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“For us.” He came closer but stopped when I zipped the bag. “How can I make this right if you won’t even talk to me?”

“That sounds like a problem for you, not me.” I rolled the suitcase past him. “I’m going somewhere else tonight. Maybe I’ll be in the mood to talk to you tomorrow. Probably not. But there isn’t a chance in hell that I’m going to sit down and listen to excuses you haven’t even put any thought into right now.”

“Where?”

That was an excellent question since I didn’t have a plan yet. “Not your business anymore.”

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen without answering. I took that as Brie calling. She didn’t strike me as someone who would sit idly by now that she’d gotten her hooks into him.

“Celia.” His voice dropped to the beguiling tone he used on buyers. “You’re allowed to be hurt. But please don’t do something permanent because we had one bad day in nine years.”

I crossed the room and stopped in the doorway. “I don’t need your permission to react to you cheating on me in the home we share.”

“Shit, yeah. Sorry. I should’ve been more careful choosing my words.”

“And with where you put your dick.”

Harrison chased me all the way out to my car, but I didn’t listen to anything else he had to say. I needed to drop my documentation off to Dana and call Megan to see if I could stay with her while I figured things out. All while putting my husband off so I could have the upper hand when I filed for divorce.

5

CELIA

6 months later

Megan called while I was still in the lobby. I answered before the elevator arrived. “I’m about to go up.”

“Do you think he’ll finally agree to the settlement so this will all be over?”

“I have no idea what Harrison will do anymore.” I watched the numbers above the doors. “He’s been putting this off so long, I’m tempted to take the prenup money and walk away.”

“That just rewards him for cheating on you,” Megan argued. “He owes you a lot more than that. Don’t settle for less than you’re owed because you’re tired.”

The elevator doors finally opened. Two men in suits stepped out, and I waited until they were past me. “Headed up. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“I’ll be here.”

I ended the call and stepped inside, with no doubt how much my best friend meant that. She had let me stay at her place all this time. LA was expensive, and I’d lost my job at the winery the day after I’d walked in on Harrison and Brie when his parents heard what happened. Dana had rubbed her hands in glee because it improved our claim against the family business, but it also put me in a tough spot while Harrison dragged this whole thing out. It felt like we were playing a waiting game to see who’d blink first, but at least I was comfortable in Megan’s guest room and busy building my list of private chef clients.

The elevator doors slid open, pulling me out of my thoughts. When I walked into the waiting room, I came to an abrupt stop.

Brie was in one of the chairs. She looked up and smiled like she’d been waiting for me. “Finally. I was starting to think you were going to skip the meeting in yet another attempt to delay the divorce.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“There’s no law saying I can’t wait for my fiancé.” She stood and set her hand low on her stomach, and I noticed the diamond on her ring finger. It was twice the size of the one Harrison had given me when he proposed. “None of us would have to be here if you’d have taken a hint and let go of a man who doesn't want you. It’s sad, really.”

I huffed out a frustrated laugh, wondering what lies Harrison had spun for her. “That’s not⁠—”

“Sign the papers, Celia.” She tipped her head toward the conference room. “I want to be married to Harrison before the baby comes.”

Brie was pregnant.

It took every ounce of my self-control not to allow my reaction to show on my face. For the last five years of our marriage, Harrison kept telling me we needed to wait a little longer before we had a baby. Now I was thirty-four, going through a nasty divorce, and might never have a child of my own. But he’d knocked up his mistress while doing everything he could to nickel and dime me so I would walk away with less money.

“I can’t think of two people who deserve each other more,” I murmured before walking past.

The conference room door was open. Dana was already seated at the long table, and I kept my gaze on her until I joined her.