Page 6 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
“If you’ve got any joint accounts, take half the money from them, not a cent more—"
“We kept them separate. We use a joint checking for bills, including the mortgage.”
“Perfect. That makes things easier.” Over the next half hour, Malik took me through what to do while I searched the apartment for my evidence.
“The idiot has his messages synced to his tablet,” I muttered incredulously.
“Do you have access?”
“Yeah, this isn’t the work one, just his personal device.”
“Take a bunch of screenshots and send them to yourself. Back them up in the cloud.”
We ended the call so I could concentrate on what I needed to do. My call to Ms. Noble’s office was brief, but I appreciated that. My emotions were fraught, just simmering under the surface, needing to escape before they drowned me. As Malik said, I was put through, and the lawyer laid out the process for me. We made an appointment. I paid a retainer, and she assured me that the ball was now rolling on my divorce. I was to bring my evidence and a timeline with me. The no-nonsense attitude of Ms. Noble—I couldn’t bring myself to call her Miranda yet—put me at ease, or at least as much at ease as I could be, given the circumstances.
The tablet wrecked me. It turned my stomach to witness their affair. There was everything on the tablet, from the first night we met via the hookup app, to Gio sexting her after, claiming he couldn’t get her out of his head. She asked about me. Gio explained we were open, and I preferred guys, which she accepted.
When I got to the part where Candice admitted she was pregnant, I had to put the tablet down. All I could see were Gio’s words, “He’ll come around.” They repeated in my mind over and over.
I broke then and called Brady, wanting to explain. He let it go to voicemail. Not that I blamed him. I just wanted to hear his voice, to explain myself. I cried some after, so gutted byeverything that had happened, by all the deceit, then tried him again.
Brady never answered.
Finally, I called my moms. Mama answered. She didn’t need me to speak, not that I could with the words stuck in my throat. Her omega instincts kicked in even over the phone. All she needed was my sniveling down the line. “We’re coming, baby.” Then she ended the call.
Within twenty minutes, they’d arrived at my place. Since they knew everything about my life, I let them read my texts with Brady, the messages Gio sent to Candice, and let them build a picture. Mom packed my things while Mama held me, letting me cry it out. They didn’t ask questions, just let me grieve for my marriage and for what I’d been building with Brady. They even called Malik and let him explain what I was supposed to do.
They helped me pick up the pieces of the life I had built without comment, just love. My relationship with my moms had always been a close one. Same with my sister. The four of us were tightly bonded, always ready to share a meal or just hang out over the phone. Without them, I’d have been lost.
Once they were sure I had all I needed, we headed out the door. Mom rolled my suitcase toward the elevator just as it opened to reveal Gio.
My husband looked worn, as if he were holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was alone, at least. I didn’t think I could handle him and Candice together, presenting a united front, not after the clinic, the texts, the pictures I’d seen.
My moms didn’t speak to him, just took most of my things and left us to talk.
“Xavier, please. Don’t do this,” Gio pleaded once the elevator doors were closed with them inside.
I looked him directly in his eyes. “All you had to tell me was that you wanted a baby.” I sighed, utterly drained. “We couldhave found a way. If you really loved Candice, then you should have told me sooner, not strung both me and Brady along.” My voice cracked. “Why did you let me pull him into this mess when you were seeing her? All you had to do was be honest about your feelings.”
“If I did that, then you would have left,” he said flatly, defeated.
“Yeah, maybe. I’m not sure how I would’ve reacted. We’ll never know that because you never gave me the chance.” My lips twisted into a mocking smile. “Now it’s over. You can have your omega and your babies. Just give me a divorce and leave me alone.”
“But I love you, Xavi. You’re my husband, my everything—” He reached for me, but I side-stepped his grasp.
“Clearly not, or you wouldn’t have created a new life without me. You’ve had months to tell me about her, but you didn’t.” I let the words hang there for a moment, then added, “Let me go, Gio. Let me start over.”
“With Brady?” he demanded, anger flaring.
I gave a bitter laugh. “If you haven’t ruined that for me, then yeah, with Brady. I need to get him to forgive me for something I didn’t do.”
Gio’s deflated, resignation settling in. We stared at each other without words.
“All I want is a divorce. You can keep the apartment and everything in it.”
“Please, Xavi, we can work this through. Don’t throw away our marriage—”
“You threw it away when you cheated. I’m done here, Gio. My lawyer will be in touch.”
