by Ashley Munoz
“You moved in, or…?” I looked around. The foyer was still unfinished, but the walls beyond it were painted a beautiful soft grey with a dark stain on the trim.
“Faith…what are you doing here?” Jace asked again, this time crossing his arms.
“What are you doing here?” I turned the question on him, stalking closer.
His eyes roamed my face, searching for something. “I live here.”
I walked past him, slipped off my shoes, and padded farther into his house.
His kitchen was nearly finished. There was dried glue on the wall where a backsplash would go, but otherwise the cabinets were installed, along with the range and white Quartz counters.
“These are beautiful.” I ran my finger along the surface and walked toward the window. Jace had moved a couch into his living room and had mounted a seventy-inch flat-screen on the wall; otherwise the space was bare.
“Faith…” Jace drawled from behind me.
I turned, eyeing him.
“You didn’t take the money.” It was a statement, not a question.
He grunted. “Does it matter?”
“It does to me,” I whispered, walking closer to him.
His stormy eyes were fortified and unyielding. “No, I didn’t.”
“What did he tell you? Why are you looking at me like you hate me again?” I risked asking, wrapping my hand around his bicep.
“Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged. I could tell he was lying.
“Tell me.” I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
Jace was quick, fast as lightning with his hands. He grabbed my hips, walked me back to the island, and lifted me.
Leaning his face toward my neck, his lips pressed against the shell of my ear as he rasped, “He told me what I needed to hear in order to finally let you go.”
His words fell like shattered pieces of glass around me.
“What?” I pushed against his chest, no longer willing to be nice or chaste.
“Just go, Faith.” Jace released me, bringing a hand to his face.
I contemplated fighting him, but we’d both had enough fight for the past five years. We needed peace. So, I gently folded my plan together inside my head and jumped down from the counter. I patted Trevor’s head, whispered a promise into his ear, and left.
If Jace thought this was over, he had another thing coming.
I needed supplies for my plan, so I headed out early that next morning to hit up the hardware store. Now I was exiting the elevator and nearly to my apartment, and I stopped at the sight of Jace leaning against my door. He wore his grey hoodie under his leather jacket; his hair was rogue, being pulled in every direction; and his black boots were untied, the laces drooping next to him on the polished floor. He looked up at me with torment in his eyes.
My heart pitched, rioting in my chest. I had to keep it together and act cool.
I walked with confidence, but then my ankle twisted to the side. Shit.
“Are you okay?” Jace leaned forward as if to stabilize me.
“I’m good, thank you.” I cleared my throat and began unlocking my door.
Jace didn’t wait for me to offer for him to come in; he just followed after me.
I walked toward the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. Having Jace’s presence behind me felt like turning my back on a dangerous animal. I wasn’t sure if it would still be there when I turned around or if it would devour me while I waited.
Finally, he spoke up, spilling his gravel-like words. I turned toward him, watching his half-crumpled form on the bar stool while his eyes bored holes into my counter.
“I heard about what happened yesterday.” He looked up at me with a sad smile. “I’m so sorry he touched you, sorry he nearly did more. I’m thankful your father got here…” He trailed off, looking down at the counter. “What did you think of your dad’s confession?” he asked quietly, drawing a circle on the counter.
I cleared my throat. “It crushed me. I tried calling you…several times, actually.”
He nodded his head. “I saw.” His blue eyes flitted to my lips briefly before homing in on my eyes.
Of course he had. He was just ignoring me.
“Why are you here, Jace? You made it clear last night that you were letting me go.” I grabbed hold of my arms, bracing them against my chest. Plan or no plan, his rejection terrified me.
“I realized something last night.” His lips turned up as his eyes darkened.
“What’s that?” I whispered, wishing I could pull on my locket or something to feel grounded.
“I owe you an apology.” His eyes warned that another breakup was coming.
I turned around, facing the sink, muttering, “Don’t want one.”
“Well, you’re getting one,” Jace insisted from behind me.
I spun around, storming past him, moving to the boxes scattered around the room. I started packing, ignoring him.
“What are you doing…?” He looked around with furrowed dark brows and a ticking jaw. I didn’t answer. “Where the fuck are you going?” he asked again, frantically looking around.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, clutching a few books, shoving them into a box.
Jace stood, hands on his hips, jaw hard as granite.
“So, you’re just leaving?”
“Yeah, I am,” I retorted.
“College?”
I shrugged. “Something like that.”
He clicked his tongue and scoffed before stomping out my door and slamming it behind him.
This plan better fucking work.
Thirty-Six
The sunrise from my bedroom window was stunning. I stood and stared, mesmerized that I had gone my entire life without a view like that. I had never traveled anywhere grand enough to see something that brilliant. I’d hiked a few times, but with work…life just got in the way.
Trevor slept peacefully in his bed in the corner, and everything else was silent. The house was finished enough to move in. All the last-minute details I’d finish up on my own. It was the only part of my life that felt untouched by the shit storm that was Faith, her husband, and her shit bag of a father.
