After the Divorce, He Begged Me to Stay

During the years Lewis James was cheating on me, I threatened him countless times that I'd find a lover of my own.

By the hundredth time, he didn't even bother looking up.

"Mrs. James," he said, a cigarette dangling between his lips, a lazy smile curling around the smoke, "that's a hundred times now. You haven't slept with a single man. Aren't you tired of this game?"

His phone buzzed. His expression softened instantly, and he waved the screen at me.

"Take your time. I'm going to see my girl."

I watched him walk out the door, and something inside me finally clicked into place.

A month later, Lewis came home.

He looked at me curled up on the couch.

"So, Mrs. James, did you find your boy toy this time?"

When I didn't answer, he gave me that I-knew-it look and laughed.

"Letty, ever since what happened in high school, you've had a serious hang-up about being touched. And I'm your only exception. So there's no way you could go through with it with another man."

My phone vibrated against my palm.

I looked down.

Letty, our babies are twins.

Below the message was an ultrasound photo.

A second text popped up right after.

Give me three days. I'm coming to marry you.

——

Lewis finally noticed I'd zoned out. Irritation crept into his voice.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I looked up at him, slightly dazed.

I'd been looking at this man's face for ten years.

Seven years of dating. Three years of marriage.

I remembered the day he proposed, so nervous he could barely get the words out. I remembered him crying at the altar, swearing he'd love me for the rest of his lives.

I also remembered the first night he didn't come home. The fight. The door slamming shut. Me sitting on the balcony until dawn.

After that, a hundred chances. A hundred threats. A hundred disappointments.

I thought this time would cut just as deep as all the others.

But watching his lips move now, I felt nothing.

My mind even drifted to another man.

His cool lips. His burning skin. His hands, searingly warm.

Every part of him. I loved every part.

He and I fit together better than Lewis and I ever had.

And more importantly, that man had been in love with me for ten years.

I stood up.

I was a full head shorter than Lewis, but for the first time, I felt like I was finally looking him in the eye.

"Lewis."

I said his name. My voice was perfectly calm.

"The divorce papers are printed and on the desk. Go sign them. City Hall closes soon. We need to hurry."

His expression froze.

I stepped past him and walked to the door to change my shoes.

As I passed, I caught a whiff of perfume on him.

Gardenia.

My favorite flower, once. I hadn't bought one since.

"Oh, by the way," I turned back and smiled at him, "your peace lily. I forgot to water it. It's dead."

Lewis pressed his lips into a thin line.

The warning sign before his temper.

I didn't care. "After the divorce, I'm walking away with nothing. Including this apartment. It's all spelled out in the agreement. If you don't believe me, go read it."

"But Edamame is mine. I know you're the one who got him, but you've been gone for years, and I'm the one who's been taking care of him. I can't give him up."

"I've got the divorce paperwork and the move to deal with these next couple of days, so I won't have time for him. I dropped him off at a pet boarding place yesterday."

Silence.

I looked up. Lewis had closed the distance between us.

He stared at me, hard.

Just when I thought he was about to interrogate me, he laughed.

"Baby, who coached you this time? Switching up the playbook? You want a divorce?"

I blinked, then met his gaze with absolute seriousness. "Nobody coached me, Lewis. I want a divorce. For real this time."