2.
"Stuart, I don't have time to play house with you. I'll have a lawyer draw up the divorce papers and bring them to you. Once you sign, you can take your little sweetheart wherever you like."
I watched them coldly.
From where I stood, I saw it clearly: the flicker of light that crossed Lily's eyes the moment I said it.
Stuart had always known me well.
Seeing how serious I looked, he couldn't be bothered to comfort Lily on the floor anymore. He took my hand and pulled me aside.
"Syl, I know you're angry, but it's only for a while. I promise, I'll send her away when the time comes."
"A while" again.
I lifted my head and looked straight into his eyes.
They wouldn't stop darting around.
Sometimes I genuinely couldn't tell whether Stuart was actually stupid or just thought I was easy to fool.
I was an honors graduate in psychology from a top university. A lie this cheap might have worked on the old me, but now it only turned my stomach.
"Stuart, I'll say it plainly. Her or me. You choose today."
Stuart's face changed completely.
The softness in his tone hardened back into impatience.
"Sylvia, why are you being so childish? You don't think about me at all. I only see her as a sister."
"You see her as a sister. I don't. What does that have to do with me?"
Stuart had no answer to that.
I wasn't interested in going back and forth, so I kept going.
"Don't forget who pushed you up into this position these past few years. Agree to the divorce while I'm still being reasonable, and we go our separate ways, clean."
A flash of resentment ran quickly through Stuart's eyes.
I caught it, plain as day.
Before, it would have hurt me. I would have protected his pride.
But right now?
A useless man who could barely hold onto a respectable job with my help wasn't worth all I'd given.
"I'm the one who bought this house. You have one week to move out. Then we go make the divorce official."
Stuart still wanted to say something, but I didn't bother reading his face. I turned and left.
Once I was out the door, I took out my phone, found that familiar number, and called.
"Draw up a divorce agreement for me. I want Stuart to walk away with nothing."
There was a pause of a few seconds, then a laugh on the other end.
"Miss Sinclair, I don't come cheap."
"How much?"
"Not more, not less. All I want is you."
My pupils tightened. I pulled the phone back and stared at the string of digits, making sure I hadn't dialed wrong.
"Why?"
"If I told you I've had my eye on you for a long time, would you believe me?"
There was something improper in his tone, and under it, a thread of nerves.
None of those shifts slipped past what I'd been trained to catch.
I could tell he meant it.
"Justin Farley, if you really want that, I'll agree to marry you."
Justin's breathing stopped for a beat.
A few seconds later, I heard his answer.
"You'll have the agreement tonight. Once the divorce is done, we go register."
The call ended, but my head was full of that one line of his—that he'd had his eye on me for a long time.
Justin was a partner at the city's top law firm.
His reputation was that he'd never lost a case.
There was no history between us at all.
The only time was when Stuart's factory ran into trouble and he couldn't fix it. He'd begged me to go find Justin to take the case for him.
I couldn't make sense of why Justin would want me.
But I didn't care.
Justin had power and influence.
Marrying him, I could use that influence to climb.
I'd had more than enough of standing at Stuart's side, hiding my edge for the sake of his pitiful pride.
