He nodded, still not meeting her eyes.
Oakley snorted. She had always wondered why he spent so much time on such a crummy business idea. Now she knew. It was the doe-eyed girl behind it.
She wasn’t even thirty.
How had Oakley been so blind?
The thought of all of her husband’s trips to the mainland – all those ‘business meetings’ – made her suddenly queasy… and at the same time, she felt lightheaded with an unexpected surge of relief.
Somehow, his infidelity made it all easier to bear.
It wasn’t her fault.
She had done her best. She had done everything that she could possibly do to keep their family together. The dissolution of their marriage came down to a horrible midlife cliche.
He had chosen someone else.
Fine.
She wouldn’t beg.
She didn’t want a man who didn’t want her.
She tried to let it go without another word – but then she felt a sudden anger on behalf of their daughters.
“You should have told me before they started a new school year. You shouldn’t have made them start if you were just going to throw us out.”
“I didn’tplanthis,” he growled. “It just happened.”
“She gave you an ultimatum,” Oakley guessed.
Trent flinched. That was all the confirmation she needed.
It was almost a relief to have her worst fears confirmed. Because it meant that she wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t mired in uncertainty.
She had a clear path laid out for her.
And she had four sisters right there on the island who would help her through it.
Telling the girls would be the worst part, but she pushed that thought to one side. She wouldn’t show weakness to this man. She would never show her soft underbelly to him again, not as long as she lived. He had lost that privilege.
“Fine.” Her voice was mercifully steady. “We can file the paperwork this week. Halia knows it all like the back of her hand. It’s not difficult. I assume that you’ll buy me out of the house? Jennifer wants to live here in Waimea, is that it?”
He was staring now, looking at her like she had grown a second head.
Had he expected her to break down? Was she supposed to beg for him to stay? Did hewanther to cry?
She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Should I break the news to the girls, or are we going to tell them together?” she asked.
His mouth worked without sound for a moment. Then he said, “Yeah. I think we should tell them together. It’s not their fault, we still love them, that whole thing.”
“Fine. We’ll tell them after breakfast tomorrow. Is there anything else?”
“I guess that’s it.”
She stood, and Trent shook his head.
