Page 2 of Billionaire Hunt

“Sounds good. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to take care of that tomorrow. Why don’t you head on home?”

His words annoyed me. He always thought I had an infinite amount of time. But I was determined not to pick a fight over just a few questionable words.

“Are you close to home?

“About ten minutes away,” I responded. “Why?”

“No reason. I’ll see you soon.”

He hung up then and I frowned, thinking of how his tone had been furtive, almost nervous. I hadn’t heard his voice like that since he had planned a surprise birthday party for me last year.

I groaned to myself. I hoped Emmaline and Lacey hadn’t convinced him to throw me a “Feel better” party or whatever they thought to call it.

Exactly ten minutes later, I pulled up into the driveway of our modern, sleek home. I loved this home, but not the price tag. I had thought it a waste of money, but Wyatt had said it was the perfect place for a CEO and his family to live. I much preferred the craftsman styled bungalows that could be found in most of the neighborhoods, but they hadn’t been grand enough for Wyatt.

We were opposite in many ways. I was artistic and creative. He was a procedural guy, who saw most things in black and white; yet we’d been married for eight years, having only dated for three months before falling for each other.

As I got out of the car, I prepared myself for another crazy surprise party. I put the key in the lock, turned it and peeked in. I didn’t see anyone, but the lights were low.

I stepped fully in and called out, “Wyatt? I’m home...”

“I’m in the living room,” he called back.

Smiling, I made my way there to see him.

To my surprise, no one was hanging around the corner ready to yell “Surprise!”

“Hey, what are you doing in here? I thought you would be in your workshop.”

He had a workshop in the back of the house where he tested new products and ideas. He could stay there for hours, only coming out to eat. Now he did most of his testing at work, but still tinkered in his workshop during late afternoons.

“Hi, why don’t you sit down?” he said as he sat on the couch, drinking something that I was sure was an alcoholic beverage. Wyatt drinking during the daytime? Something was wrong.

“You okay?” I asked. I suddenly had no desire to sit down. Whatever the news was, I would just have to take it standing up.

He shook his head, not making eye contact with me even though I was directly in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again.

Finally, he looked at me and his eyes were wary, but I saw resolve there. “I can’t be with you anymore.”

I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut, but maybe Wyatt was just being funny...but Wyatt didn’t have a sense of humor.

I shook my head and said, “That’s not funny, Wyatt...so if that’s your idea of funny, you’ve failed miserably.”

He didn’t immediately respond. Instead he took another drink and said, “We’re very different people.”

“What does that even mean? And what does that have to do with anything?” I was confused, hurt and felt that my whole world was falling apart. I didn’t even recognize my life anymore. I had lost my business and now Wyatt wanted to leave me? I felt as if my insides were slowly being torn out. My head was now pounding and the only thing I could think of was that I desperately needed to wake up from whatever terrible nightmare I was having.

“Wake up, Misha. Wake up...wake up,” I repeated over and over. I felt ridiculous, but it was worth a shot.

“You’re not asleep,” Wyatt said with a sigh. “You should have seen this coming. Even I knew this was coming.”

And just like that my confusion and hurt turned to anger. “I should have seen this coming? What exactly should I have seen coming, Wyatt? My husband leaving me? My husband, who promised me forever, just up and deciding that forever was way too long?!”

He finally put down his drink and looked back up at me. His eyes seemed regretful, yet determined. “I’m sorry, Misha. I don’t know what else to say.”

I stood there, also not knowing what I should say or do next. I was completely caught off-guard. And I hadn’t expected this. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I had thought that we had been happy. I had thought that everything between us had been great. I hadn’t seen any warning signs...any red flags. And then it occurred to me...