“Mrs. Baker? Sir, she called…”
The housekeeper sounded excited and happy.
Ben felt something flutter, but he kept his voice cold, “Tell her Ethan can’t come today.”
The housekeeper paused, then continued. “She
asked if she could speak with you, please.”
Ben put down the paper he was reading, and
straightened his sleeves.
“Ben, we never got a marriage license.”
“Yeah, so?”
He smiled, figuring I was finally ready to take
the next step.
“So if we want to separate, we don’t have to do
any messy divorce stuff.”
Ben’s smile froze. “What did you say?”
Chapter 2
8
He clenched his phone in his fist.
“Don’t let the housekeeper call me every
Saturday. And I won’t be back.”
“I’ve already told Ethan’s teachers that I’m not
in the picture.”
2”
<
“Babe, what does this even mean?”
“Ben, I don’t want any of your money, but I’m
keeping the 8.88 million dollars you gave me
when we got married, and I’m keeping all the
gold.”
“It’s for having Ethan.”
Ben had never been so angry in all of his almost
thirty years.
But when he was this mad, his voice got even
softer.
“Is that what you really want?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t hesitate.
Ben hung up.
The housekeeper stood nearby, afraid to
breathe.
Just a minute ago, Ben had smiled.
The mood around here had been awful, like a
dark cloud.
But now, the moment he hung up, his face got
cold and hard.
“Take that phone away.”
Ben stood up and called out to the
housekeeper.
He took a few steps, then glanced out at the
crabapple tree.
He felt even worse.
He turned back and told the housekeeper, “Go
clean out the master bedroom Get rid of all of
Г
clean out the master bedroom. Get rid of all of her things. I don’t want to see them.”
The housekeeper nodded, then hurried away.
Ben walked out. His phone buzzed. It was Chloe.
He had zero interest in answering it.
Chloe was just a copycat.
She could never compare to April.
Or even to me.
He shouldn’t have been so harsh the other
night.
I was hurt and upset, and I just didn’t want to come back.
She could pout and stomp her feet. She’d come
<
home eventually.
With my personality, I’d get walked all over.
Then I’d come crawling back home.
9
But I just disappeared.
After that call, I didn’t call him again.
Ethan got sick, and Ben’s mom brought him
over, wanting me to give him a massage.
I was really good with children, and after
studying for a few years, I could help Ethan.
But the housekeeper couldn’t get ahold of me.
Ben’s mom got really mad.
“I’ve never seen a mother so heartless. If she
doesn’t want to come back, fine. We don’t need
<
She left with Ethan.
Ben sat on the sofa, not saying anything.
As evening fell, he finally told his driver to get
the car ready.
“We’re going to see her family.”
My parents were shocked to see Ben.
They rushed to greet him and bring him inside.
Seeing Ben’s dark mood, they looked at each
other and asked him, “Did Sarah do something
wrong again?”
They never really cared much about me, and it
was a sore point that I hadn’t gotten my
marriage license.
