As soon as he left, I closed the door and leaned back against it. I had no idea what was going on with me but I liked it. You read stories about men and women who inexplicably fall for someone. There was no missing he was handsome and a good man, but I had a feeling it was our shared experience that was bringing us closer. I wondered if he felt the same connection.
He turned up with Bill on Friday afternoon to discuss the agreements. Bill took one look at the ‘soft’ agreement and almost threw it back in my face, his face one of thunder. “Fuck that shit, Mel,” he stated angrily, “Fuck that shit. The bitch deserves nothing.”
Even Mark seemed surprised by the reaction. “Damn, how bad was it?” he wondered.
So I passed across the ‘normal’ agreement. Bill raised his eyebrows and looked interested. I kept my face blank and he slowly started to grin. “Come on, Mel. You’re holding out on me here. I know you well enough. We have this bitch over a barrel and all we need to do is turn the screws. Give Mark what he really wants.”
I passed over the final agreement, the one that was going to tear her apart if she didn’t play ball with us. Bill looked it over and his eyes lit up. He passed it to Mark, who probably didn’t understand a lot of the legal speak, but enough of it was simple to figure out. His eyes met mine and his eyebrows raised, perhaps expecting an explanation.
So that’s what I did. I let him know what we’d do to Claire first before we stuck the agreement under her nose and pretty much force her to sign, otherwise we’d destroy her life. That’s what I wanted his allies for. I had a list of people we could call upon and he promised to have it all organised by the Wednesday night, when he’d serve her the papers.
“Damn, Mel, remind me to never get on your bad side,” Bill stated, chuckling to himself.
“Will she sign this?” Mark asked, hearing him sound hopeful for the first time throughout this entire process.
“She will, Mark. If she doesn’t, we’ll destroy her in court because we’ll go after her job, her lover, and destroy her reputation.”
“There’s still that part of me that just wants her gone. But, I’ll admit, there’s part of me that hopes she turns this down and I see the bitch pay for what she’d done to me.” He sipped at his coffee. “It’s the hate, Melissa. That’s what has kept me going for now. I loved that woman with all my heart, and all she’s done is rip it out and stomp on it while laughing away with her lover. I’ve often said the opposite of love is indifference, because you go from caring to not caring. No, I hate her because I do still care. I’ve simply turned the love I had from her to hate. Once she’s gone from the house, I’ll simply stop thinking about her and I can let go of the hate.”
“I’ll come see you tomorrow at the party, Mark. I want to see this woman for myself, and I’d love to meet your daughters too.”
He smiled as he said that he’d love to see me, and to bring something to swim in if I was interested. “Granted, it’s a pool party with a bunch of fourteen-year-old girls…”
“Yeah, I’m not allowed to drink at this thing,” Bill muttered.
“I’m not sure what you’d think of me in a swimming costume, Mark.”
Again, he looked ready to say something, and I was left believing that he was attracted to me, but he wouldn’t act on it while he was still married. I smiled inwardly as it told me everything I needed to know about the man. Despite the fact his wife was cheating on him, he wouldn’t stoop to her level. He’d do the right thing before moving on.
Driving to his house the next afternoon, I couldn’t help be impressed. It was a lovely house. The front lawn was like a billiard table, smooth and well maintained, a labour of love. The garden was lovingly tended to and colourful. Two cars were in the driveway, assuming one was his, the other belonging to his wife. Pressing the doorbell, he opened the door and immediately grinned. He was wearing a tight t-shirt, shorts and a pair of flip-flops on his feet. A series of very rude thoughts crossed my mind very quickly.
“Come in, Melissa. Claire is out the back so I’ll take you to my office first then I’ll get Bill. You can see everything through the window from there.”
I followed him through a well-decorated house, the screeches, squealing and laughter telling me that a gaggle of girls were having a lot of fun outside, the splashes also suggesting they were leaping into the pool from time to time. Following him into an office, which was quite clearly his, as it was what I’d describe as rather masculine, considering the photos on the wall and the little figures on the desk, he walked to the window, standing next to him.
“Those two are my daughters, the obvious pair of twins.”
That simple sentence had so much love and pride in it, I would fight by his side against the world to ensure he was awarded custody of them. “They’re very pretty, Mark.”
