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And earlier this morning, I’d told my husband I wanted to get a divorce.
Sure, it had caught him off guard. I didn’t think he woke up expecting to hear that declaration, but he shouldn’t have been surprised.
Feeling hurt move through me, I pleaded, “Don’t put this all on me, Johnny.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t act like you had no idea this has been coming for a long time,” I explained. “You couldn’t possibly believe we were heading anywhere else but here.”
Anger moved through his features, but he didn’t say anything in response. That was likely because he knew there was nothing he could say. I hadn’t been lying. He knew, just as much as I did, this was expected, necessary even.
Finally, he asked, “Well, Kiera, what do you want to do about it now?”
“What do you mean?” I countered.
Throwing his hand out to the side in the direction of the front door our friends had just walked through, he clarified, “About them. About telling them. You didn’t want to ruin their moment today, but they just asked us to stand beside them at their wedding. I’m supposed to be Zac’s best man, and you’re going to be Talia’s matron-of-honor. Are you planning to tell them as we get closer to the wedding? Do you want the divorce finalized before we share our own special news?”
God, why did he have to be like this about it?
He couldn’t possibly believe this was easy for me.
“You don’t need to be a dick about this,” I shot back.
Johnny let out a frustrated sigh. “Right. Well, then I’ll leave it up to you. Whatever you decide is what we’ll do.”
Despite how badly my heart was breaking, I wanted the absolute best for Zac and Talia. They didn’t need to have the happiest moment of their lives overshadowed by my impending divorce. I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure it was one Johnny would be on board with.
“Will you pretend?” I asked him.
“What?”
“Pretend,” I repeated. “Will you pretend?”
He stared at me like I was crazy. “Pretend what?”
Now, it was my turn to sigh. “For them. Zac and Talia are planning a wedding for the end of June. That’s roughly six months. I think you and I should pretend everything is okay, give them their moment, and we can share the news afterward.”
My husband’s brows shot up as a look of disbelief washed over him. “How exactly would you like to accomplish this?”
I shrugged. “I was thinking we could act just like we did when they were here only a few minutes ago. We don’t have to let that change.”
“You want me to pretend I’m not going through a divorce?” he asked.
Shaking my head, I insisted, “Of course not. Johnny, this isn’t easy on me, either. But even if things are where they are between us now, I know you love Zac and Talia as much as I do. Think of this as being our last compromise as a married couple. We’re going to put aside what we’re dealing with for them, and later, sometime after they’ve returned from their honeymoon, we can share our own news.”
His eyes searched my face, and following a beat of silence, he nodded. “So, we’re going to pretend we’re still in love and happier than ever.”
It came out more like a statement than a question, but even still, I felt compelled to clarify it for him. “Yes. But only when we’re around others. When it’s just us here, we don’t need to pretend. I’ll take the guest bedroom for the next few months.”
Something changed in his expression. “So, this is it?”
I nodded. “This is it.”
“Six months of pretending?” he pressed.
I nodded again. “Six months of pretending, and then we go our separate ways.”
Johnny held my gaze for a long time without saying a word. The moment was filled with such tension, and my heart was pounding in my chest, evidently a reaction from being under such intense scrutiny.
