back up at Mac, who was silent, his eyes trained on her. Emotion, nerves,
knotted together in a tight ball in her chest. She’d never told anyone. She’d never
spoken the whole story out loud. Never acknowledged how bad it had made her feel.
She looked for judgment there, for blame, and she didn’t see it. She took a breath
and continued.
“I didn’t realize that was what he was doing, of course. I like to think if I had
I wouldn’t have stayed for so long. But that night, the night of the dinner party,
when I was standing there feeling like the biggest failure in the world because my
husband thought that my choice of a shrimp cocktail was cliché, I realized what he’d
turned me into. I was a bitch in high school, but at least I liked myself. At least
I was excited to get up in the morning and be me. By that point in my marriage I was
struggling every day to be the woman he expected me to be. Not the woman I was. I
didn’t even know who I was, because I went from being an immature teenager to being
Daniel Carter’s trophy wife, and there was no transition period. No in-between.”
“And you left.”
“I waited to do that until I had seen a lawyer and gotten together all the legal papers
that needed to be gathered. Then I had someone serve him at work when I was safely
at a hotel.”
“Did you really think he might hurt you?”
She shook her head. “Not physically. But I was afraid that I might not be strong enough
if he got a chance to talk to me. A chance to dig his hooks back in. I got this amazing
gift, this moment of clarity, and I didn’t want to go back to how I’d been thinking
before. To this simpering, ridiculous woman who did whatever Daniel wanted because
I was trying to be his version of perfect.”
“And the divorce is final now?”
“Yes. It went quickly because the pre-nup was so straightforward.”
“And you knew that by being the one to serve papers you wouldn’t get a penny.”
“I didn’t care.”
“What about now?” he asked.
“What? Now that I have to clean your house for a living? Okay, I care a little more,
but I’d still rather be here and not have to deal with all that. I know for a fact
that money doesn’t matter all that much when you feel like absolute garbage all the
time.”
Mac shook his head. “If I ever meet that guy in a dark alley… Hell, if I meet
him in a brightly lit street, I’m going to cave his face in.”
A promise of violence shouldn’t have made her feel quite so warm and fuzzy inside,
but it did. Maybe because no one had ever stood up for her with such vehemence. Or
at all. Her parents had been of the opinion that she should simply accept the dynamic
of her marriage and not be so sensitive. Even her lawyer had seemed to quietly find
her stupid, throwing away all that money over a few insults every now and again.
No one had seemed to think she was worth more. No one had told her to take a stand,
to take back her self-esteem. No one seemed to find her self-esteem all that important.
Except Mac, who really shouldn’t have any reason to want to see her happy. Mac, who
she’d insulted and belittled in high school. Mac, who knew what it was like to face
real hardship in life.
He was the one who seemed to think she was worth more than a place on Daniel Carter’s
trophy shelf.
“You have no idea how much I appreciate that,” she said, blinking back sudden and
unexpected tears. She didn’t know why she was feeling so emotional. She’d learned
years ago to keep her emotions trapped beneath the surface. To let things look like
they’d rolled right off even when they’d sunk down deep.
“You’re an easy woman to please.”
“Maybe I am,” she said. “No one’s ever really tried to please me, so the theory has
rarely been tested.”
“Then the people in your life really are idiots.”
Something changed in his eyes, a heat sparking in the depths, and she felt an
knotted together in a tight ball in her chest. She’d never told anyone. She’d never
spoken the whole story out loud. Never acknowledged how bad it had made her feel.
She looked for judgment there, for blame, and she didn’t see it. She took a breath
and continued.
“I didn’t realize that was what he was doing, of course. I like to think if I had
I wouldn’t have stayed for so long. But that night, the night of the dinner party,
when I was standing there feeling like the biggest failure in the world because my
husband thought that my choice of a shrimp cocktail was cliché, I realized what he’d
turned me into. I was a bitch in high school, but at least I liked myself. At least
I was excited to get up in the morning and be me. By that point in my marriage I was
struggling every day to be the woman he expected me to be. Not the woman I was. I
didn’t even know who I was, because I went from being an immature teenager to being
Daniel Carter’s trophy wife, and there was no transition period. No in-between.”
“And you left.”
“I waited to do that until I had seen a lawyer and gotten together all the legal papers
that needed to be gathered. Then I had someone serve him at work when I was safely
at a hotel.”
“Did you really think he might hurt you?”
She shook her head. “Not physically. But I was afraid that I might not be strong enough
if he got a chance to talk to me. A chance to dig his hooks back in. I got this amazing
gift, this moment of clarity, and I didn’t want to go back to how I’d been thinking
before. To this simpering, ridiculous woman who did whatever Daniel wanted because
I was trying to be his version of perfect.”
“And the divorce is final now?”
“Yes. It went quickly because the pre-nup was so straightforward.”
“And you knew that by being the one to serve papers you wouldn’t get a penny.”
“I didn’t care.”
“What about now?” he asked.
“What? Now that I have to clean your house for a living? Okay, I care a little more,
but I’d still rather be here and not have to deal with all that. I know for a fact
that money doesn’t matter all that much when you feel like absolute garbage all the
time.”
Mac shook his head. “If I ever meet that guy in a dark alley… Hell, if I meet
him in a brightly lit street, I’m going to cave his face in.”
A promise of violence shouldn’t have made her feel quite so warm and fuzzy inside,
but it did. Maybe because no one had ever stood up for her with such vehemence. Or
at all. Her parents had been of the opinion that she should simply accept the dynamic
of her marriage and not be so sensitive. Even her lawyer had seemed to quietly find
her stupid, throwing away all that money over a few insults every now and again.
No one had seemed to think she was worth more. No one had told her to take a stand,
to take back her self-esteem. No one seemed to find her self-esteem all that important.
Except Mac, who really shouldn’t have any reason to want to see her happy. Mac, who
she’d insulted and belittled in high school. Mac, who knew what it was like to face
real hardship in life.
He was the one who seemed to think she was worth more than a place on Daniel Carter’s
trophy shelf.
“You have no idea how much I appreciate that,” she said, blinking back sudden and
unexpected tears. She didn’t know why she was feeling so emotional. She’d learned
years ago to keep her emotions trapped beneath the surface. To let things look like
they’d rolled right off even when they’d sunk down deep.
“You’re an easy woman to please.”
“Maybe I am,” she said. “No one’s ever really tried to please me, so the theory has
rarely been tested.”
“Then the people in your life really are idiots.”
Something changed in his eyes, a heat sparking in the depths, and she felt an