I’d made the decision after Bryan offered me the money that I didn’t need this shit in my life. I didn’t need Faith, unsure who she wanted…didn’t need her undecided ways endangering my heart. So, the only thing to do was try to move on. Fucking finally, after five years, I needed to let her go. She’d figure out her drama at some point, but I didn’t need to be a part of it.
One day she’d settle down again with someone new. She’d fall in love, hold hands, kiss…I blinked harshly against the sun and brought the cup of coffee to my lips. I had things to do around the house, so I started on a few of them before needing to leave for work.
The day went by painfully slowly. Each vehicle was torturous to work on because my mind wouldn’t shut off. As much as I wanted to not think about Faith showing up at my house then leaving the first time I asked her to without even fighting me, I couldn’t manage to make the loop in my head stop. She had believed I hadn’t taken the money.
That has to mean something…
Doesn’t it?
I closed up an hour early, not even caring that Jessie hadn’t shown all day. My company wouldn’t exactly have been cheerful anyway. I headed toward the grocery store on my way home, trying to shove away the way Faith had looked in her apartment surrounded by boxes. She was leaving.
College, pregnancy, divorce—whatever it was she was doing, she was leaving.
I just needed to move on, let my heart once again mourn the loss of Faith Morgan.
I had just turned the corner into the breakfast aisle when I spotted two familiar women, their heads close together, laughing about some box in their hands. I wasn’t going to approach her; she was with my little sister, and they seemed to be having fun on maybe their last night out before Faith moved away.
I could have just left, but that didn’
t stop me from watching.
Faith flipped the box over, leaning back as she laughed at something Jessie said, and that was when I noticed Faith’s neck.
What in the hell?
That had me stalking toward her. Both women paused their laughter and jokes at my approach. Jessie ducked her head, while Faith examined the box in her hand with renewed interest. The silent treatment—nice.
“What the hell is on your neck?” I asked, gripping my basket.
Faith tipped her eyes up, her mouth already curved into a sultry smile. “Whatever do you mean?”
I scoffed, “Hilarious. How did you get the locket back?”
She let out a sigh, putting the box of cake mix back. “I’m so glad you put it that way, as back refers to the fact that it belonged to me and I merely reclaimed it.” She smiled, red lips, white teeth…my stomach tightened.
I didn’t even have a response. That locket had been in my house at home, in a locked box…along with my dads’ gun and Faith’s engagement ring…the one I’d never given to her.
My eyes flitted to Jessie. “Did you…?”
Jessie shook her head. “Leave me out of this.” She raised her hands and stepped away, looking at the wall of cake mix to our left.
“You know, Jace, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have places to be, things to do. Have a nice evening.” Faith smirked, linked her arm with Jessie, and sauntered off.
I stood there watching, unsure what had just happened but feeling a shift in my chest.
Thirty-Seven
“Mr. Vanderson has written into the divorce settlement what he’d like to offer his wife, Faith Vanderson,” said one of the stuffy, dark-suited attorneys in a sharp, crisp tone. They’d been speaking legal jargon for the past hour, and I had never been more thankful for Gemma and her ability to interpret.
“How sweet,” Gemma mocked, shuffling a few papers. “But we’ve written up our own settlement, and to save us both time, why don’t we start there.” She handed them each a copy. Bryan was on the other side of the table, an officer standing guard in the corner. From what I understood, he was battling jail time, having been charged with assault, abuse, and a few other nefarious things after my recording was heard by a judge.
But that wasn’t my problem.
“Forty percent? That’s insane!” yelled Dark Suit Number Two while looking through the papers. I had no idea what Gemma had written in; I was just there to get a divorce. I didn’t care what else that meant for me, so I’d given Gemma free rein to ask for whatever she wanted to.
“These are the companies that were started while my client and Mr. Vanderson were wed, and she assisted with the startups. In fact, she was the point of contact on every one of the ventures, entitling her to more than half, but we decided to be generous.” Gemma folded her hands.
Meanwhile, my heart was kicking into overdrive. There were at least five companies I’d helped start while married to Bryan. Five at forty percent was…too much money for me.
“Give her one hundred percent of each. She basically started them and maintained them herself. She can have the houses in Aspen, Germany, and South Africa as well,” Bryan muttered morosely, his eyes trained on my neck. I fought the urge to hide my locket. I didn’t want to hurt him further, but I also had to stop worrying about his feelings.
His lawyers all stared, gawking. My jaw had dropped too. Bryan’s eyes moved from my neck until they were trained on the table, but his voice was hard as stone.
“I fucked up. My apology doesn’t matter, so I won’t give it, but if I can try to make it right, I will.” He stood, pushing his chair back. “You get the companies, and everything they yield going forward. They’re yours.” He faltered for a second, his jaw ticking. “For what it’s worth…I’m sorry. I loved you in my own twisted way, but I shouldn’t have harmed you. I shouldn’t have done a lot of things.”
