Page 50 of Anonymous Acts


Font Size:  

Nine

A good wife would have cried.

After all the tears I’d shed in the week before Kellen’s funeral, I’d certainly had plenty of practice. But somehow, once we made it there, and I was sitting beside his sobbing mother on the front pew of the church she claimed to have raised him in, I made a… controversial decision.

I wouldn’t cry over him again.

Not one single, solitary, miniscule tear.

His pregnant whore cried enough for both of us.

And so, I just sat there and endured it. The fact that I had to share space with the woman who’d shamelessly, blatantly inserted herself in the – admittedly wide open – space that Kellen and I had carved in our marriage was the last humiliation I had to tolerate. Well… I didn’t have to, but I did. There were too many eyes on me not to, besides the fact that his mother deserved for this day to go by with minimal drama. Kellen was only in his thirties, and had been killed in a manner I couldn’t describe as anything other than horrible.

It was fucked up, honestly.

She’d never been anything except kind to me, both before and during my marriage. Now though, she’d made her choice, and I wasn’t bothered. She and Crystal clutched fingers and sobbed together the whole time – the perfect picture of grieving mother and her sham of a daughter-in-law. My hands remained empty for the entirety of the funeral, save for the program and a woefully dry handkerchief.

On the other side of me, Asher couldn’t seem to help making me regret the microscopic hint of cleavage that showed with the dress I’d chosen. I’d called myself being modest, but his roving eyes had me feeling like I was on display – and had me questioning just how “accidental” that kiss was.

Until I smelled the liquor on his breath.

You’d probably need a few drinks to get through your best friend’s funeral too, Mon.

Just when I thought my contempt for this day couldn’t growanydeeper, Kellen’s mother had invited Crystal to the mic, for a final kind word before we moved to the graveyard to commit his body to the ground. I could feel the whole room staring at me – a mix of pity, disgust, and simple-minded delight at what they perceived to be a slight against me. Like it was some sort ofgotcha.

But… as Crystal stood up there crying about the loss of the love of her life, I stifled a smile, wondering what kind of accidental karma had come my way. My cheating husband was finally out of my life, and I didn’t have to give up half of my business or money to make it happen.

Hell… I had nothing to cry about.

But that was yesterday.

By the time Kellen’s lawyer was showing me and Demetria into a small conference room for the reading of his will, the day after the funeral, I was back to feeling nostalgic, or whatever the hell the feeling was. The feeling that it made no sense, at all, that at thirty-six years old, I was widowed.

He stepped out, and while I had a quiet moment, I allowed myself a few tears. Beside me, Demetria offered me a few tissues from a packet in her purse, and I accepted. I’d been surprised – no, shocked, actually – that my presence was even required at such a meeting. Having his affairs in order was something I expected of Kellen, even if I wasn’t quite sure what “affairs” he had… other than the ones that involved him screwing half the east coast. What took me off guard was the idea that my name was listed on anything he had.

I quickly dried my face as the door swung open again, and Patricia – Kellen’s mother – and Crystal appeared, along with the flustered-looking lawyer - Eric. I gave Pat the courtesy of a nod, and Crystal the courtesy of not whooping her ass.

“Mrs. Stuart – uh – Monica,” Eric stammered, closing the door behind him as he stepped in, clutching a file folder. “These two have insisted on sitting in on this meeting, but they have no legal right to—”

I raised a hand to stop him. “Can we please just get this over with?” I asked, not caring to hear about… whatever. “It makes your job easier anyway right, to just talk to all three of us at once?”

“Well, Monica…”

“Eric. Please. Just read the will, or whatever you called me here for.”

He pushed out a sigh, and sat down. “Okay. Well, Kellen didn’t have a formal will, but he did have assets and policies that I personally managed for him. Because he didn’t have a will, anything that doesn’t have a specifically named beneficiary, of course goes to you, Monica. He had various investment accounts, plus retirement accounts, with a combined value of…” he flipped his folder open, thumbing through a couple of pages before he continued, “A little over four-hundred thousand.”

Across the table, Crystal huffed, and my eyes left Eric long enough to look her dead in her face, daring her to make another sound. She pinned her hot-pink lips together, crossing her arms as she dropped her gaze.

“He only had the one life insurance policy, with a benefit value of two million. The listed beneficiary of that policy is… Monica Stuart.”

“What?” all four of us asked at the same time, only Crystal’s pitch was somewhere near a scream.

Eric shook his head. “Crystal… I’ve already explained to you – if Kellen had other wishes for his assets, or that insurance policy, he never expressed it to me. I asked him on several occasions about drafting a will, but he always ended up canceling the meetings. I’m sorry.”

“You’resorry?!” she shrieked, pushing herself up from her seat. “What thefuckis that supposed to mean to me?” Her hand drifted to her barely swollen belly, and I had to look away. “You honestly expect me to believe he didn’t bother to make sure me and his child were taken care of? Helovedme!”

I couldn’t help the ugly peal of laughter that broke from my lips as I turned my gaze back to hers. “Girl, I can’t believe you expected better from an unemployed, married man living off his wife.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like