Mom considered what I was saying and dropped her hands to her side. “Jacob, there are a lot of things you don’t understand about me and your father. We may not have had a fiery romance, but we’ve grown old together. We will be just fine.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about us, Tammy,” Dad said as he walked into the room.

“Johnny?” Mom said jumping to her feet.

“You can sit back down, Tammy. You’ve done enough jumping around and having your say,” Dad said.

“I will do no such thing,” Mom said in defiance.

“Sit down, Tammy!” Dad’s voice boomed through the room.

Mom’s back was as straight as a board and her face was as red as a beet as she glared at my father. However, under his harsh tone Mom’s body inched down onto the sofa to sit as she was told. “I’m sitting down, now what is this foolishness you’re saying? What do you mean you wouldn’t be so sure of us?”

“Son, would you excuse us? We need to talk for a minute.”

“Sure,” I said standing to leave. “Mom and I were just finishing up our conversation about last night. We’ll talk more about it later,” I said to Mom who twirled her head in the opposite direction.

“I’m going to get to the bottom of everything that happened yesterday. You can believe that,” Dad said, giving me a nod.

“Alright, well, I’ll see you later,” I said including both of my parents in my gaze.

Dad nodded as I walked through the door, while Mom ignored me. From the way she was acting, I knew she would never change. Left to her own devices, she would e

ssentially put the last nail in her own coffin. Therefore, I told myself I would be at peace with whatever they decided to do.

Chapter 2

John Turner

I Wish You Well

“Tammy, there is no nice or neat way to say what I have to say,” I said walking into the room. I could feel knots forming in my stomach as I prepared to talk to my wife of forty years.

“Well, just say it already, John.”

“This marriage is over.”

“What? Our marriage is not over! You can’t mean a word you’re saying,” Tammy said scooting to the edge of her seat.

“Tammy, I don’t want this situation to get any uglier than it has to. It’s not like every other memory I have of you hasn’t already been bad enough. Let’s just cut our losses and call it quits, so we can spend our golden years happy. We don’t have to pretend to be happy any longer.”

“But… I’m not pretending. I am happy, John. I am happy to be Mrs. Turner, always have been.” A slight smile crept upon Tammy’s pouty lips as she said my last name.

Any other time, I probably would have let her admission slide right on past me. I would have extracted what I wanted to hear from her statement. But this time, I heard what she was really saying. Being a part of the Turner legacy made her happy. Being my wife was simply collateral to owning the name.

“I’ve been content with you being happy for so many years, which is why I’ve always given you what you wanted. I let you have free reign to live whatever kind of life you wanted to live, Tammy,” I said as I scanned the various expensive items in our guest living room.

A ten thousand dollar grandfather clock, a five hundred thousand dollar sofa that was originally owned by General George Washington and countless other heirlooms that served for empty conversation at cocktail parties. I remembered the thrill Tammy had as she purchased each item. It was a joy she reserved for guests at her many gatherings hosted in our home, ritzy weddings we attended, or when she was ordering more things for this house. Things that didn’t mean a thing to me. Hell, the delivery drivers had received more longing and loving looks than I had over the years, as they ushered in her many prized possessions.

“This is the end of the road for me. I don’t have anything left to give to you,” I continued.

“I don’t need anything else, John. I have everything I could ever want,” she said as she stood and walked over to me. Her eyes pleaded to the softer side of me.

No matter what bad feelings I had about our marriage, Tammy was still the woman I’d spent the last forty years with. It was hard to say, “I don’t have what I want though. To be honest, as long as we’ve been married I’ve never had what I wanted.”

A look of hurt flashed across Tammy’s face before she replaced it with her signature half smile. She was fishing for control as she tilted her head slightly to say, “What more could you possibly want, John? We have more than anyone could ask for. We have a wonderful son, a beautiful life and a marvelous home.”

“Well, let’s talk about it. You’ve crossed our son in more unconscionable ways over the past months than I care to mention. Our life was built on lies, so our foundation has forever been weak. The only thing I can say that you have cherished is our home.”

Tags: Shani Greene-Dowdell Breathless Billionaire Romance
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