“I know. I sometimes wonder how my wife gave birth to two such beautiful young women. At least they didn’t get her personality.” He chuckled to himself as I could sense he was starting to relax, knowing it would soon be over. “I’ll get Bill…”
“We don’t need Bill for this, Mark.”
He glanced my way again and I smiled at him. When he smiled back, my heart didn’t just flutter, I could feel it beating so much faster, I was left wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Then he took my hand in his, interlacing our fingers together. It was such a simple gesture but I had to shuffle closer to him. “That’s my soon to be ex-wife there,” he said softly, pointing with his free hand, “At one time, a while ago, I’d have stood here and gazed at her, feeling nothing but love for her. Nowadays? I feel nothing. Yeah, there’s lingering hate, but I just want this over, Melissa. I want to be a free man and get on with my life.”
“Who will be with you when we sit her down on Wednesday night?”
“You, Bill, and the girls. Before you say anything, the girls want to be there. And if they want to say something, I’m not going to stop them. They’ll support their daddy.”
“What are the chances of her signing?”
“Once certain people let her know just how well you’ve planned this, and yes, I know it verges on blackmail, she’ll sign. She won’t want to lose her career, because then she’ll lose him.”
“What do you know about him?”
“He’s fucking my wife, that’s all I need to know.” He sighed and all I wanted to do was hug him at that moment. I understood how he felt, knowing his life was falling apart and that the next few months would not be easy. “I know a lot more, obviously, but it doesn’t matter. I know he isn’t married, so she can go live with him.”
“Never looked at the pictures or video?”
“Ignorance is bliss. I ensure I don’t hate fuck her for three days after one of her trips. Not that I do it often anyway. Just sleeping next to her most nights pisses me off.”
“How are you really feeling, Mark?” I asked softly, turning so he met my eyes.
“I just want this over, Melissa. Three years I’ve had to put up with this shit because, as a man, I know there’s a better than great chance I’ll be fucked over in court if I was the one to leave because I’m married to a cheating slut. All I want is her gone and my girls in my custody. I say my girls as, apart from giving birth, she’s barely done fuck all for them for fourteen years.”
“Trust me, that’s exactly what you’re going to get. I promise.”
We did sit down to go over the agreement one last time so he could ask any last minute questions. But he was happy with what he could understand, and with my help of explaining the legalese, he told me that he trusted me to do the right thing by him. I felt myself blush when he told me that. Bill seemed to sense I was there as he soon wandered in to find us in deep discussion.
“I reckon Claire is getting suspicious,” he stated, “She keeps probing me about divorces.”
“Well, her suspicions will end come Wednesday night,” Mark stated, “Fuck her.”
I didn’t outstay my welcome as I didn’t want to cause Mark any issues. What made me smile is that he disappeared for a few seconds, returning with his two daughters, then the fact they walked me outside to my car. Opening my car door, I felt the urge to hug him again, but I resisted.
“Melissa, these are my daughters, Hannah and Katie. Girls, this is Melissa Bonny, the lady I told you about who has been helping daddy with everything.”
They both smiled shyly but what I didn’t expect was for them both to hug me. “Thank you for helping daddy,” Hannah whispered.
“If you need us to do anything, just tell us. We want to help,” Katie added.
I knew in that moment, his daughters practically revered their father and would do anything they could to remain with him. That spoke volumes of the family dynamic and I knew I could use that to my advantage if necessary. Watching him hug his daughters, kissing both of them on the cheek, I could see the love the three of them shared. It suddenly made my heart hurt, the fact I was a lonely, thirty-something woman. I’d dearly wanted children with my ex-husband… Instead, my bitch of an ex-best friend ended up having those children instead.
“Thanks for everything, Melissa,” he stated once we were alone, “I won’t say I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, but I know that, at the end of our meeting, the paperwork will be signed and, in the end, I’ll have what I really want.”
I hugged him, and when I felt those strong arms surround me, I suddenly remembered how it felt to be loved. I knew he didn’t love me, that he was simply thanking me for helping, but I couldn’t help think and wonder if maybe, just maybe, he’d be interested in someone broken like myself after his divorce.