to make him disappear if he pisses us off. Fine, you get dibs since you deal with him more often. By the way, Hayes is on his way. Make sure Henry doesn’t work more than he needs. You too.”
“Sophia, huh,” I say, looking around the mess he has in here. There’s just a mattress in the middle, and the closet has all of his clothing. “You’re sleeping here?”
“I moved out of our room when you left. It felt…nevermind.”
I don’t let the other question go though, “And Sophia is?”
“You’ll meet her soon. She’s Henry’s assistant…and we’re pretty sure he’s in love with her,” he says, smiling. Then he looks at me and grins. “You’re going to like her and Blaire.”
There are two things I notice about him. He’s calm. That doesn’t happen often since he’s always on the go. The second is somehow painful; he seems to have new people in his life. Maybe leaving with him is a mistake. This could be a chance for him to have the family his mother denied him and start a new life. I shouldn’t come along with him.
This Pierce reminds me of the man I met and fell in love with, which makes me happy. Not in an I want to get back with him way. It’s more of an I’m glad things are finally working out for him way. He deserves happiness.
Is it sad that I wasn’t his happiness?
It stings a lot, but I have to let everything go, and I’m seriously working on that.
“What will you be doing with the house?” I ask as I make my way back downstairs.
He’s right behind me. “I’m closing it next week. You know, setting sheets on top of the furniture, having someone come to do a deep cleaning, and just pack it tight. If you want it when this is over, or when you feel like giving me the divorce and come back, it’s yours.”
I glance around, and the place still has the furniture we bought when we first moved in. The house hasn’t changed much, but it no longer feels like ours. I am having trouble remembering how it used to feel, which is strange and sad. Mostly sad. His penthouse felt more like ours than this place, and we didn’t spend as much time there.
“Was it even real?” I ask out loud.
“Let’s not do this, Leyla,” he warns me. “There’s no point in starting a fight.”
“It’s not a fight,” I assure him. “Just a question that wasn’t meant to be voiced. I get it, okay. You are done, and I’m not in the market to punish myself by rehashing something that never existed.”
Or if it existed, it disappeared once we moved into this house—after we married.
This place no longer resembles the home we saw after saying “I do.” Everything has changed. Even us. We are nothing like the people who met because he found an amazing puppy who had been abandoned and almost killed. The house looks pristine. A neat house ready to receive a family of five or maybe six. This place never changed, but we did.
Then I remember how he lied, deceived me, and I still can’t get past that point.
The look he gives me is strange, maybe even new. Sadly, I’m not even sure what it means or what we are anymore. I should just sign the stupid papers, but what if I lose my chance to have a child forever?
“I’m still upset with you,” I say. “I’m working on forgiving you and moving on, but I’m not sure how long it is going to take me. I promise to be civil, but don’t expect too much from me.”
“That’s fair,” he mumbles, dragging his laptop case and his suitcase toward the door. “You can get out of this arrangement whenever you want. I’ll make sure Nyx expedites the process.”
“Thank you,” I answer, and I think this is the first time we have had a conversation that didn’t end with angry words, kisses, or sex.
Isn’t it sad it’s happening as the end is near?
Why couldn’t he be more receptive or honest before?
Trying to quash the anger that begins to rise, I head toward the door, open it and walk to my car, which isn’t there anymore. In its place is the stupid silver SUV he bought me to replace it. The kids are already in there along with the boxes and my luggage.
“We’re taking my car,” I say furiously.
“No,” he answers.
“My car isn’t staying here for a year or whatever