She glances at Ria. “We talked last night,” she says slowly. “Ria and I.” Her eyes flick back to mine, steady. “You’re gonna need backup now that Ghost is breathing down your neck again.And let’s face it. He’s…,” she purses her lips, “he’s something else.”
I snort. “You’re telling me. It’s been, what — two hours? And he’s already got my entire nervous system in knots.”
I slump in the chair, grip tightening around my glass.
“I wanted to unleash hell. Really let him have it. Throw so many things back in his face. Get so much stuff off my chest. And in my fantasies, I did all that. But the second I saw him, the second he spoke, it all got scrambled. Like my fucking brain just went into full system failure.” I grit my teeth. “I asked for a divorce and all I managed was one fucking word. One. And then I spiraled into bullshit.”
“You weren’t ready,” Ria says gently. “It was too much, too fast.”
“I brought the papers,” she adds with a spark in her eyes. “So you can shove them in his face.”
“He asked for a delay,” I hiss, my tone overflowing with bitterness.
“Fuck that,” Temperance snaps, slapping her hand on the table. I jump. “It’s not his call. Not anymore. Tell him to sign or you’ll drag his ass to court and take half his shit.”
My brows shoot up.
“Oh my God,” Ria gasps, eyes wide. “You should do that anyway! He’s got money. I bet he’s not just loaded. He’s rich-rich! You could be rolling in it, babe! Millions!”
I laugh under my breath. “Your obsession with money is alarming, Ria.”
I glance down at my hands, voice quieter now. “I don’t want his money. Not more of it. I’ve got my bookstore. It’s mine. It’s enough. I just want… to be free of him.” I press my hand to my chest. “For good.”
Maybe once he signs those papers, I’ll be able to cut him completely out of my soul, too.
Temperance slams her hand again. “Woman, stop letting your stupid heart make goo-goo eyes at him!”
She waves a finger in my face. “You’ve got that sappy, dreamy look, Princess. It’s all over your fucking face. I can see what you’re feeling plain as day. Control it. Kill it. Now. Or he’ll smell it and chew you up.”
“I agree,” Ria says, nodding hard. “You can’t control your feelings, we get that, but you sure as hell can control your face. Your voice. Your reactions. Polterbitch is sneaky. He gets even a whiff that you’re faltering, he’ll crawl back under your skin, and wear you like a coat.” She presses her lips together. “Serve him with the papers. His wants don’t matter anymore. You need that divorce. You want it. That’s all that really matters.”
I exhale slow, my brain spinning. She’s right. They’re both right.
Ria scans the kitchen. “Now, what do we need to make your stay here suck less? Ooor,” she drags the word, “you still have that lake cabin…”
“No,” I snap. Fast. Loud. Like I touched fire. “I’m not going there. No way. No fucking way.”
“Whoa. Okay, okay,” Ria raises both hands. “Settle. Just a suggestion.”
“You should burn it down,” Temperance mutters, sipping lemonade.
“That’s highly illegal,” I mumble, weakly. But the idea sends a jolt of pleasure through me. The fuck?
“Really?” Temperance raises a brow. “You’re surrounded by cold blooded killers and arson is where you draw the line?” She grins. “You’re so fucking cute.”
I laugh, but it dies quick. My chest tightens again.
“I don’t really have a problem with being here, at the clubhouse,” I admit. “At least I don’t think so. I know it’s the safest place right now. But the cabin? That one is soaked inmemories.” I tap my fingers against the glass. “And somehow, it’s worse to have to remember the happy ones.”
My throat tightens. “I’m just a little scared to face the people that were here. When he— when Ghost did what he did. That’s where my uneasiness comes from. I think I’m just kind of ashamed.”
“Fuck them.” Ria’s voice slices the air, uncompromising. Her arms cross, her eyes blaze. “Who the hell are they to judge you?”
Her nose crinkles like the very thought disgusts her. “I’ll poison every last one of them if they so much as breathe sideways at you.”
“And I’ll shoot them,” Temperance chimes in, cool as ice, sliding her hand over mine. “Ghost is the one who should be ashamed, not you. You did nothing wrong. You just survived it. And you’re not alone, Adora. We’re here. You have people in your corner.”
Something in my chest loosens. A knot unties. I smile. “I’m so grateful for you guys.”
