Chapter 20 Melanie
Penelope: He’s been served, and the PI is on scene to monitor how he reacts.
Me: Thank you. The plane is about to take off.
Griffin looked up from his laptop when I set my phone down with a small sigh of relief.
It’s done.
“Penelope?”
Considering I hadn’t turned my old cell phone back on since he had urged me to get a new phone, there were only a few options for who it could’ve been.
“Yes, Ben has been served, and the PI is already at the house to keep an eye on him.”
“Good.” Griffin nodded slowly, “how are you feeling?”
“Relieved, mostly.” I admitted.
“And the rest?”
“Nervous about seeing my family.”
Griffin was well aware of how Kyle was going to take the news, and I knew that my parents were going to be heartbroken.
Ben hadn’t only betrayed me with his actions; he had betrayed an entire family of people that had been nothing but supportive when his own failed him.
The fact that he missed Gram’s funeral to hook up with a woman was going to devastate my mother.
“Should I spare them the details? Would it be wrong to leave out the fact that he chose to stay home and cheat?” I asked.
“Unless you believe your husband is going to quietly sign the divorce papers and let you slip away… the details are going to come out eventually.”
It was a good point. I did not believe that Ben was going to let the marriage end quietly, and I didn’t want my parents to find out I had lied to them.
“You also shouldn’t have to hide your pain or protect anyone from his actions. He made the choices he made and deserves the consequences of them.” Griffin rubbed the back of his neck. “He will try to make himself look like the victim; the truth is your best weapon and defense against the man.”
“You’re right. I just hate to cause them more pain.” I whispered and felt my throat tighten.
“He is causing the pain… you are just the messenger.”
“Great…” I grumbled and wiped a stray tear away.
“I’m sure you have work to do… I’ve kept you from your real life for several days now.” I looked out the window and yawned.
The final night in my marital bed had not been a restful one. I had tossed and turned for most of the night, and when my eyes drifted shut, I was assaulted with images of my husband with other women. I doubted the next few nights would be any better.
Griffin didn’t respond. He simply nodded and returned his focus to his screen.
· · ─ ·?· ─ · ·
Griffin had a car waiting for us at the airport in Bismarck since we hadn’t been sure if the morning was going to go smoothly enough to give my brother a time of arrival.
My parents lived in Lincoln, which was only a short drive away from the larger city.
When we pulled up to my childhood home, I was surprised to find that the driveway had several cars already in it.
“Did you tell them that our plane had landed?” I spun to look at Griffin.
“Of course.” He looked amused, “was it a secret?”
“Of course not, but my dad must’ve left work early… look even his car is here!” I waved a hand at the driveway. “I didn’t need them to pause their lives just because I’m here.”
“Mel, they’re going to want to know why your husband isn’t with you…” Griffin said gently. “How many times do you want to tell the story start to finish?”
That shut me up, and I stared at the house with a rising sense of anxiety.
“I don’t know why I thought this was something I wouldn’t have to tell them about right away…” I admitted.
“Denial?” He offered helpfully with a small smirk.
“Thank you, oh wise one.” I snarked back as my lips twitched into a smile.
“Ready?”
“No.”
He chuckled and opened his door before unfolding himself with far more grace than a man his size should’ve been capable of.
“Show off…” I mumbled and opened my own door. Griffin scowled at me. He had almost made it to my side of the car to open my door. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he rolled his eyes.
“You can grab the bags!” I said sweetly.
“That’s very generous of you.” He deadpanned.
A loud snort escaped me as I tried to hold in my laughter, and I felt my cheeks redden.
Griffin chuckled as he opened the trunk, but the sound of my phone ringing interrupted whatever smart ass comment had been coming.
“It’s Penelope…” I said quietly and leaned against the car. He stood beside me and nodded for me to answer it.
“Hey Penelope, you’re on speaker I’m with Griffin.” I announced.
“That’s fine. I just wanted to let you know that I just had a very interesting conversation with your soon-to-be ex-husband.”
“Oh?” I glanced at Griffin, who looked very serious.
“Yes, it appears he skimmed the divorce agreement, and it wasn’t to his liking.
” I could hear the smirk on her face through the phone.
“According to Mr. Landon, he will not be agreeing to a divorce without a minimum of six months’ worth of couples therapy as he’s in therapy for his sex addiction.
