Page 29 of Cursing My Cheating Husband

But it turned out they weren’t like me at all. They had been one hundred percent honest with all their women about what they could and could not give them. And it seemed that approach could not have worked out better for all involved. Why the hell hadn’t I ever thought of that?

Duke and Ryder had looked at me like I was the lowest piece of shit on the planet. Callie regarded me with rage and contempt. All the other women I’d tried to bone hadn’t held back with their low opinions of me, once they established the dick was out of commission.

The emerging consensus seemed undeniable. My friends, my wife, my lovers… they had given me a good long look the last week, and they all found me severely lacking.

Maybe they all just wanted to kick a man while he was down? I couldn’t be as bad as they all said… could I?

I pushed myself up from the chair, my legs feeling unsteady. Maybe Duke and Ryder were right that I should go back to Callie now, but I wasn’t ready to face her yet. The thought of being so completely under the thumb of my sweet, meek, tiny little wife…

For now, I just had to push away all these harsh judgments of me that were piling up everywhere. I had to keep myself together, and keep my focus on the doctor’s appointment tomorrow. It was my last hope.

CHAPTER 13

CALLIE

As a glass-walled elevator carried me up the side of the Obsidian Spire, the entire transformed Cove spread below me, buildings shrinking to toy-size as I climbed. The architectural variety Brie mentioned was even more striking from above. Gothic stone structures, modern glass, charming low-rises, and some mind-bending buildings that seemed forged from magic itself. There was a lot going on, yet somehow it all felt harmonious.

The vista changed dramatically as the elevator passed through the coruscating colors of the rain shield, and suddenly I was in a dark thunderstorm. Rain pounded the elevator windows in driving sheets as lightning arced through the sky. Now, this ferocious weather was something I found deeply recognizable.

A ding announced we’d reached the top level.

I stepped out into the receiving area and was surprised to see a familiar face seated there. “Velora!” I exclaimed.

Velora rose unsteadily to her feet, slower than the last time I’d seen her. But she was well into her nineties now, my oldest sister still living, so this was to be expected. I rushed to her, and we embraced.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Oh, you know. Sitting at home watching the entire world change around me was getting boring, so I told mom I wanted to be where the action is. I’ve been assisting her for the last year.”

“Wow.” That Velora, or any of my sisters, would choose to spend so much time with our mother was the surest sign yet that a dramatic change had occurred.

“I know,” Velora said wryly, understanding my reaction completely. “But it’s been good.”

We spent a few minutes catching up as Velora walked me to Astrea’s office the long way, giving me a tour of the busy operations as we went. Office after office of witches working the phones as they made deals for tour groups to come to town, or architects reviewing designs for new structures. It was impressive, and I did my best to focus on being inspired by all these witches doing interesting work. I didn’t want to tumble into another spiral of insecurity by comparing myself unfavorably to them. I resolved to keep them only as positive examples, and not as excuses to beat myself up.

At last, we arrived at the imposing door to Astrea’s office, a massive panel of polished obsidian. Protective runes glowed faintly along its edges, pulsing with a slow rhythm like a heartbeat.

Velora gave me a parting hug and pressed her palm flat against the door’s surface. The runes flared bright purple for a moment, then the door swung silently inward.

I entered and wasn’t at all surprised at how breathtaking Astrea’s office was. It was circular, with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping around most of the space, offering a panoramic view of both the storm outside and the town below. Lightning illuminated the room in periodic flashes. The furnishings were sleek, modern, and dark: all black leather with chrome and obsidian accents.

My mother stood near the window, her back to me, wearing a perfectly tailored blue pantsuit that showed off her trim figure. Before her, a crystal orb filled with sparkling energy sat on a pedestal. Her hands were on it, and her head was tilted back.

I approached her. “Mother?”

Her head snapped up, and she spun to face me. As expected, she literally hadn’t aged a day, and still appeared a youthful mid-forties. “Calliope! It’s so good to see you.” She crossed the room in swift strides and put her hands on my shoulders, studying my face. “But there’s so much turbulence in your aura, dear. Are you all right?”

Well, if she was going to go at it that directly, I might as well follow her lead. “Maddox has been cheating on me. I’m going to divorce him.”

This is where I would have expected “wonderful, good riddance!” or gloating over how she always knew this would happen. But instead…

“Oh my gods. I am so sorry,” Astrea said earnestly, as she led me to a plush black couch. “Tell mother everything.”

So I did. The story poured out of me—right until I got to the details of the curse. That felt a bit too embarrassing to share. Astrea listened without interrupting, her expression shifting from disgust to fury to something that looked almost like pride. “What did you curse him with?” she asked eagerly.

I felt my face heat up. “I’d rather not get into specifics⁠—”

“With your mother? So I take it your curse hit him in a particularly sensitive area?” she asked with a knowing grin.