Chapter 4
Three years of marriage, and I had no children, no savings, and none of his loyalty. But I had 600 million dollars, a good lawyer, and all the patience in the world. That was enough.
That evening at seven, Eric came home. The second he walked through the door, he put on the face I knew so well. Warm, tired, a touch apologetic.
"Babe, I'm sorry, I..."
"Food's on the table. I made your favorite, honey-glazed ribs," I said.
He blinked.
"Eat first," I told him. "We'll talk after."
Eric sat down at the table and picked up his fork, but he couldn't bring himself to take a bite.
"Nina, I know you went to the hospital this afternoon. I know you're upset. But Laura, she..."
"Eat."
He shut his mouth and forced down a few bites.
I sat across from him, eating my own dinner at my own pace. I chewed every bite, slow and deliberate, and swallowed every one clean.
He set down his fork. "Nina, I don't want a divorce."
"Why not?"
"Laura and I are done. The baby was an accident. I'll handle it."
"Handle it how?"
"I'll give her some money and she'll take the kid and go."
"How much?"
"Wh... what?"
"How much are you giving her? Your credit card shows 120 grand spent on her in one year. How much more are you planning to throw in?"
His face went rigid. "You went through my credit card?"
"I'm an authorized user. I have every right."
"Nina, what is this? You don't trust me?"
My fork hit the plate.
"Eric, you had a baby with another woman, and you're asking me why I don't trust you?"
His mouth opened, but no words came.
"Tell me exactly how you plan to handle this."
"I'll... I'll go talk to Laura tomorrow and..."
"Laura just gave birth, and your plan is to walk in there tomorrow and dump her?"
"Then what do you want from me?!" His voice shot up.
"A divorce."
"No!"
He shoved back from the table, and his chair scraped across the floor with a sound that set my teeth on edge.
"Nina, I am not divorcing you. This is my home, and you are my wife. I screwed up, fine, I admit it. But divorce is off the table."
"Why is it off the table?"
"Because... because my mom won't allow it."
I stared at him. Something new flickered behind his eyes. It wasn't love. It was calculation, and just like that, I understood.
He didn't want me. He wanted what I represented. The 65 grand I'd put down on this apartment. The 2,300 a month I covered in mortgage payments. A full-time cook and housekeeper who worked for free.
"Your mother's opinion," I said, standing up, "she can share it with the judge."
I walked into the bedroom and locked the door behind me.
He pounded on it for half an hour.
I put in my earbuds, listened to white noise for 30 minutes, and fell asleep like a rock.
*****
The next day, I went to work like nothing had happened. At noon, my phone rang. It wasn't Eric.
It was an unknown number.
"Hello, is this Nina?" a woman's voice asked.
"Speaking."
"My name is Laura."
I set down my fork, walked out of the office cafeteria, and found a quiet spot in the hallway.
"What do you want?"
"Nina, I'd like to meet with you. In person."
"Fine."
"Three o'clock. The Starbucks at Westfield."
"Okay."
She hung up.
A coworker passed by and glanced at me. "Nina, you look a little pale. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine."
*****
At 10 to three, I walked into the Starbucks at Westfield Mall. Laura Bennett was already there, tucked into a corner booth.
She wore an oversized gray sweatshirt, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail without a trace of makeup. The post-delivery puffiness hadn't fully faded from her face.
A cup of hot water sat in front of her. Beside her, the baby slept in a stroller.
Taking the seat across from her, I waited.
"Go ahead."
Laura twisted a napkin between her fingers, her eyes fixed on the table.
"Nina, I'm sorry."
"And?"
She looked up. Her eyes were rimmed with red.
"Eric told me you two had been separated for two years," she said. "He said the marriage was dead, and you refused to sign because you'd have nowhere to go. He promised he'd file once the baby came."
I listened to the whole thing without changing expression.
"And you believed him?"
"I..." She dropped her gaze. "I checked your Instagram. You barely posted anything about him. I thought what he said was true."
"So you think that makes you innocent?"
"I'm not saying..."
"Laura, a man tells you he's getting divorced, two years go by, and nothing happens. And you still went ahead and had his baby. Are you innocent, or are you just naive? Pick one."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Nina, I didn't come here to fight with you. I came to tell you something."
"Tell me."
She took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and showed me a screenshot.
"This is one of Eric's bank transfers."
The screen showed a single transfer of 65 thousand dollars.