Page 21 of Claiming His Wife
“He out there again?” Zack asks.
“Yeah, he’s not giving up. I don’t know what to do!” I cry.
“I could talk to him…”
“No, it’s fine. The lawyers will take care of everything.”
“Mal, are you sure this is what you want?” Zack has been extra supportive even though I know he doesn’t agree with my decision. He’s not the only one. Surprisingly enough, Jen isn’t happy with me. She thinks that Scott deserves the chance to decide for himself if a baby is what he wants or not. And while I do agree, I just can’t seem to make my way out of the well of pain his revelation pushed me into.
“You know it’s not what I really want. I want my husband. I want him to want to have a baby. And now I’ll never know if he would’ve chosen to try for a baby or if I’ll be forcing a child that he doesn’t want on him. I want us to be a family, but I don’t know how I can ever trust him again.”
“I know what he did was shitty. Really fucking shitty, but you’re not happy. You can’t go on like this.”
“I know, Zack. I know…”
“And you have to tell Scott about the baby. Maybe he will surprise you. He’s not the same man he was when you first left him. Even Jen agrees that he’s better. Hell, maybe better than he was before he pulled away. It’s been weeks, and he’s still outside every single day. He’s a workaholic, but he spent the last several months leaving work early, taking you on dates, cooking you dinner, hanging out here, calling and texting like he can’t stand the idea of not talking to you every minute of the day…” Zack trails off, and I know he wants to say more… he wants to tell me how much Scott loves me and that I need to be braver than I am. It’s a hard truth that I don’t want to face because I don’t feel brave—not in the slightest bit.
Zack is right. I know he is, but my heart feels like a fragile thing and I’m terrified of all the ‘what ifs.’ What if he doesn’t want the baby? What if he says he does, but changes his mind and pulls away again? What if he is excited about the baby and happy to be a father? I’ve ‘what if’ed the situation to death.
“You’re right… I’m just scared,” I admit.
“I know you are, hon, but you’ve got to do something. It’s like you’re frozen with this indecision.”
“I filed for divorce. It doesn’t get much more decisive than that…”
Zack shakes his head, a sad look on his face. “You did that out of anger and fear. It’s not what you want, and quite frankly, it’s not what is best for you. Call Scott, tell him about the baby and let the cards fall where they may. If he’s the man I think he is, he will be thrilled and be ready to fight twice as hard to get you back.”
“I hate when you make sense.”
Zack pulls me into a hug. “I just want what’s best for you.”
“Guess it’s time to find my big girl panties…”
Tomorrow I will call Scott… maybe.
Chapter Twelve
Scott
Three months.Mallory has been avoiding me for three fucking months, and I’m miserable. It’s like she’s taken all the good things in the world with her and I’m left in the dark without any hope that the sun will come out again.
“Mr. Tramble, you need to sign the papers. Mrs. Tramble’s lawyers are going to push for a divorce by default if you don’t sign. You’ll lose everything. All properties will go to her, along with a substantial amount of alimony.” My lawyer is a broken record. I know exactly what is happening, but I just can’t. I won’t be the one to put the final nail in the coffin of our marriage. There has to be a way to fix this.
“My answer is the same as always. I’m contesting the divorce. I won’t sign the fucking papers. You’re my lawyer, fix it.”
He starts to protest, but I slam my phone down disconnecting the call. And just because it feels good to slam the phone in the receiver, I do it again. And again. And again, and because I’ve officially lost it, I rip the phone off my desk and throw it at the wall. It crashes with a bang and busts into pieces.
My secretary rushes into the room. “Mr. Tramble is everything okay?”
“No, no it fucking isn’t.” I know I’m being a dick, Shirley doesn’t deserve my attitude, but I’m fed up. “Call maintenance and have them replace my phone.” I slam my briefcase on my desk and dump all the papers from my desk into it. “I’m going to work from home. Reschedule all my meetings for the week.”
“But Mr. Tramble, Mr. Thorton is coming today…”
“Chuck can handle it, and if he can’t, he can find another fucking job.”
Shirley’s eyes go wide, and she quickly agrees and leaves me to my temper tantrum to do as I bid. I’ll apologize later. For now, I need to get the hell out of here before I completely lose it.
I don’t go home… I find myself parked outside Zack’s building. Again. I stopped trying to get Mallory to talk to me weeks ago, but I can’t seem to stay away. I sit across the street and watch her enter the building. The thirty seconds I see her isn’t nearly enough, but it’s all I’ve got. I’ve turned into a fucking stalker.