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“Violet,” Alex’s assistant greeted me sweetly, “so good to see you. You look amazing!”
“Thanks, Serena. Is he in?”
“Yes, and he’s expecting you.” She smiled and twisted the knob, ushering me in.
I walked into Alex’s office and noticed his attorney present. When he had called and begged me to come, I should have known better.
Alex spoke first. “Have a seat, Violet.”
“What the hell is this?” My blood was boiling. Did this bastard have no shame?
“It’s a divorce you want, isn’t it?” Alex said smartly, taking a seat behind his desk.
“I’m outta here. If you want to talk with attorneys present, you need to prepare me.” I glared at both of them, ready to stand my ground.
“Sit down, Violet. I’m prepared to make an offer,” Alex said carefully. He looked at his attorney then back to me as if to ask ‘Am I doing okay?’
The red flag went up. Instead of fleeing, I was suddenly curious to hear his offer, so I sat. Alex was a man with connections, which came from being a part of an influential Savannah family. They were traditional to the core. The type that held several charitable functions every year. His family deemed me acceptable, due to my own upbringing at the careful hand of my parents who knew and were social with the Harvells. Although it hadn’t been, our courting could have easily been arranged. I knew I’d be in for it if he decided to fight. I just didn’t know if he had the decency to play nice or would choose to play dirty after he’d abandoned me. From the looks of it, it was the latter.
“Mrs. Harvell,” his lawyer—who happened to be a mutual friend of us both until that very minute—spoke up, “Alex is prepared to offer you the house, a lump sum, and pay your car note.”
“Don’t address me like you don’t know me, Joseph,” I snapped. “How much?” I never let my eyes leave Alex, who now looked away. I couldn’t help but smile at the amount of power I had at that moment. Over a year of feeling powerless could do that to a woman.
I turned to Joseph, who had been his best man at our wedding, and saw his resolve to be the lawyer I was sure Alex had paid handsomely for, though he was worthless. Joseph, who had made a pass at me a year after we’d been married, looked at me now as if I was weak, pathetic, and gave me a laughable sum. “Sixty thousand dollars.”
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nbsp; I stood up and nodded. “Sweet offer coming from a man who has a trust fund worth over three million dollars. I’m not looking to get rich here, fellas, but you can both kiss my ass with that offer.”
Watching the two of them squirm, I knew the amount in his trust was now inaccurate. Alex was worth much more. He was probably worth millions more, but I had no intention of breaking him. I just wanted it to sting a little. I didn’t need his money and could support myself, but I wanted him to feel the small slap of our divorce so that he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The women of Savannah didn’t deserve a prick like him on the loose. I felt guilty for giving him back.
“Joseph, let me have a word with Violet,” Alex said as he excused him with a wave of his hand. Joseph immediately protested, but Alex stood firm.
“We tried it your way, Joseph. Let me speak to my wife.” Alex opened the door, ushering him out.
When he closed the door, he stood in front of it, cowering under my glare.
“That was low, Alex. You know I’m entitled to more. And you know why, or do I need to remind you?”
“I’ll take care of you,” he said, defeated. “I don’t even know who I am anymore.” He took the chair next to mine.
“Wow, a Scooby mystery for us both, but in lieu of Daphne and Wilma, let’s finally talk about Kris and Sandra.”
He paled. I would never understand how I ever loved such a coward, or how I turned into one. I should have walked into his office a year ago demanding an explanation.
“Please, don’t, Vi. Let’s keep this clean. It’s what you wanted.”
“Well, seeing as how I was just ambushed by you and that jackass, I could very well get my hands dirty.”
“It’s over now and I knew you would never fall for it,” he said, rubbing his temples. “Vi, while I was in the hospital, I watched you. I saw you get a text from someone and truly smile. I told you I loved you right after, but what I didn’t tell you is that I am sorry for the way I’ve treated you and I want you to be happy. What I did was wrong, but I didn’t know how to explain it to you. If you had your shot at being with someone that made you truly happy, I wouldn’t want to stand in your way. I did love you, just not in the way you deserved, and you will always be a dear friend—”
“What is this?” I said, truly confused. “I wasn’t your friend. I was your wife! You want me to say it’s okay that you abandoned me because you decided to have an affair and it made you happier than you were when you were with me? Not one affair but two!”
“It’s not that simple,” he said, rubbing his palms on his pants. He was clearly terrified and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, just make me an offer I can’t refuse. Your reputation will be safe. I mean, it’s not that big of a scandal.” He buried his head in his hands.
“Vi, you know it is. You know my parents would flip. I would lose my trust. I’ll have Joseph draw it up. I shouldn’t have listened to him.” He looked at me, and for the first time, I could see the red around his eyes.
