“Yes, Chanel.”
His voice was calm. A little too calm for someone who up and left after eleven years of marriage.
“Where are you?” I asked breathlessly.
“Chanel—”
“Where are you?” I repeated, sharper this time.
“I’m not coming back,” he said.
Just like that. No buildup, no I’m sorry, just the truth..
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
“I filed,” he said. “You’ll be served later this week.”
My heart dropped, but not in the way I expected. The dip in my chest wasn’t for me; it was for Genesis. He didn’t bother to arrange custody before he went. He didn’t even consider that she might be with me when I walked into his shit, being gone.A tear fell from my eye at the realization that my baby girl just experienced her first heartbreak. I was so busy running from my first heartbreak and convincing myself Charles was safe when he committed a worse crime, one of neglect.
I leaned against the edge of the dresser, steadying myself.
“How long have you known you didn’t want a family anymore, Charles?”
“It’s been a while,” he said. “I didn’t know how to say it.”
I let out a short breath.
“Try now.”
“I met someone.”
There it was. Of course, he was a walking, talking fuckin’ cliche. I bet she was in her twenties and was from the type of world Carolyn approved of.
I closed my eyes for a second. This shit was so fucked up because I would rather die than stay in anything I got from his bitch ass. “I figured,” I said quietly.
“What do you mean you figured?”
“You’re not the most stealth, Charles.”
The late nights. The distance. The way he stopped even pretending to reach for me. I saw it all in real time but couldn’t bring myself to give a damn. I had love once. I had a passion so pure it burned as bright as the sun, but Charles dulled me. I just didn’t say anything. Because somewhere along the way, my happiness stopped mattering.
“I didn’t want to do it like this,” he said.
“But you did,” I replied.
“I’ll make sure you’re taken care of,” he added.
“I’m not worried about that,” I said.
“Is Genesis there?” he asked.
My chest tightened. This bastard acted like he gave a fuck now.
“It’s Tuesday, she's always dancing on Tuesdays.”
“Can you talk to her for me?”
