F I F T E E N 1.7 Million Dollars
Sarah’s POV
The last few months seemed to fly by! Somehow, it was already time for school to start, PTA meetings with every kind of Karen, and sports.
Then Maverick was off to his last year of pre-K, and Carter was on his way to first grade.
The Board Babe had grown and was now a viral sensation in this town and the next, thanks to the help of Row’s family.
All my social media was going crazy with notifications every day.
Business was booming, and we had already talked about doing a ‘fundraiser’ that was a bake sale, and they would also be taking donations for a basket sale.
I threw in six free charcuterie classes that I was starting on the first of October, along with a free standard-sized charcuterie board for an event or party.
The Board Babe shop had started opening for a few hours three days a week for walk-ins, pick-ups, and to poll customers without them knowing that they were being polled.
I was trying to see if people were interested in classes, and a surprising number of people said yes.
I was also curious what else they’d be interested in.
They wanted to learn the pepperoni roses and what paired well with what.
I was more than happy to do that on a Saturday.
I could offer three classes that day, and the boys would stay upstairs while I was teaching the classes.
Though Petey did let me know they had their baby and posted professional birth photos online for everyone to see their love.
He didn’t want me to be blindsided in case I ran into them around town somewhere, because apparently, now that the cat was out of the bag, they didn’t want to ‘hide their love anymore’ and ‘just want things to be amicable between all of us’.
They could take their amicable feelings and shove it up their ass.
I had more important things to worry about than whatever shit they were trying to stir up.
When it was close to the time she would start planning her baby shower, I had Petey check and make sure that no one I was booked with for a baby shower was for her.
I didn’t want to take any money from them, ever, and I didn’t want them to try to use their shower as a way of showing that I was open to keeping things civil, like they were trying to say.
I wanted nothing to do with either of them. They lived in a fantasy world far from my reality, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I was thankful that I’d been so busy. Between being a mom, therapy, and growing the business, I was plenty busy.
That’s what I told myself. Even when I lay in bed at night, staring at the ceiling after the last meditation meeting.
I kept telling myself that I was too busy.
Too busy to think much about that worthless piece of shit and the fact that he was willing to sign his rights away to his kids for 1.
7 million dollars. In addition to the house and savings.
I guess his love was always conditional for the three of us. I didn’t care too much anymore if it was conditional towards me. But I hated that it was conditional for the boys. They had only ever wanted to gain his attention, his love, his playtime.
The divorce was proceeding much as Jenson thought it would.
With Will practically bending over and grabbing his ankles to keep the money, he tried to hide from me; he was willing to do anything.
Clearly . I shook my head. I didn’t know this man anymore.
I wasn’t going to let him make me into a pushover like he usually did.
I was going to take whatever I could get, as well as take everything else the prenup covered.
I was reminded that if he signed away his rights, I would also forfeit child support.
I didn’t care, because he hadn’t been a present father, dumping all of the child care and housework on me, and since he was so willing to offer it up, for me not going after the 1.
7 million, I was going to take full advantage.
The boys and I would be fine. I would be getting a lump sum from him anyway, along with being able to keep the house and the car.
Looking across the table at the man who looked so familiar, yet so different, I couldn’t figure it out.
I couldn’t reason that they were the same person.
The man I used to love, with whom he was now.
He seemed so familiar, much like somebody that I used to know, with someone I no longer recognized.
He felt like a stranger now. I wasn’t sure if the man I fell in love with ever really existed.
But today was the last day I’d ever have to see him.
Today was the day we finalized everything and started our waiting month.
This was finally about to be done. This was finally about to be over.
I just had to wait another thirty days, and the nightmare will be over.
As long as he didn’t contest anything, again, after today, we’d be officially divorced soon, and the thought had me giddy like I was a schoolgirl with my first crush again.
Because over the last three months, I’d become stronger.
I’d started working on myself and moving past what he did to me.
I still wanted to confront him about his actions to see what he had to say for himself, and I think the day we sign the papers in a month, I’ll be ready.
I’ll be able to tell him about himself.
At least, that’s what I told myself. Unfortunately, it seemed Paloma had other ideas. She paused at the entrance to the law office, like she was waiting for me. She glared as I strode past her, head held high, not sparing her a glance, but seeing her ugly mug out of the corner of my eye.
“He never loved you like he loves us,” she hissed under her breath.
Row’s parents were in town watching the kids for me. I didn’t want them here for this, hearing any of this. I’d felt her glaring at the back of my head through the window of the conference room, because we refused to do any sort of negotiations with her in the room.
Every. Time.
Finally, the mediator told Will that if he brought her again, we would be going before a judge instead of sitting in the conference room, then there’d be more fines.
He finally agreed, bringing her, but making her wait outside during our meetings.
I tried to ignore her burning glare, but it was hard when she did it every time, for the whole damn meeting.
But this time, I just wanted to burst out into a huge smile because we were almost done!
I didn’t care that I looked fabulous in my business casual clothes, and that Will was looking at me with shock, yet again.
I was a working woman, and I wanted to look appropriate for my clients, so I bought a new wardrobe for myself.
Standing and shaking hands with Jenson, we shook hands with the mediator, and I moved to walk out the door.
I was faced with a full-frontal glare from her as she stood, showing off her ill-fitting clothes.
She was trying to show that she was still hot by somehow squeezing herself into her pre-pregnancy clothes.
As I glided past her, Jenson ushering me out, she looked at Will, and a look flashed in her eyes.
It was there and gone quickly, but I saw it.
She was finally understanding what it meant to have kids and how they wrecked your body.
I just looked through her, not giving her any kind of satisfaction.
Devereaux was waiting for me. Leaning against the car, a smug smile on his face, looking like Derek Morgan smiling at Penelope.
I smiled back at him, knowing he was silently cheering me on and supporting me, acting as my guard tower when I needed somewhere to retreat to the first time I’d seen them together.
I’d almost crumpled when I reached him, but I held it together until the car pulled away.
Then the tears came. It hurt, but not as badly as I thought it would.
It was like reading the cliffhanger of a series, and the lives of the main couple were left in limbo.
You didn’t know what was going to happen next, and you had to wait months for the next book in the series to come out. That’s what it felt like.
But I was ready to close this chapter and move on to the next.