AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re still a unit,” I tell him, adamant in that truth. “Just because we aren’t together, doesn’t mean we aren’t a team.”
“You know what I mean, Sabrina,” he says, looking down at his hands on the counter, his wedding ring absent from his finger. “And you know it isn’t the same thing. Just look at tonight.”
“Honestly, I’ve been the bane of Penny’s existence since we told them we’re divorcing. So, I know exactly how hard it’s been.”
His expression softens as he glances up at me again.
“I guess it comes with the territory. A tipping scale in one of our favors, depending on their moods,” he tells me, shrugging one shoulder.
“It was like that even before we decided to divorce.”
“Youdecided to divorce.” It’s a gentle reminder that makes me pause.
“Do you regret marrying me?” I ask, wanting to know the truth, even if it stings.
“There are a lot of things I regret. Marrying you isn’t one of them.” His words sound so even, so confident, so strong that I’m convinced I could lean on him forever.
“Sometimes I think you’re too good for me,” is all I can say in response. Because who would stay with me through all of this?
“What good is it if it doesn’t mean you’ll stay?” His question is quiet, but it breaks me down and I wipe the single tear that streaks down my cheek.
“You don’t want me to stay, Peter.”
“I want my family.”
His words make my eyes well with more tears.
“You were always so great about family. Even when I wasn’t easy—”
“Don’t.” He shakes his head. “You don’t have to turn me into some kind of hero. I was selfish. I wanted you to myself.”
“And where did that get you?”
“It led to a more beautiful life than I could’ve ever hoped for,” he answers.
We sit there in silence and I’m too afraid to look in his eyes, so I stare at the screen of my laptop just as it goes into sleep mode. I can see the glimmer of my tears in the reflection of the screen, and I sigh, wondering what the fuck I’ve done here.
What a fucking mess I’ve made of my life.
I stand and he follows suit, placing his hands on my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug. His body has fit mine for so long, that I breathe him in and let myself mold into the familiar planes of his shape.
He leans into me, and it would be so easy. To kiss, to go upstairs and share a bed again, to go back to a life where everything makes sense to my daughters.
If someone were to peek into my kitchen window, I know what they’d see. I’m almost certain of how they’d view the little family inside with the mom and dad embracing in the kitchen.
Perfect.
It’s a word my younger sister has used to describe me many times. And each time I feel the weight of it, feel it crack at my tough exterior.
I pull away from him, wiping the rest of my tears with the back of my hand.
He nods, as if my actions confirm all he needs to know.
“Goodnight, Sabrina,” he murmurs before stepping away to head to his office. I close my eyes at the quiet click of his door shutting, wishing I could skip forward to a day when all of this isn’t on the forefront anymore.
Or go back to a time when it hadn’t even happened yet.
