something like this. I’d begun to believe that I mattered to him in some way. Now? Now it seemed I’d been fooling myself. And he’d been fooling me too.
Hot tears burned the backs of my eyes. My throat felt so tight I was surprised it hadn’t closed over. I quickly pinched the spot between my thumb and forefinger to fight back the tears. I was not going to cry. Nor would I shout or rave or yell at him. No, if he’d really been playing me all this time, he wasn’t worth the emotional energy. And I’d be damned if I’d let him see just how much he’d wrecked me.
Not intending to wait for him to appear, I grabbed my cell and slipped out of the room, leaving Blue behind.
Blue …
I came to a halt. He’d gone to a cat rescue center, he’d brought home a gorgeous cat, gifted her to me as my something blue. Why would he do something so sweet if he had another woman? He wouldn’t, would he?
Maybe he wasn’t having an affair. Maybe he was just placating some delusional woman who wanted him for herself.
Or maybe I was trying to think up excuses so I wouldn’t have to face that he’d betrayed me.
Well, I wasn’t going to get answers if I stayed in this spot.
I padded down the hallway toward his office, feeling a little like I was walking to my doom. I didn’t knock on the door, I walked straight in. He wasn’t at his desk, but the computer was on.
I looked at the private bathroom and saw that the door was shut. My eyes darted back to his desk. His phone was right there. I could check his messages. I could get the answers I wanted for myself … if it wasn’t for the none too small matter that I’d probably need his fingerprint to unlock it.
Nonetheless, I hurried over to the desk and picked up the cell. I swiped my thumb over the screen.
Use your fingerprint or enter pin.
Fuck. Grinding my teeth, I set the phone back on the desk. A sheet of paper caught my eye. I frowned, tilting my head. Then I realized what I was looking at, and my world tipped upside down.
Plaintiff.
Dane Davenport.
Respondent.
Vienna Davenport.
Petition for Divorce.
My stomach sank, and my heart squeezed. He wanted to dissolve the marriage early? What, he wanted to get back to his girlfriend?
More tears pooled in my eyes. I stuck my tongue to the roof of my mouth to fight them off. It worked, but a horrible pressure built and built and built in my chest. A pressure to cry and scream and demand why the fuck he’d done this to me.
So Blue had been, what, a goodbye gift? Had he been trying to tell me it was over? Had I just not read the signs?
I heard a toilet flush followed by the creaking of hinges as the door to the private bathroom opened behind me.
“Vienna,” he said, sounding surprised.
I slowly turned, still holding the first page of the divorce petition in my hand. “Something you want to tell me?” My voice sounded dead even to me.
He glanced at the sheet of paper I was holding. His eyes met mine again, and there was no emotion there. “I was going to talk to you about it today.”
“Of course you were.” I swallowed around the clog of emotion in my throat and, shit, it hurt. “Well, I’ll sign it for you right now, shall I? It’ll be easier for you.”
“Vienna—”
“No, really, I might as well get it done.” I slapped the paper onto the desk, snatched a pen from the holder, and scribbled my signature on the required line. “There. Now you can get back to your girlfriend. You obviously miss her.”
He frowned. “My what?”
Oh God, the tears were going to fall. “Have a nice life, Dane.” I made a beeline for the door, needing to get out, out, out. I wouldn’t cry in front of him.
The bastard slid into my path. “Wait, we’re going to talk.”
I hissed. No, we were fucking not. “Move.”
“You’re upset, I get that, but—”
“I’m not upset. I’m pissed. Pissed that I bought your lies and let you play me.”
His brows snapped together. “What are you talking about?”
“You sent me the message by mistake.”
“What message?”
“Your reply to her text.”
“Vienna, I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”
I brought up the message on my cell. “I’ll read it out for you.” I recited every word clearly, concisely, calmly … like