” I gasped, but Penelope continued, “and he also wanted me to know that if he doesn’t hear from you himself, he’s going to report you as missing because none of this is normal behavior for his wife. ”
“S- sex addiction!” I hissed in a pitch that I didn’t recognize. Griffin winced and cleared his throat.
“Can he report her as missing?”
“He can try, but I’m going to reach out to the precincts closest to the house and his work after this call and give them your new number so they can call you if they receive any reports.
He was furious when I informed him that your number had been changed and I wasn’t authorized to share it but could contact you if he was truly worried about your safety. ”
“I repeat, sex addiction?” I growled. “He’s turning his cheating into a fucking disease?!”
“It’s the exact type of defense I would expect from Mr. Gatti.” Penelope sounded unfazed, “it will buy him a little leniency from a judge but not enough to void the prenup. It might even backfire given how many partners it appears he’s had over the years.”
My stomach rolled at the thought of how many women my husband had slept with before he climbed into bed with me.
“Can he force me to do marriage counseling?”
“As I informed Mr. Landon, he can certainly request marriage counseling but there wasn’t a therapist in California that would force a woman to go through six months of therapy with a man after hearing what he’d done.
” Her voice took on a thoughtful tone, “he didn’t seem to like that very much.
Apparently, he’s been a wonderful husband other than his addiction. ”
“Oh, for fucks sake.” Griffin grumbled.
“What does this mean for me?” I felt a little lightheaded and closed my eyes.
“Nothing right now. I told him that his lawyer could contact me if he wanted to negotiate but that the paperwork followed the prenup so there really wasn’t anything to negotiate. He told me that he was done talking to me and was going to find his wife.”
“Fuck.” I let my head drop back against the car with a soft thud.
“I imagine he will be looking for a flight to North Dakota. Right now, he hasn’t done anything that warrants a restraining order but if he does show up and doesn’t leave when he’s told you are not to engage with him, you are to call the police.”
“We will.” Griffin assured her. “Is there anything else we need to do?”
“If you can record any and all interactions that would be best.”
“Kyle had a full security system set up here ages ago. There’s nothing that will happen here that we won’t have video and audio footage of.”
“Once again, I find myself grateful that my brother and you are both nerds.” I mumbled, and Griffin scowled at me.
“The private investigator has been instructed to follow Mr. Landon even if he gets on a plane. Unfortunately, he will most likely stand out in North Dakota in a way that he does not stand out in LA. If your husband does show up and you notice a burly, Scottish looking man loitering, your most likely seeing Duncan.”
“I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Penelope.” I ended the call rather abruptly, having reached the end of my stamina. “I need to sit down…”
“Is it the baby?” Griffin looked alarmed and grabbed my elbow.
“It sounds like we have a lot to talk about.” A deep voice called from behind Griffin.
We both jumped and spun to find my father standing just a few away with his arms crossed and a deeply disturbed expression on his face.
“Dad…” I felt my eyes fill with tears.
“Let’s go inside… I have a feeling that we should all be sitting for this.” My father opened his arms, and I rushed into his embrace.
· · ─ ·?· ─ · ·
My father left Griffin and me to put our things in my room and in the guest room while he gathered my mother and Kyle. He told us to meet him in the dining room in ten minutes and that he would make sure there was something for me to eat and drink.
I had never seen the man look more exhausted than he did when he looked me over one more time before heading back down the stairs.
“He’s so disappointed in me…” I whispered to Griffin as I stood in front of my childhood bedroom.
“No… he’s disappointed for you.” Griffin corrected.
I mustered up a sad smile and then opened my door. It had only been a few days since the last time I was in this room, but it felt like a lifetime ago…
Because life is completely different now than it was just a few days ago…
I didn’t bother unpacking, but I did change into my slippers and sweatpants before trudging down to my interrogation.
Griffin was already sitting at the table and was making small talk with my mother and brother while my father sat silently. I noticed that my mother kept shooting worried expressions in his direction, but was trying to pretend she didn’t notice his mood.
They all went quiet when I walked into the room. My mother stood and embraced me.
“Your father said it’s been a long day?” She looked concerned, “You don’t look like you feel well…”
“Where is Ben?” Kyle added as he pulled me into a hug.