Page 112 of If I Didn’t Have You

“Yes, I do. Choose, Ben. The business or me. Which is it?”

I had never been good with ultimatums. If you pushed, I pushed right back. And while I did not want to walk away from the woman I loved, this went so much farther than just making a simple choice.

Trust was everything in a marriage, and right now, she’d thrown it out the window.

Decision made, I turned on my heel and walked out.

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but for the first time in the last five years, I knew what I was doing was right.

31

CLARA

He walked out.

I gasped, my hand flying to my chest as pain knifed through me. He actually left me.

“Ben,” I called out as he stomped out to his truck.

Shoving the screen door open, I ran out, standing on the porch as he stormed to his truck.

“Ben!” I screamed, tears filling my eyes. “Where are you going?”

But he didn’t stop. He didn’t turn back. He just…got in and drove away. A cloud of dust kicked up in his wake, and as it settled on the ground, I felt the bottom fall out. He was really leaving.

Crumpling in on myself, I fell to the ground, my heart shattering into little tiny pieces all around me. He chose that damn business and working with John over me.

None of it made sense. We were getting better. We were finally getting our shit together, and he just went and threw it all away.

For what?

A partnership with a man that, not two days ago, Ben couldn’t tolerate. He walked away for a man whose son tried to poison me.

This couldn’t be happening. After we fought so hard to get back together, why would he do this to me?

Gasping, I gripped my short hair, tugging with all my might as a scream ripped from my throat. He left me.

He left me.

He left me.

I curled my legs up in front of me, wrapping my arms around them as I buried my face. My husband was gone.

My marriage was over.

32

BEN

I drove for nearly an entire day.

I didn’t know where I was going or where I would end up, but one thing was for sure—I couldn’t be at home a second longer.

With the window down, the warm breeze whipped across my skin, making me wonder what it would be like if I just…let the road take me wherever…

Somewhere out there, life would be different. With no worries or cares. I wouldn’t have to think about who I was letting down or how the hell I was going to make it right.

It would be just me and the road.