Page 12 of Ever After

He laughs along with me, his laugh a bit more cheery than mine.

“I understand your situation. Stop overthinking it. After today, you’ll be able to relax more and enjoy your vacation.”

It’s now around four o’clock in the afternoon, and we’re standing by the elevator waiting for it to open to get on. The elevator comes up, and we both step in and press theLbutton for the lobby. The second the elevator drops, so does my stomach. I don’t want to see Aiden. Nausea rolls through my stomach.

The second we pulled up to the Hilton, I let out a sigh.

“Don’t let him get to you. Get your stuff and come right out. I’ll be here waiting.”

I look over at Jay and smile. “Thanks for doing all this. You sure you’ll be here when I get back?” I attempt a smile.

He rolls his eyes at me. “Yes. I won’t leave.” He taps his hand on my legs as a sweet gesture. Butterflies form in my stomach. I don’t know if it’s the nerves from having to see Aiden or because of his hand on my leg. I like to think it’s because of Jay.

Once I reach the room, my nausea amplifies as my body and mind remember what happened here less than twenty-four hours ago. It felt like it took years to get up here. I slide my key in and open the door, and immediately there’s a shuffling noise in front of me. I look up and Aiden gets up from the bed and rushes over to me. He tries to hug me but I’m not having any of that.

“Get off,” I say as I push him away.

“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

“Good for you. Why didn't you worry when you brought trash to the hotel?” I walk over to the bathroom and grab my bag with my toilettes in it. Good thing I unpacked nothing but this. It makes it easier to get in and out quickly.

“I said I was sorry. Did you listen to my voicemails or read any of my texts? I’ve been trying to reach you and explain.”

Aiden is following me around like a little puppy. I bend down, open up my suitcase, and throw my bag in it before righting it and grabbing the handle. Aiden stands right in front of me as I look up. Giving myself more space between us, I take a few steps back.

“I don’t care what you have to say. Nothing you can say will make me believe you or forgive you. Save it for the next person who wastes their life on you.” I walk away with my suitcase rolling behind me.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“Home.”

“When?”

“My flight leaves tonight at eight o’clock.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

His stupidity is driving me insane. He’s apparently lost all of his brain cells. Was I too stupid to see he’s been like this the whole time? I turn around and face him. “Why would I let you know? You’re the last person I want to see. When you get home, please do me a favor and move out. It’s the least you can do while we go through a divorce.”

“Divorce?” he yells and walks back and forth with his hands on his head. “I thought we would work this out, Lilah. You’re going to throw this away? What happened to working on things?”

My hands tremble. I’m trying to stay calm. I don’t want him to see he is getting a reaction out of me.

“You thought wrong. I was happy to work on our marriage before you screwed someone else. Now I’m done. Everything I’ve tried was a waste of my time. You’re done wasting my time and money. We wasted money on the therapist and now on this trip. I am done.”

Aiden walks over to me and tries to pull me into a hug. I push him off and start walking toward the door.

“We can still work this out. I promise I’ll change, and I’ll even throw my phone away. I’ll pay attention to you. Don’t walk out on me. I know I’m a piece of shit, but everyone deserves a second chance.”

I stop dead in my tracks and turn to him. “You think you haven’t had second, third, fourth, and fifth chances this whole relationship? You’ve had many chances, and I was still here trying to work it out because Ilovedyou. We always said we were each other’s happily ever after. We even engraved it onto our rings.” I open my purse and pull my wedding ring out and throw it at him. “I don’t know when everything went wrong, but at least I know, deep down inside, I tried my hardest. That’s more than you can ever say for yourself.”

His face was stunned. I took off my ring. He holds it in his hand, looking down at it. “I tried my hardest. When you wanted to go for therapy, I went with you. I came on this trip. What does that tell you? I was trying.”

“You think just showing up makes a relationship work? It takes more than just showing up to make a marriage work.” As I get to the hallway, I calm my voice. I don’t need a bigger scene. I go up to the elevator and press the down button. Aiden is right on my heels every step of the way. The elevator door finally opens what seems like an eternity later. I walk in and turn around to press the button to the lobby, and Aiden is standing right there in front of me. Oh great, he is going to follow me outside. Good thing Jay has a car. Without one, there’s no way I could escape him.

The elevator door opens, and Aiden walks out first. He holds the door open for me, and I look at him and roll my eyes.

I pause a moment and take a deep breath before walking through the lobby, trying not to bring any attention to us. So many people are walking around and checking in. Aiden is still right behind me. I get outside to Jay’s car with Aiden still on my heels. Jay must see me because the trunk pops open, and he gets out of his car. Oh no, what is he doing? My eyes go wide as he approaches me.

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