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All my love,
William
Five
Sondra was in her element, throwing orders left and right. Addison hadn’t caught any of them until Sondra slapped her hand on the desk, knocking her out of her reverie. “Damn it, Addison. What in the hell is it now?”
Addie shifted in her chair and sat up straighter. “I’m sorry.”
Sondra gazed at her. “Well? Let’s have it.”
“I’m filing for a divorce. Scott Hammons is watching me. I guess you could say things are a little rough right now.” Addie replied flatly.
“Good grief, Addison. Have you contacted the police?”
“Yeah, but they weren’t much help.”
Sondra crossed the room and took a seat in front of Addison. “I assume Mr. Hartman’s staff is still protecting you.”
Addie nodded. “Something like that.”
“Well, we’re going to have to do something about this. Now, tell me about the divorce. Why now?”
“Why not now?” Addie quipped.
Sondra frowned. “I don’t know. It just seems that you have a lot going on; that’s all. Did you really need to add to it?”
Addie gazed drifted to the floor-to-ceiling window. “I’m moving out this weekend. I’ve rented a little place not far from our house and hired movers. Patrick has no idea, and I haven’t told the boys. I just have to get out. I’m suffocating. If I tell him I’m leaving, he’ll make it impossible for me to go. I didn’t want it to end this way.”
Sondra inhaled sharply. “We never do. Do you need anything? I assume you’re satisfied with your new salary.”
“No, I mean, yes. I’m good.” Addie continued. “You know part of me always knew that it would end up this way, that he’d never let me go easily. That’s why I said yes to your offer. Most people have trouble understanding that, but I guess they’d have to know Patrick to really get it. He’s never failed at anything in his life because he’s avoided failure at all costs. Our marriage is no different. Only this time he refused to even play the game. At some point, he just stopped participating. I knew that deep down, and so I saved. I saved for attorneys’ fees. I saved for a place of our own. I put a lot of my salary aside so that we’d never have to be dependent on his participation again. That’s why I did what I did, but also for the person I became. Being a Domme changed me. It showed me what freedom could be like. And it gave me the independence to make it happen.”
Sondra grasped the door handle and turned to face Addie. “I’ll have everything I just went over typed up and emailed to you within the hour. I’m betting on this not affecting your work here, Addison.”
“It won’t. You have my word.” Addie promised.
Sondra opened the door slightly and then closed it again. “Addison, it behooves me not to get involved in such matters. For what it’s worth though, I think you’re doing the right thing. Your timing just sucks; that’s all.”
Dear William,
I’m writing because I want you to hear this from me and me alone. I’ve filed for divorce. While this doesn’t change anything between us or where things stand, I do want to thank you. Had we not met, I never would’ve had the courage to end my marriage.
It’s unfortunate for all involved that things worked out the way they did. Let’s just agree that our love was chronologically challenged from the beginning. :)
Your letter was beautiful. I thank you for that too. And you’re right. I do love you. But the truth of the matter is I need to love myself before I can really love anyone else.
I’m working on that.
Take care,
Addison
Addison sealed the envelope and dialed her contact then the courier. Once the letter had been picked up, she gathered her things and rushed over to her attorney’s office.
The office, located just around the corner from the Hartman building, was large and sterile. Maybe attorneys’ offices weren’t meant to be inviting places, Addie thought as she rounded the corner. Her breath caught, and a lump formed in her throat as she took in the sight of the paparazzi gathered just outside her attorney’s office. Keep calm, she reminded herself. Maybe they’re here for someone else, she considered, although logic pointed to the contrary. As she entered the doors, she focused her eyes straight ahead and did her best to ignore the flurry of questions shouted her way and the microphones that were shoved in her direction.
Once inside the building, Addie decided to take the stairs in an attempt to buy time and compose herself. Someone had obviously tipped the press off, and this wasn’t good. Taking a deep breath, she opened the heavy glass doors and made her way in. Addie searched the lobby for a receptionist, and when she didn’t see one seated at the desk, she simply took a seat in the waiting room and waited. Her attorney, Thomas Bradbury, was a shark known for winning at all costs. Addie reached for a magazine as a petite older woman opened the door, nodded in Addie’s direction, and asked her to follow. After being led down a series of halls, Addie was ushered into a large conference room. At the end of the table sat the man Addie had hired to handle her divorce.
