Page 85 of Fake It Till You Make It

Eli rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “Apartimplies reconciliation is a possibility. We’re divorced.”

“I know that we legally divorced,” she said, slowly working her way around the sharp corners of the oak bookshelf against the shorter wall to stand in front of him. “But we don’t have to be.”

“I signed the same papers you did. We’re done, legal or otherwise. I had every intention of honoring my commitment to stay as far away from you as possible. You should do the same.”

“Why do you always follow the rules? I’m trying to restore something that was once beautiful.”

“You know what, Cara? You and me both. I’m trying to dig out of the pile of crap you and Sven buried me under before the two of you cat-cowed into Zentopia.”

“Oh Eli,” she rasped, distress in her tone. She froze him with those liquid pools gathering in her eyes, on the brim of spilling down her pale cheeks. “I made a mistake, leaving you.”

“I’m not falling for your games. You wanna play, try the lottery.” During his marriage to Cara, he’d been her sounding board, listening when she told him how she’d been misunderstood as a teenager. Attractive by most standards, people assumed she was all beauty minus the brains or a gold digger using her physical attributes as a meal ticket. After she abandoned him, Eli had understood the duality of her personality. A chameleon of sorts, Cara was capableof more but preferred to leech what she could from others to facilitate her desire to do less. Within months of their union, she’d convinced him why she needed to stay at home, preparing for the children she never intended to give him.

“I’m serious. I should’ve never chosen him over you. His name wasn’t even Sven,” she spat. “It’s Steven. He lied to me from the very beginning. It wasn’t until last month that I learned he preys on his female clientele. What is the world coming to? He lures women into intimate relationships, young and old, mind you. His goal is to get them to trust him before conning them out of all their money. I wasn’t his only victim, Eli. I-I read about situations like mine on the internet, but not the women like me. Just the old, lonely, and desperate.”

“Sounds awful,” he deadpanned, not caring one iota that Sven-Steven had stolen his ex-wife’s ill-gotten gain. If she wanted sympathy, he was fresh out.

“Thank you.” She wiped away a tear, flipping her straight mane off her shoulder. “I knew you would appreciate me trying to rebuild our lives after that horrible man ruined us.”

“You don’t have to try, Cara. I was being facetious. We are not connected in any way at all.”

“I understand that but what I’m saying is I came here because I care about you and I want to try again.”

“Try what?” he hissed. “To run off with all my money again? To leave me with a house that has been damn near impossible to sell?”

“That’s what I’m talking about. I love that house. You don’t have to sell it if we move back into it, Eli. Call the agent. Cancel the contract. Once that’s done, we start over in our home.”

And there it was. Her reason for coming to Service wasn’t reconciliation. She wanted him to cancel the contract on the property.

“The house is on the market. Call my agent. Make a backup offer.” He smirked.

“I’m not going to pay you for a house you built for me. You should give it to me.”

“Are you insane? Or do you think I’m still some dumb hick that you can sucker again?” He’d given his heart, his last name, but all she wanted was a house.

She placed a manicured hand over her heart. “Eli, I’ve changed.”

“Into what? ’Cause you were pretty vicious to begin with.”

“Oh, there you are, Mister Perfect Husband. So I made a few mistakes. That doesn’t mean I was all bad.”

“Woman, don’t try to tell me there’s chocolate chips in the cat litter when I’ve already stepped in the shit you made of things.”

“That hurt, Eli.”

“Get over it. The house is mine. What you do from here on out has nothing to do with me. There is no us.”

“You won’t even consider what I’m offering. See,” she railed, pointing at his head, “this is why I left.”

“I thought you left because you lied to me. You cheated with another man. And you stole from me to bankroll your new life.”

“Details. You always get so wrapped up in the little stuff. I’m offering you a future. You and me back in Virginia. Living in the house you built for me.”

“Listen. It’s pretty clear you want my house. Not me.”

She lifted her chin. “Why shouldn’t I have it? The house was my idea. I designed it for me.”

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder. It was my own arrogance that led me to propose in the first place. But I’ve learned from my mistakes. Thinking you would somehow complete me.”