Page 11 of Bad Husband

Chiara sat in the car next to her husband, looking up at the house that used to be her home.

This is where she saw herself being a mother to children, spending Christmas and birthdays, and every event in between, with her family. She wanted to have a big family. Her family was small, especially after her brother died. It had been difficult for her father.

Staring straight ahead, she couldn’t move. Chiara didn’t want to come back. She was serious about her life back in No Point. It was simple and it was basic, and it was freedom.

It was dark outside, past eleven, and it was like stepping into a horror movie. She hated it. There were lights glowing from inside the house. Marco had told her he’d moved Henry and Gabrielle to the basement, where they were tied up and waiting for her. The two people who turned her life into a living nightmare were a few feet away. She could only sit there.

“Your father is inside,” he said. “He’s waiting to see you.”

She was not excited about seeing her father. She and Marco had an agreement. Once she had done what needed to be done with Gabrielle and Henry, she would go back to her trailer and back to her life. For six months she had fought to be independent, to survive on her own two feet, and with Rosemary’s help, she’d been able to see it through. She didn’t want to turn back. Not now, when she was so close to feeling free.

Next, she wanted a divorce from Marco. After that, she wanted out of the Bove Mafia, her name changed, and her life to be her own. She wanted to be free from it all, without the chance of anyone from her past finding her. She wanted them all gone.

“You’re going to keep your promise?” she asked.

“Chiara, we need to talk about this.”

She turned to look at him. “I don’t want anything from you. No money. No gifts. All I ask is for a new name, and to be free from you and the Bove Mafia. Kill me off so no one comes looking for me. I don’t want this life anymore.”

“Chiara—”

“I mean it.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Banishing me was. At first I was terrified, but you know what, it was the best thing you ever did for me, because now I know what it is like to be free. I don’t want this life. I don’t want to be your wife anymore.”

And with that, she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, so she didn’t have to talk to him any longer. She tried to square her shoulders as if she were preparing for battle, which was kind of accurate. She felt like she was getting ready to do battle.

Chiara knew her father would wait inside before he welcomed her, and as she stepped through the unlocked door, there he was, waiting. At first, she wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He’d saved her from death, only to have her banished. She knew he did it out of love, and that she’d be able to handle anything he threw her way. There was so much her father had prepared her for, and so much he hadn’t. When she was first banished, she’d not known how to cook for herself, or even do the laundry. She had to swallow her pride and ask Rosemary for help, which hadn’t been easy. It freaking hurt, big time.

But she’d come to realize how much she relied on everyone else around her. Getting a job had been difficult, learning to take care of herself was hard, but she’d gritted her teeth and done it all. Now, she realized she didn’t want anything to do with the Bove Mafia. There was freedom to be had in her banishment.

“Daddy,” she said.

“Oh, honey, you have lost weight, and it is so good to see you,” he said.

The weight loss hadn’t been intentional. She had given herself food poisoning a few times, but that was several months ago now. She was way past it.

“It’s good to see you’re back home.”

“I’m not staying,” she said.

“Y-you’re not?”

“No, I’ve asked Marco for a divorce. He can be free to marry a woman he trusts more than me. I want out. I’ve been banished, so now I want all trace of my existence wiped. I no longer wish to be Chiara Volpi, and I know it can be done.”

Her father appeared to be completely taken aback by her request, which was strange, because it wasn’t like she was joking. She was serious. Did they expect Marco to come back home, and that she’d throw herself at him with open arms? That was never going to happen.

She stood with her hands clenched. “Where are they?”

“You’ve had a long drive. Why don’t we ... uh, have some dinner before we deal with this unpleasantness?”

“She wanted to have me killed?” she asked, as Marco came into the house.

“Yes,” Marco said, before Angelo got the chance.

Everything felt awkward. She remembered a time when she’d be attached to Marco’s arm as if it was some kind of privilege. She didn’t want to eat food. She wanted to confront Gabrielle and deal with this however she felt she needed to. But, she didn’t have a clue how to handle it. This was all new for her.