She stared at the digits. Should she answer it? They hadn’t communicated in more than a month, and that had been fine with her. Why was he calling now? Probably wanting to reschedule their meeting with the lawyers again to keep her off guard. She was sure he was behind the postponement. That’s how it had always been during their marriage. His needs and priorities came first.
Not anymore.
The phone stopped ringing. Whatever he had to say he could tell her voice mail.
She set the phone on the nightstand and started to pull down her sleep mask. The phone rang again, and Don’s number once more appeared on the screen.
She snatched up the cell and answered it. “What do you want?”
“I didn’t think you’d pick up,” he said.
“I didn’t the first time.” She sat on the edge of the bedand pushed her bare toes against the plush white carpet in their bedroom. Now her bedroom, and it wouldn’t be hers for much longer. “It’s late, Don. Whatever you have to say can wait until Tuesday.”
“No, it can’t.” A pause. “Madge, I don’t want a divorce.”
She stilled, and something deep inside her frozen heart started to thaw. She covered it in another sheet of ice. “You canceled the appointment with the lawyers, didn’t you?”
“Yes, because I don’t want to end our marriage.”
“Too late.”
“I still love you, Maddie.”
She rolled her eyes. She’d hated his stupid nickname for her when they started dating years ago after they’d met at a bar in Little Rock. Not the classiest place to fall for someone, but that was exactly what had happened. The moment she’d laid eyes on Don, she’d loved him. Little did she know how much pain he’d put her through almost thirty years later. What a fool she’d been, giving up her goal of being an interior designer so she could become Mrs.Donald Wilson. A few years after they married, she became Harper’s mother, and any thought of going back to school was off the table.
“Have you talked to Harper yet?” he asked.
“No.”
He let out a frustrated breath. “Me either. She won’t answer my calls. This is a good thing, though. I realized that we need to talk to her together, after we work things out between us.”
“There’s nothing to work out, Donald. I don’t love you. I don’t want to be married to you anymore. The next time we talk, it will be with our attorneys present.”
“But Maddie—”
She hung up the phone before he had a chance to say anything else. Such as how sorry he was or that he would never hurt her again. Words she had heard over and over. Hurt her he had, although not physically. Or verbally either. They’d rarely fought during their long marriage. Maybe they should have. Then maybe he wouldn’t have gone running into another woman’s arms.
Two months ago she’d found out he’d had a long-term affair. They’d spent the last two years trying to reconnect, and he’d never said a word about being unfaithful. She wasdone.
The way she found out was so cliché she could hardly believe it was real. They’d been at a four-star resort in St.Petersburg, Florida, and had spent a lazy, satisfying morning in bed. Don was in the shower when a text buzzed in. She picked up his phone from the nightstand and read the text, thinking it might be one of his golfing friends from Hot Springs.
Don, please answer me. I know you’re not happy with Madge. You haven’t been for years. But you were so happy with me. Call me. V.
When she confronted him, he insisted he’d ended things a year ago. “It’s over, I promise.”
“Then why is she still texting you?”
“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve heard from her since then.”
She crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you.”
He grabbed his phone and handed it to her. “Go ahead. Check my messages. Then you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”
Madge turned away.
“I’m blocking her number now,” he said, then tossed the phone on the bed. “She won’t bother us anymore.”
But the damage was done. She had packed her bag, left him in the fancy hotel, and caught an earlier flight back to Arkansas. When he returned to their house later, she told him to move out. Without a single word, he did.
