How much of my life had I wasted on this man?
The magnitude of what Ben had done was starting to sink in.
I felt Griffin wrap his arms around me.
“You’re going to be okay.” He murmured.
“I know, but it hurts.” I whimpered.
There was a faint rumble in his chest, and he squeezed me tighter
“I don’t understand why he married me…” My voice trembled as the weight of my emotions wrapped around my throat like a noose.
“He knew he’d never find a better woman to build a life with than you.” Griffin leaned back from me. “Look at me.” He said in a firm tone.
My eyes slowly lifted to his, and I was surprised to see that his eyes were misty too.
“That’s why he married you… but he betrayed you and lost you because he’s a goddamn idiot.”
· · - ·?· - · ·
It didn’t take us long to pack up my sentimental belongings. Anything my family had given me, my favorite thrift store finds, my favorite chair, and all the gifts from my friends, I packed up to take to Lily’s. My favorite clothes, products, and comfy blankets were packed to go with me, along with my childhood memory box, photo albums, and laptop.
I left any jewelry he had bought, most of my clothes, designer purses, and the plethora of guilt-gifts Ben had bought me over the years, right where they were. Other than taking a couple of bottles from his wine collection to give to Lily and Penelope, I had only taken things that I bought or were necessities. He’d never be able to accuse me of any gold-digging behaviors.
I also took pictures of everything I left behind and all of the valuable marital assets in the home. I’d be damned if the man got away with hiding any more assets or giving them to one of his mistresses.
Then we made multiple encrypted copies of the files and documents we had found.
“What else did Ms. Yang say to do before tomorrow?” Griffin asked after he loaded the last box into my SUV and my suitcases into his rental.
After we delivered the boxes to Lily, I’d drive the SUV back here and leave it in the garage. Griffin said we’d take his rental to the airport and then take the company jet from there.
“We just need to drop off the documents we found and give her the encrypted USB you made this afternoon.” I patted the locked briefcase I was holding. “It’s all in here.”
“Does Lily know what the plan is?” He asked as we pulled away from the house.
“Yes, she’s thrilled to have a role to play. She’s already fantasizing about getting to punch Ben if he shows up at her house to look for me.” I chuckled.
“I hope she does.” Griffin smiled.
“Penelope said that I should get to meet the private investigator this afternoon too.” I added after a few minutes of silence.
“That’s good. It’ll be good to have an idea of how he reacts after he gets served tomorrow and a heads up if he’s stupid enough to get on a plane to follow you.” Griffin grumbled.
“I hadn’t even thought of that… Why would he even want to follow me when he clearly didn’t want to be with me?” I was completely flabbergasted by the notion that the man whom I’d watched sleep with two prostitutes just a few months ago in the property he’d hidden from me would chase after me.
“Mel…” Griffin sighed, “Not everyone is asgoodas you are. Most people can detach emotion from sex which means that they could cheat and still want to be with their spouse. Those same people rarely are willing to let those spouses go when they get caught. The man Ben showed you, is the man Ben thinks he is, and that man believed that you would always behis wife. A couple sheets of paper won’t change that in his mind.”
I chewed on my lip as I thought about what his words meant for my future.
If Ben decided to fight, then how the hell would I hide the pregnancy from him?
19-Ben
“I love you.” Melanie looked up at me with a shy smile.
“I love you more and more each day.” I whispered back and kissed the tip of her nose as I slid slowly inside of her. She gave a pained squeak and squeezed her eyes shut as I broke through her barrier. I kissed each of her eyelids and then pressed my lips to hers. Her lips trembled just slightly as she started to respond.
