Chapter 2
Chapter Two
BLAKE
Ibrace my hands on my desk and stare at Truly, trying to comprehend that she is here.
I actually thought for half a second it was an apparition.
Almost the same as a person stranded in the desert, the need for water to survive makes you see what’s not there.
That’s how it’s felt without having her.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if I have fully lost it at this point.
It's her words that snap reality back into place.
Not for long? Does she believe I would allow her to no longer be my wife? I'd have to be dead and gone for that to happen.
"I said out," I snap again. The guards had quickly left, but my assistant lingered. She scurries out, leaving me alone with Truly for the first time in almost a year. For her, however, our separation has been years long.
Her silky brown hair falls around her heart-shaped face, her cheeks not as round as before. Is she sick? My eyes flick up and down her body. She has on those black leggings that cling to her skin and a sweater on under her coat, but I can tell she's lost weight.
"Are you sick?" I ask. Why the fuck didn't I know she'd left campus? Is her security that fucking useless?
"What?" Her nose does a small scrunch, making my abs tighten. Truly's emotions have always played across her delicate features. She was never good at hiding them. She always blushed so easily. It's how I knew she'd had a crush on me when we were younger. One I hoped she'd never grow out of.
"Are you unwell?" I ask again. I need to get my irritation under control. Over the last few years, I've become easily pissed off and annoyed by the smallest things. I don't care to repeat myself, but for Truly I will.
"Seriously?" She rolls her eyes as she shakes her head. "Is that your way of saying I look like shit?" She crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at me. I hate that I’ve upset her, but seeing her like this also has my cock hard.
"Shit?” I don't think I've ever heard her curse.
"Yeah, shit." Now she's the one who sounds like she doesn't want to repeat herself either.
"You've never looked like shit, Truly."
"Whatever," she mutters, not sounding like the girl I once knew.
I hadn't thought about her changing while I waited.
Stupidly, I thought we'd snap right into place when she returned to the States.
"I brought you these." Truly strolls over to my desk and drops a stack of papers on it. The word "divorce" is bold at the top.
"What are these for?"
She audibly lets out a huff of frustration.
There will be no divorce. All of this was so that I could have her. Are they now going back on their word?
“Blake, you know what they are. All you have to do is sign them. The gig is up. We can both move on with our lives. If you read them, you’ll see I’m not asking for anything but my freedom.” That last word strikes a chord in me. She’s my wife. I’ve waited years to have her by my side.
“I’m not signing them,” I say without hesitation. What the hell is going on here? I need to stall. “I would need my lawyer to look at it.” I don’t sign shit without my lawyer except my marriage license. I was more than eager to sign that.
"All it does is grant the divorce. Did you not hear me? I’ll say it again: I want nothing from you. We both just walk away." Truly says it with such ease. As though it's the easiest thing in the world. It's a punch to my gut.
"So you're not willing to live up to the contract, then."
Truly's brows rise, making her appear confused. "I just want out. I can't do this for anyone."
"Truly—"
"No!" she shouts. My sweet Truly is shouting. I have to fight the urge to pull at the collar of my button-up. My tie is feeling like it's choking me all of a sudden.
"You can shout all you want." I grab the papers off the desk and crumple them. "I won't give you a divorce."
"Fine."
I relax. Thank fuck. My relief is short-lived. Truly slaps down another paper. I grab it off my desk.
"What is this?" My eyes scan it, and I flip to the next page. "Is this—"
"A Pap smear? Yes, it is."
"Did you get on birth control?" There is a medical clinic on her campus. I was not told about any new medications, and I would have been. I'm her husband, and they are under strict orders to alert me if anything changes with her medical care.
"What does that even matter?" She rolls those beautiful eyes at me again. It makes me want to throw her over my desk and spank her little ass.
Shit, where did that fucked-up thought come from? I yank at my tie.
"It matters now. Answer me."
"I'm not on birth control, weirdo." Weirdo? "It's a Pap smear. My yearly checkup."
I was told everything went fine with her last one. "At the bottom of the second page, you'll see where it's marked that I still have a hymen." The paper crinkles loudly in my hold.
She better still have it. I don't care how fucked-up that thought is. I would fly back over to Europe to murder a man. Either way, she's still not getting a divorce.
"And why is that important?"
"It means I can obtain an annulment. It's proof we never consummated our marriage, and let's not forget about abandonment."
"Abandonment?"
"I haven't seen you in years. I think they can check off abandonment." I don't know what you need to get an annulment, but it's not happening either.
"How can I abandon my wife if I've been supporting her all these years? I've taken care of your schooling, housing, food, and all the things you use when you slide that credit card."
Her lips press into a firm line. I've pissed her off more. Good, that makes two of us. I was promised Truly would be mine.
"Money." A humorless laugh leaves her, making me ache to hear one of her real ones. Truly has the kind of laugh that warms you. I've missed it. Hell, I've missed her. "Right, always about money." We stare at each other. I shuffle through possibilities.
I’m usually good at scrambling when needed. To be able to come up with a plan quickly.
"It's a moot point. We're not getting divorced.
I assume you have finished your classes?
" She was set to graduate. I had been alerted she'd turned in all of her work early, but the graduation ceremony was still happening, or so I'd thought.
It seems my wife was in a hurry to get back here to divorce me.
"I'm done with school, and it's not a moot point."
"Is there someone else?" I don't know how that would be possible, but it shouldn't have been possible for her to be standing here either. I was to be alerted when she left campus. Not only did she leave it, but she also got on a plane. Her passport had to have been run.
I shouldn't have asked the question. It will change nothing.
"I hope there is someone else."
I take in a slow, deep breath, trying to rein my temper back in. "Are you planning to have an affair?"
"We're getting a divorce or an annulment. Your choice.”
"We have a contract."
"You can't bind me to you forever!" She throws her hands up.
"Watch me," I growl back at her, not recognizing my own voice. "You belong to me. That deal is done."
"Deal?" she scoffs, her cheeks starting to pinken. The same way they would when she'd stay out in her garden for too long. "I'll pay you back. I didn't know it was you footing the bill."
There is no way her parents are in on this. She is trying to change the terms.
"And how are you going to do that?" I will myself to relax and try to shove myself back into the role of CEO. If she wants a new deal, so be it.
Let the negotiations begin.