Like hell was I signing.
“Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day,” I told Miss Evans.
“Of course. But the lease agreement—”
“Mareena can finish typing up the changes,” I said, cutting her off. “All the redlines are on the doc. I’ll drop it with her on my way out.”
What the fuck was happening? Emzee couldn’t just dump me and run.
I had to get to Stefan’s, and fast.
* * *
When I arrivedat my brother-in-law’s place, I rang the bell, pacing in the hall.
But of course when Stefan opened the door, he wouldn’t let me inside. We’d done this dance before, but this time I wasn’t going to give up.
“I need to see Emzee,” I said. “Please.”
“She doesn’t want to see you,” he told me. “Sorry, man.”
He started to close the door, but I stuck my foot in the jamb. “Look, I’m not going anywhere until I talk to her,” I told him. “I mean it. I’ll stay out here as long as I have to.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “Sleep in the hall if you want. But you’re not seeing my sister until she’s ready to see you. And if that’s never, well, tough shit.”
“She’s my wife,” I said, my voice getting louder.
I wasn’t above causing a scene. Stefan and I eyed each other. We were both stubborn men. Strong, too. I didn’t know if I could take him in a fight if it came to that, but I’d at least go out swinging.
“Don’t make me call building security,” Stefan said, taking his phone out. “They’re not gonna be as nice as I am.”
Behind him, a familiar voice said, “Stefan. Wait.”
It was Emzee.
Stefan turned away from me, my wife still hidden behind the door. I still had my foot in the doorway and I knew that I could force my way inside. But I waited. Took a deep breath.
“I’ll talk to him,” she said.
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I heard Emzee say. “It will be the last time.”
I couldn’t believe it. It made me sick to hear her say the words, but I didn’t argue. A second later she stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Obviously I wasn’t going to get invited inside. But it hardly mattered. All I cared about was Em.
She looked exhausted. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and take her home. Draw her a bath, put her to bed, make her the green tea she liked. Take care of her.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. She wouldn’t even look at me.
“The last time?” I repeated. “Please, Em. Let’s figure things out. I’m not signing this.”
I held up the divorce papers, shaking my head. Still bewildered by all of it.
“It’s what I want,” she said firmly.
“We can’t be over because of something that happened almost a decade ago. Can we talk about it?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.
“No. What’s done is done. Nothing you can say will change what you did, and you can’t take back all the years you lied to me. Do you realize that every important man in my life has lied to me? My father, my brothers, and now you. All of you thought you were protecting me by keeping secrets about the trafficking! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? Knowing I just walked around oblivious to it all, and meanwhile lives were getting destroyed? You should be ashamed! And I know if it wasn’t for Claudia, you would have just kept on lying!”
