“And why did you have the paperwork?” the judge asked.
“Coen and I have the same lawyer. I advised him he should get the prenup. He resisted at first, but then he found my reasoning sound. So our lawyer drafted it, and I picked it up on the way to work that day.” Coen and I worked out our story many times before we appeared today to make sure our stories matched.
The judge looked over his notes before he looked at me again. “I have no further questions of the witness.”
That was my cue to be excused, so I left the room silently, leaving my brother to his fate.
When I came home, the first thing I did was look for Monroe. She was usually home before I was, but I didn’t see her in the living room or the kitchen. A conversation sounded painful, but I couldn’t avoid her forever. I went upstairs to her new bedroom.
She was lying on her back staring at the ceiling, her hands resting on her stomach like she was about to be placed in a coffin. I tapped my knuckles lightly against the door so she would know I was there.
She sat up quickly. “Coen?” When her eyes settled on me, she looked disappointed.
That hurt in ways I couldn’t explain. I came up there to talk to her, but now I didn’t have a single thing to say. I was stuck there, put off by her assumption that I was my brother. A flashback of catching Simone with Coen played in my mind.
She didn’t seem apologetic for the mistake. “How did court go today?”
She wanted to talk about my brother? “It seems to be going his way.”
“Good. That’s how it should be.” She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I talked to one of the girls at work, and she said I could stay with her until I figure out my living arrangements.”
“We already figured it out.”
“Slate, I really don’t—”
“Take it. Even if you don’t, it’s in your name. It’s just going to sit there. You can sell it if you want, but it makes more sense just to live there.”
She watched me with eyes pregnant with pain.
“I got the keys today.” I dug into my pocket and pulled them out. I detached them from my key ring before I tossed them onto the bed beside her. “I had an interior decorator look at the place and order stuff for you. It’ll be there in a few weeks.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did…” She didn’t reach for the keys.
“You’re welcome to stay here until you get a bed. You’ll ruin your back sleeping on the floor.”
“I’ll get an air mattress.”
I wasn’t surprised she didn’t want to stay here, not after the conversation we’d had last night.
“I guess I’ll leave, then.” She eyed the keys without taking them. “No reason to hang around…”
Our relationship had been built on friendship, and we’d gone from being lovers to being strangers. That connection we used to feel was long gone. Her disappointment was palpable, and her heartbreak so audible, it sounded like shattered glass. Everything we’d built in the last few months was destroyed. “I’m sorry…I never wanted to hurt you.” I meant those words from the bottom of my heart.
She looked at me, and the disappointment disappeared for a moment. “I know you didn’t, Slate. I just wish you were able to move on from the past, to understand that you can trust me…because not all people are evil.”
“I know they aren’t.”
“And I would never hurt you, Slate.”
“I know that too…”
“Then what just makes all of this worse.” She got off the bed and grabbed the two silver keys I’d given to her. She felt them in her palm before she shoved them into the pocket of her jeans. With her head down, she grabbed her bag off the dresser and shouldered it. “It’s time for me to leave.”
I blocked her way to the door, my body making the movement subconsciously. Now that it was time for her to walk out of my life forever, I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t want to watch her step inside the elevator and see the doors close for the last time. Even if this was the right thing to do, it didn’t make it easy.
She held the bag and looked at me with watery eyes. “I have another bag in the closet. Could you grab it for me?”
I would do anything for her, so I didn’t hesitate. “Sure.” I walked across the room and opened the white French doors, only to discover there was nothing there. It was completely empty. “Monroe?” I turned around to look at her.
But she was gone.
She left without saying goodbye.
She left when my back was turned so I wouldn’t have to watch her leave.