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With that, Eric spun on his heel and stormed out of the room. A whine from the sofa caught Nicky’s attention, and she turned to see Belvedere cowering there, her heart dropping.
“Oh, no, boy!” Nicky dropped to her knees beside him and stroked his fur soothingly. “This isn’t about you, sweet boy.”
Belvedere lifted his head and gave Nicky a few doggy kisses on the cheek. He soothed her rumpled emotions as much as she did his.
“Why can’t relationships be this easy to soothe, huh?” Nicky stood, picked up her wine glass, and walked through to the kitchen.
She poured the remaining contents of the glass into the sink, washed her hands, and started finishing off the pot roast that she decided to put in the refrigerator to heat up the next day. Nicky finished cleaning up the kitchen, poured herself another glass of wine, and walked back into the living room with Belvedere at her heels.
She’d just sat on the sofa to watch the last rays of sun slip behind the inky night curtain when she heard Eric thumping down the stairs. Nicky frowned and was about to get up to find out what was going on when he popped into the room. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he’d changed into a pair of jeans with a cotton shirt and loafers.
Nicky frowned and looked at the two large suitcases he held in each hand with a yellow envelope shoved beneath his arm.
“Eric, what’s going on?” Nicky sat forward on the sofa and put her wine on the coffee table as she looked at him questioningly. “Are you off on another business trip?” She shook her head. “You’ve only just gotten home.”
“No.” Eric shook his head, and his face was a blank slate as he left his suitcases and stepped toward her. “I’m leaving, Nicky.”
“To go where?” Nicky asked, confusion swirling around her.
“To where I should’ve gone a while ago,” Eric told her, his voice emotionless. “Every time I tried to leave, something in your life would blow up, and I couldn’t leave you.”
“I don’t understand.” Nicky’s heart was pounding in her chest, and a whooshing had started in her ears.
“Maybe this will clear things up for you.” Eric handed her the envelope from beneath his arm. “I had it finalized yesterday.”
Nicky stared at the item he held out to her, afraid to touch it as she instinctively knew that the contents of it were about to blow up her life. She didn’t know if she could step onto another landmine. When she didn’t move to take the document, Eric let out a breath and dropped it on the coffee table beside the adoption papers she’d dumped there earlier.
“Is this about the adoption process?” Nicky asked him.
“No, Nicky, it’s not just that.” Eric let out another breath and ran his hand through his hair. “This has been a long time coming.” He glanced out the large windows that overlooked the bay before turning back toward her. “Seven years, to be exact.”
“Seven years?” Nicky’s brows were knit into a tight frown.
Eric huffed, his shoulders squared, and his jaw tightened. “Look, there’s no easy way to do or say this, so I’m just going to come straight out with it.” He looked at the envelope he’d put on the table. “Those are divorce papers. I’ve signed everything over to you. I went to the bank and took my name off our joint account, so all the savings in there are also yours.”
“Divorce?” The words felt like barbed wire being ripped out of her throat. “Because I want to adopt a child?”
“No, Nicky, this isn’t just about that.” Eric was getting more and more impatient. “I fell out of love with you a long time ago when I met Sophie.”
“Sophie?” Nicky’s head was spinning, and she felt like she was having a bad dream or one of those nightmares where you didn’t realize you were having a nightmare. “Your receptionist?”
“She’s a lot more than a receptionist!” Eric growled defensively. “She’s also a fully trained yoga instructor.”
“Right!” Nicky nodded, knowing she was being condescending, but she couldn’t help it. “Because that’s a whole step up from being able to manage a switchboard.”
“Don’t act like a jealous shrew, please,” Eric breathed. “It doesn’t suit you.”
“Jealous?” Nicky looked at him in disbelief. “This isn’t me being jealous. This is me in a state of shock!” She pushed herself to her feet and stood, looking at him as if he’d grown two heads. “Which I have every right to be.” She pointed at the ground with her index finger as she spoke. “My husband of fifteen years just told me that he’s leaving me for another woman he’s been having an office affair with for the past seven years!”
“What Sophie and I have is much more than an office affair,” Eric informed her. “I’m madly in love with her, and the reason I don’t need or want to adopt is that we have a beautiful five-year-old son, and in two months, we’ll have a baby girl.”
His words felt like he’d punched her in the heart, cracking open their marriage and breaking apart the foundations of the life they’d made together. Nicky’s heart shattered as the wrecking ball of his betrayal smashed through it, making her feel ill. Her legs felt like they would collapse at any moment as her soul trembled, shaking her core.
“I don’t want a big scene over this,” Eric said coldly. “I’ve been really fair by giving you the house, our savings, and everything, except for a few items listed in the divorce settlement.”
“You think that’s fair?” Nicky breathed in disbelief, her eyes widening at his words as she tried to keep her head above the swirling ocean of emotions rising inside her. “This is my house. I was the one who bought it. So, thank you for being fair and giving memyhouse!”
“Don’t be like that, Nicky.” Eric turned his face slightly. “There’s no need for this to get ugly.”
