Watching Wolfe now, it was hard to hate him. The moment they left Benjamin’s room, she could, as the man he showed her, she hated him with a passion that startled her.
“Daddy, are you staying?” Benjamin asked.
“Yeah, you bet I am. I’m going to be living with you and Mommy for some time. That okay with you? We can hang out, and I can even take you to school. We talked about that, remember.”
“Yes. I get to show all my friends I do have a dad.”
Her heart broke, but her anger was so strong she didn’t want to start in his room.
Stepping out of Benjamin’s room, she walked downstairs to the kitchen. She didn’t drink or smoke. She felt tonight would be a good place to start a really bad habit.
She put the kettle on and decided on a hot chocolate. What a rebel she was. It wasn’t even Saturday, the day she usually had her hot chocolate with her son.
Tonight, she would make the one exception.
“You missed the story,” Wolfe said.
“I heard enough, thank you.” Her hands were shaking. “I get it. I really do.”
“What do you get?”
“I should have come into your office today dressed as a stripper or naked, begging you to sleep with me. I should have spilled my undying love for you. Maybe then, you’d have actually given me a divorce.”
“We’d have had sex on my desk. I’d have destroyed my computer as I threw it to the floor to have my way with you.”
“This isn’t funny,” she said.
“I’m not laughing.”
She gritted her teeth. “I don’t want you staying here.”
“You left me no choice.”
“Seriously? You don’t see the problem here. I don’t want to be with you. I want to be completely away from you. Our marriage was a huge, giant mistake, and I have to live with knowing how stupid I was. The only good thing to come out of this was Benjamin. I’m happy to keep up our arrangement. It was all in the divorce papers. The only difference we’d have is we’d both be able to marry other people, to date, not that our marriage stops you.” She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling so … agitated. This was exhausting. “Why do you have to make this so difficult for us?”
“I’m not making it difficult. You think I like our current arrangement?” he asked.
“Why not? You get to see your son. Have what you originally wanted, which was a place on the damn board. I’m so sick and tired of hearing about it. You already have all those other women. I just can’t do what you do. I can’t go out and sleep with random men. Not while I’m married to you.”
“Where’s the ring?” he asked.
“What?”
“The ring I gave you. You think I don’t notice it’s gone?”
She looked down at her hand. “I haven’t worn it in a long time. It’s in my jewelry box.”
“Then I suggest you start wearing it. You’re my wife, exactly how you will stay. No other man will ever be good enough. You want to fuck, you’ve got me. You want someone to touch your pussy, look to me, no one else. I’m the only person you’ve got and the only person you’re ever going to have.”
“I don’t ever want you to touch me. I can’t even believe you’re here right now.”
“You think you were going to bring those damn divorce papers and I wouldn’t say anything about it? What do you take me for?” he asked.
She put her hands to her face and just wanted him to disappear. This wasn’t how she wanted her evening to go, and she was pissed off with the way he was behaving. “What do I take you for? Why do you even want to stay married to me? We’re not compatible. We’ll never be … good enough together. Not after I know everything. Why can’t you sign the divorce papers?”
“You agreed to be my wife, and that’s the way it’s staying. I’m not signing anything, and like I said, push this, and you’ll never see Benjamin again.”
She glared at him.
What more was there to say?
She didn’t know how much sway Wolfe had, but she also didn’t want to test it either, just in case it was a lot more than she could ever handle.
“You know what, fine. If that’s the way you feel then don’t sign the papers. You want to live a married life. Fine. Follow me.” If he thought for a single second she was going to sleep with him, he was in for a big surprise. She wanted nothing to do with him, and no way would she ever allow him to touch her.
You want him too.
He was a vile man. One who was used to getting his own way and she refused to jump through those hoops for him. He wasn’t her man, would never be her man, and well, she didn’t have to put up with his kind of crap anymore.