Page 24 of Falling for the Unexpected

“Wait a minute!” he said, stopping me in my tracks. “You aren’t planning on coming back here tonight, are you?” he asked.

“What?” I stared at him, jaw dropping. Did he really think I would have another place to live lined up already? “Where would you expect me and Stella to go?” I fired back.

“I don’t give a fuck where you two go, but you aren’t coming back here. I told you last night you needed to find a new place to live. This is my apartment,” he sneered.

I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. Was he really kicking his daughter and me out of the apartment? It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. While I didn’t want to share a bed with him ever again, I thought I would be able to stay on the couch until I could come up with a plan for Stella and me.

“Besides, Tiffany is coming over tonight. I’m guessing you don’t want to be here for that. Things might get a little awkward if I’m fucking her and you’re hanging out in the living room,” he said with an evil grin.

The visual Brad just provided had my stomach churning. Not wanting to risk losing my lunch, I grabbed my purse and flung the door open. “You’re such a fucking asshole!” I shouted back toward him before slamming the door behind me.

I stood on our third floor landing, leaning on the railing for a couple minutes, trying to collect myself. I was shaking so hard and breathing so fast I thought I might pass out. Brad had always been careless and selfish, but this crossed over to cruel and heartless. I was so mad at myself for letting my silly childhood fantasies convince me to enter into a marriage where love wasn’t the foundation. This was going to be a painful lesson for me to learn, but I was determined to be strong for my daughter. I pushed off the railing and numbly made my way back to my car. I’d do the best I could for Stella all on my own, which I finally understood had always been the only option.

*****

It was almost four when I knocked on my in-laws’ door and waited, unsure how I was going to break the news to them about Brad and me. Marla opened the door with her usual bright smile but the moment she saw me, I could see the lines of worry etched on her face.

“Oh, sweetie! What’s wrong?” she asked, placing her arm around my shoulder and directing me into the house.

I immediately turned in her arms and started sobbing into her shoulder. She hugged me as tightly as she could and this time, I didn’t pull back right away. Like with Kyle, I held on because I needed her strength right now. I had always longed for someone to care for me like this. Now I worried this might be the last time she’d embrace me. I wished I had shown her more often that I appreciated her and Jim; that I truly cared about them. But trusting anyone with those emotions was hard for me and Brad had eroded my faith in others even more.

She pulled away slightly and wiped the tears off my cheeks with her thumbs. “Come sit down and tell me what’s going on,” she coaxed gently.

“Where’s Stella?” I asked, sitting down next to Marla. I looked around the living room, not wanting to talk about this in front of her. Even though she was still young, I knew she picked up on nonverbal clues and I didn’t want her to have any negative impressions about this moment in her life.

“Jim is putting her down for a nap upstairs. The beach wore her out today—I’m so sorry, I hope it doesn’t completely ruin bedtime for her tonight. Do you want me to have him wake her up?” she asked, starting to get up to go call them.

I placed my hand on her arm gently. “Oh no, I actually wanted to speak to the two of you so it’s fine.”

Marla patted my hand and gave me a reassuring smile. “Sure, whatever you want dear. Can I get you something to drink while we wait?”

“I would love some water. Thanks.”

Marla got up and left, heading toward the kitchen just as Jim made his way down the stairs. “Simone!” he said, his face lighting up. “I didn’t even hear you come in. I just got Stella tucked in. Do you need to leave already?”

“I’ve only been here a few minutes,” I said, suddenly nervous. I tried not to fidget and kept my hands, folded, in my lap. “I don’t have to leave right away; I was actually hoping to talk to you both.”

Jim took a seat on the loveseat that was perpendicular to the couch I was sitting on. As he sat down, Marla came back in with my glass of water and a plate of cookies. She was the perfect hostess, always providing some sort of baked good and drinks for her guests. Today’s cookie was my favorite, peanut butter. I took a moment to savor the comfort only something as simple as peanut butter cookies could provide.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Marla asked, placing her hand on my knee as a sign of support.

I closed my eyes briefly and took a breath. “This is so hard to tell you guys, but Brad and I are getting a divorce.” I rushed the words out and held my breath, waiting for their reaction.

Marla’s eyes widened slightly and her mouth parted in an ‘O’ of bewildered surprise. Jim continued to watch me in silent contemplation. Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

“Oh, dear. Can I ask what happened?” Marla asked, blinking a few times. Her brows furrowed as she looked at me. She didn’t sound angry with me, which was a relief, but I was hesitant to tell her and Jim what exactly happened last night. I knew the ugly details would eventually come out, so I took a big, calming breath, and with my heart in my throat and my fears on my sleeve, I explained.

“Well, you know why we got married in the first place,” I said, starting off slow. I definitely did not want give anyone a huge shock, but I was done protecting Brad and making excuses for him. They had to know what kind of man their son was, and I had to have faith that they’d at least hear me out. If not for me, for the sake of their granddaughter. “In the last few weeks, I realized I married him for the wrong reasons and that Brad had never wanted to get married either. I wanted to make sure Stella had a family, so I didn’t think about the fact that Brad and I really weren’t meant to be together. I think this was a long time coming. Better now than another year of misery.” I paused, looking at both of them before continuing. “And last night, I walked in on him with another woman in our apartment. He didn’t care how that looked…” I stopped, swallowing hard. I decided to leave out the drug part because from Marla’s gasp and her falling back on the couch, she wouldn’t be able to take much more. “That’s why I decided to file. I told him before I came over here and he’s definitely on board with the divorce.”

Marla said nothing, staring off with a stunned expression on her face. Jim didn’t seem all that surprised. Even though I was terrified they’d throw me and Stella out, I felt a huge burden lift off me. I was finally able to breathe for the first time in two years.

“I’m guessing there’s more to the story than you are sharing, and I can respect that, Simone,” Jim said gravely, finally breaking his silence. He scrubbed his face with one hand and sighed. He looked ten years older in just a fraction of second, and I felt bad about that, but I wasn’t sorry I had said something. “Simone, I have my own confession to make—I feel like this is partly my fault as well.”

Marla sat up, and looked over at her husband. “Jim,” she said, her voice tense. “What did you do?”

Jim didn’t flinch as he looked at his wife, however, when he looked at me, he seemed almost ashamed, like he’d done something wrong. “When you announced you were pregnant, that night… I made it clear to Brad that he had to do the right thing or Marla and I would cut him off.”

Marla sagged back into the couch again, bringing her hands to her flushed cheeks. She shook her head. “Oh, Jim…”