He reached the car first and stood between me and the door.
I glared at him.
“Regina. I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you go through this.”
“If you’re so fucking sorry, why did you do it?”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a fucking choice, Richard. You made a choice to cheat on me with your fucking bimbo starlet. When you divorced me, you made a choice. You made the choice to fight for custody of the kids when you’re usually never the fuck around.”
The words spewed from my mouth like hornets from a nest. If only the sting of those words would have any effect on Richard, then it might have been worth it. Since they didn’t usually, I had no expectation of him being remorseful.
“Regina, I’m sorry. I really…”
“You’ve never been sorry about anything you’ve ever done. Ever.”
“I didn’t want this.”
“Get out of the way, Richard. I need to go before I do something I’ll regret.”
“Fuck, Regina. Would you just listen?”
“To what? More excuses. More lies.” I took a deep breath. Years of training, which had flown out the window when I blew up, finally took hold and I tried to compose myself. The yelling had helped.
When I took a moment to pay attention to his face and his body language, it surprised me. His eyes were downcast. His shoulders slumped. He did not display his normal sense of superiority. His ability to always look like he had the upper hand had disappeared to reveal a man I had never met before.
“Richard, will you let me get into my car?” I asked calmly.
He nodded and stepped aside.
I strode to the door and opened it. After sliding in, I started to pull the door closed, before Richard stopped me by grabbing the top of the door frame.
“Richard, let me…”
“Regina, I don’t know who you pissed off, but she wants you to suffer.”
I felt a chill penetrate my bones as he spoke. The anger I had aimed at him disappeared as I met his gaze. His eyes held something I had never seen in them.
Fear.
“What do you mean, Richard?”
“I’ve said enough already.”
“Come on. You can’t drop a bomb like that and not tell me more.”
“Regina, if I could say something, I would. I just want you to watch your back.”
“Why? You’re the only one who has stabbed me in the back lately.”
He met my gaze with a look I had seen only a few times before. The look that was his tell. The indicator that what he said was true even when he didn’t want it to be. I had first seen that look when he gave me the bad news that my father had died.
“Tell me what’s going on?”
