Love and hate fade away
Chapter 1
It was our third anniversary when Chad
Lancaster paraded his 99th little fling right in
front of me.
He spoiled that girl rotten.
She trashed my orchids, she threw out my
kitten, and she even yanked the oxygen tubes off my mom.
And when I called him, begging for help, he
hung up to have dinner with his little princess. Later, he sent a set of solid gold cutlery as an apology.
“Evie, you don’t need to be jealous of these
girls. You know you’re the only one I truly love.”
“Once I’ve experienced 100 different women, I’ll come right back to you, baby. You’ll always be the Mrs. Lancaster.”
But my heart was dead, and Mom was gone.
What was the point of being Mrs. Lancaster
anymore?
- 1.
After Mom’s funeral, I dug out the divorce
papers I’d stashed in the back of my study.
I waited until almost dawn for Chad to
stumble in, reeking of booze.
“Baby, did you like the present I got you?”
He had lipstick smeared all over his face, and
he tried to kiss me, all sloppy and drunk.
I fought back the disgust and shoved a stack
of papers at him.
He squinted at them, a sneer curling his lips.
“A property transfer agreement? Guess I’ve
spoiled you a little too much, huh?”
“Fine. Ten houses? Whatever it takes to make
you happy.”
Chad scribbled his signature on each
document.
<
–
But he stopped at the last one – the divorce
papers.
“What’s this? Looks a little different.”
I was about to stop him, but a text popped up
from Sierra Bloom.
“Chad, baby, you promised you’d spend all
your time with me! You came home just
because she got mad? You’re playing
favorites!”
She even sent a video.
Chad’s face went white.
He practically clawed his signature onto the
divorce papers, grabbed his jacket, and
bolted for the door.
Then he turned back, like he’d remembered
something.
“Listen, Evie, we have an open marriage. But
we agreed, neither of us gets serious about
these flings.”
“Sierra’s young, she’s just joking around. You
talk to your mom, smooth things over, don’t
hold it against her. You’ll always be the one
and only Mrs. Lancaster.”
And then he was gone, slamming the door
behind him.
Leaving me alone in the huge, empty house.
The cold night wrapped around me,
suffocating.
I stared at the divorce papers, tears
streaming down my face.
Four years ago, today, was when Chad and I
first met.
I was at the hospital, taking care of Mom,
when I ran into Chad after some street racing accident.
He was smitten right away.
Even with a broken arm, he insisted on
getting my number.
I didn’t want anything to do with some
playboy.
く
But then he actually changed for me.
Cut off all those other girls, followed me
around like a puppy.
Flowers, jewels – they arrived every day.
Bonfires, fireworks he lit up the night, every
night.
–
One time, Mom had a heart attack, and the ambulance couldn’t get through.
Chad ran every red light to get her to the hospital.
Then he spent a fortune, calling in every expert he could find, just to save her.
His old injuries flared up, his hand was shaking so bad, but he still held me tight. “Evie, marry me. I swear, I’ll change. I’ll only ever love you, for the rest of my life.”
I cried and said yes.
But the reformed–bad–boy romance didn’t last long.
Chad started missing the parties, the late
L
nights.
I broke a dish, he replaced it with a whole set,
solid gold.
I brought up divorce, and he threatened to
stop Mom’s treatment.
Those promises, those vows – they shattered
into dust.
–
The jewels, the money they became a
cage.
And then Chad just got tired of fighting.
He handed me a black card, no limit, and
proposed an open marriage.
“Evie, I really do love you. But being with only
one person is just boring.”
“We’re young, we should experience life. I
promise, once I’ve been with a hundred
different women, I’ll settle down and be yours
for good.”
In three years, he’d had 99 girlfriends.
Some lasted a few days, others a month.
Sierra had been around for six months.
He broke every rule for her.
She chipped away at our love, broke my heart
a little more each day.
Now, Mom was gone.
I didn’t need to stay in this loveless marriage anymore.
Just get through this waiting period, and Chad Lancaster would be nothing to me.
This open marriage? He could have it. He and
his little girlfriend could share it.