I swallowed down the pain that was being unleashed and the confusion that was bubbling in my chest. That was heartfelt, almost sweet even. It didn’t change the fact that he was an abuser, but I could appreciate that he at least gave me an apology. His eyes locked onto mine before he turned and left the room. His attorneys gave Gemma one last look, me a passing glance, and then followed suit.
I sat back in my chair, unsure what exactly had just happened.
“So, does that mean I’m divorced?” I whispered, afraid to shatter the moment.
Gemma laughed. “After the judge signs off, but yes…he signed the papers.” She let out a sigh and then another chuckle before turning to face me. “Faith…do you have any idea how much money you just received?”
I did, but it hadn’t registered yet. HypeT had brought in five million the previous year, GTerics X a little over fifteen the year before that, and my favorite smaller startup, NefferLeaf, over eight million; the others were all hundreds of thousands of dollars in yields.
“This is a huge loss to his bottom line—why did he agree to give all of it up?” I asked, almost to myself.
“Because he’s trying to repair his image,” Gemma muttered thoughtlessly as she began piling papers together. For some reason, her comment stung. I knew it was stupid. It didn’t make sense, but I had imagined he really did love me, thought he really was sorry. She turned toward me. “Hey…I’m sorry.” She pulled me into her arms, and a slew of tears fell down my face.
“I don’t know why I’m reacting like this. It’s so stupid.” I sniffed, swiping at my face.
“Honey, you’re allowed to grieve your marriage…you did love him, after all.” She rocked me in her arms, and I couldn’t help but wish it was my mother who was rocking me, my mother who could talk to me about the pain of losing someone or something that was once a part of me. But that wasn’t her. It would never be her.
“Thank you.” I sniffed again, swiping the final tears out of my eyes and letting out a sigh.
“It’s done, babe. I say we celebrate tonight.” Gemma smiled and stood.
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Gemma deserved to celebrate after everything I’d put her through; after all, she’d stood by me for so long. I wanted her to be proud of me, and while I knew she was in some ways, I also knew it had broken her heart to see I’d settled in with an abusive asshole.
Gemma leaned against my shoulder while the sounds of the nightclub thrummed around us. Gemma had wanted to go dancing, and I’d realized it had been too long since I had indulged in something as fun as dancing in a nightclub. These clubs were vastly different than the smaller bars we frequented in Collierville and Shelby.
After our feet were aching and our bodies sweaty, we collapsed into a booth.
“I have something to tell you,” I yelled into Gemma’s ear. She sipped a tumbler of water, starting what I called her cooldown process. She wanted me to get drunk, but since she was the one who’d done all the legal work, I bought her all her favorite drinks.
Her blue eyes lit with excitement as she moved her head to the beat. “Hit me with it, babe!”
I laughed and put my arm around her. “I’m officially enrolled in online classes, and I’ve already talked to one of the design firms in Shelby…they agreed to let me intern.”
Gemma squealed, leaned back, and threw her arms around me. “I’m so proud of you.”
“It’s not much to be proud of…” I shrugged, already feeling a little self-deprecating.
She shook her head. “You’re rich. You could ditch college, design—all of it—but you’re going through with college, and for that, I’m damn proud of you.”
“You’re my role model…did you know that?” I tipped my head up, watching her.
She snorted, shaking her head.
“It’s true. If I had posters on my wall, you’d be on all of them. I love you, and I’m so glad I have you in my corner, so glad I’ve always had you.” I started choking on a small sob.
“Oh my god! Stop, you’re going to make me cry.” She shoved me away but swiped under her eyes before grabbing her
water. “For the record, I love you too. It’s going to work out, okay?” She threw her arm around me, hugged me to her side, and then jumped back up. “One last song on that floor—let’s go!”
I let her grab my hand and pull me up, and then I danced.
Someone knocked on my door close to noon. I was busy packing, not paying attention to who was there. Now that the divorce was final, I was a little less worried about things. I yelled, “Come in!” and moved toward the kitchen.
The door opened slowly, and I already knew who it was by how gently the knob turned.
My father was here again.
I heaved a sigh. “Dad…”
“Just hear me out, honey. I just…”
I shook my head. “It’s not going to change my mind. Dad, I need some space.” I shrugged, moving around the room.
“We messed up…” His voice cracked.
“We as in two of you, and yet the only person who has reached out a single time is you,” I harshly snapped. It hurt that my mother hadn’t reached out like he had. It hurt a lot that the last time we’d spoken had been about how she’d had dinner with Bryan and suggested he go out with me. She hadn’t called or texted, nothing.
“Your mother is trying to give you space,” he muttered, sounding defeated.
Ironic. So fucking ironic. I wanted space from her, but I wanted her to at least try. I wanted her to want me.
“I’m moving. I won’t even be in the city anymore.” I sighed.
“I know, and you can go, do whatever you need to do, but I’m just asking if you’d come to the house…have breakfast with us,” my dad pleaded, slowly moving around the scattered boxes.
I considered it. At some point, I’d want to forgive them, but it was just too soon.