving you one penny more than I offered, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Her face went bloodless. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or afraid, and for the first time, I didn’t care. My feelings for her were done.

They belonged to someone else.

“You can’t do that,” she whispered. “Deacon, you don’t mean it. I’ll release the sex tape. I don’t want to, but I’ll do it. Don’t make me do this to you.”

“No, you won’t,” I said, calm and collected. I had never felt so powerful. “Because if you do, I’ll hire the best forensic analyst money can buy. I’m sure that is a great wig, Lauren, but your curves and the freckles on your back don’t lie.”

She stared at me; her lips pinched.

I continued, “My settlement offer was very reasonable. Half of what we earned together during our marriage. It’s enough to live on, Lauren. Take it and learn to be happy.”

That’s when the tears started.

I knew they might be coming—and I had braced myself for it. I didn’t like to see a woman cry, much less one whom I had once loved.

It didn’t help that her broken, yet bravely quiet weeping drew attention. I got quite a number of dirty looks from passerby’s and members of the staff alike, seeing as I was standing there, not offering condolences.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” asked one resort guest with sandy blond hair.

She sniffled and took a shuddering breath to try to get herself under control. I tried not to roll my eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, and tossed a glare at me.

The man looked between us, shook his head at me, and walked away.

This couldn’t go on. “Look,” I said with my absolute last shred of kindness. “Maybe it would be best if you leave the resort. Go back to your home, and… I don’t know, do whatever you need to do to come to terms with this.”

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