How could he add to everything that was going wrong in her life? He didn’t want to lose her, but maybe agreeing to the divorce would prove to her he’d changed. With Julian in jail and likely to be convicted for the attempted murder of Priscilla Dumay, he could finally get the second chance he wanted.
Giving in wasn’t the same as giving up, especially if he could make her life easier. He wanted her to see that he was still the man she fell in love with. He’d made some mistakes, but he knew deep down she hadn’t really stopped loving him. She was angry and hurt, but that was something they could get past with time.
Michael stared at the phone.
Signing the divorce papers was an enormous risk. It could backfire and he could lose her for good, especially if that bastard fucking his wife weaseled his way out of the charges. He had to try. Nothing in her life was going right. He could change that and maybe change how she felt about him. He wanted to talk to her and not hear the loathing and annoyance in her voice. They’d been lovers, great friends and partners once upon a time. A connection like that didn’t die.
Reaching for the phone, he lifted it and dialed Mena’s number.
“Please … don’t hang up.” Michael took a deep breath, then clicked away from the Palmchat Gazette website and back to the Genesis Gallery. Her bio picture on the gallery’s website was stunning. She was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Why did she always make him feel this way? Punch drunk with love.
“What do you want, Michael?”
Michael exhaled slowly. Mena’s voice was laced with irritation. He should have grown accustomed to her anger by now. But it still hurt. Shit. It stung like hell.
She didn’t think she needed him, but he knew better.
“To tell you, I’m sorry,” Michael said, his voice low and steady.
“You called to apologize to me?”
“When I saw you at the Genesis Grill, I didn’t know about Priscilla’s trial and your testimony. Now I see all this in the news about …” Michael paused. He could barely force the words from his mouth. “Julian being arrested for trying to kill her after her lawyer dragged you through hell on the stand.”
“He didn’t do it—”
“I would’ve done the same thing if I was there. Priscilla deserves to die because of what she did to you,” Michael insisted.
“Stop pretending like you care anything about me. If you really cared so much, you wouldn’t—” Mena inhaled sharply.
Seconds filled with silence as he waited for her to continue. Waited for her to say the one thing he could do for her that no one else could. He could bring a smile back to her life. He was willing to make that sacrifice for her happiness. He’d find another way to win her back.
Mena said, “I can’t do this right now. Goodbye Michael.”
“Wait,” Michael said, standing from his seat. He walked around the desk and leaned against the edge, wrapping the telephone cord tightly around his hand. Pain pierced his skin from the wire digging into his flesh. “I know what you’re thinking. If I truly loved you, I would let you go. Give you the divorce and you’re right.”
Mena’s shaky breaths calmed. She was still on the line. Listening. Waiting for him to say what she hoped he would. He would give her what she wanted, but he wanted something in return.
“The conference ends this week and I’ll be going back to New York on Saturday,” Michael said. “Can we meet? Talk about how to get the divorce finalized here before I leave.”
“All of a sudden, you’re willing to sign the divorce papers. I’m supposed to believe that?” Mena scoffed.
“I promised myself that I would never knowingly do anything to hurt you again. Not being honest with you about my marriages was a mistake that will haunt me forever. It cost me you and that is a devastating fact that I live with every day.”
Mena said, “I’ve trusted you too many times in the past, just to be made a fool of, Michael. With everything I’m dealing with, I can’t take one more setback, one more let down. Don’t do this to me.”
“When I read about your testimony, what Zak Webber did to you, it sickened me. I wanted to take away every bit of pain you’d gone through, but my love isn’t what you want right now. What you want is a divorce. I realized that I love you enough to sacrifice what I want for what you need. If this is how it all ends, I want to see you one last time before I’m no longer your husband.”
Mena sighed. “You stopped being my husband the moment I found out you had three other wives in three other states.”
Michael yanked the phone base from the desk, then paused. His hand frozen in mid-air. Throwing it wouldn’t solve anything. He had to stay calm.
“Listen, there’s a little restaurant called Mama Lisa’s Kitchen on the outskirts of Cashew Groves, not far from the resort where the conference is being held. It’s discrete and pretty empty in the afternoons, so you don’t have to worry about anyone hounding you or seeing us together. I’ll be there at 3. Meet me, okay. Let’s talk about everything so we can both get closure on our past and move on.”
Michael held his breath, waiting for her to respond. She was still on the phone with him and that spoke louder than anything she said. If she truly hated him, she wouldn’t talk to him at all. Lowering the phone back to the desk, Michael sat on the edge of the chair.
“Fine.” Mena said.
The call ended.
