AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Roni let out a sigh, her shoulders dropping. “I’m making a mess of this. I feel like I make a mess out of so much in my life”
“Stop,” he said. “You didn’t and you don’t. You’ve got family that loves you and stands behind you and next to you or in front of you. They will do or stand where you want them to and don’t forget it.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m so sensitive about this stuff.”
“Why?” he asked. “Just talk to me without worrying I’m going to judge you for being dramatic or anything like that. I’d like to think I know you well enough and that you know I do, that you shouldn’t be thinking those things.”
“I guess. But I don’t want to spend all this time talking about my life when we don’t get to see each other much either.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I want to talk right now. We know I love to talk. You’ve said it enough.”
She grinned at him. “I do often think you like to hear your own voice.”
“It’s been said before,” he said. “But this time let me hear yours.”
“I’m not sure I can pinpoint one big thing as much as an accumulation of them. You know why I split with Jeff.”
“He didn’t want to split?” he asked. He realized he’d never asked that before.
“I don’t know. I think he wanted to get married because it was the right thing to do and not because he loved me. I believe, looking back, that his parents are the ones that put pressure on him. When I said no, rather than being relieved, he took it as an insult.”
“Could be,” he said. “Unless he loved you and was hurt.”
“I don’t think Jeff loves anyone but himself. Or as much as himself. If he’d been the one that wanted to leave me, I’m sure things might not be as hard as they are now.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Roni. People like him don’t care about the cause of things, they care about getting the results they want.”
“You’re right. He likes to be in control. That was the biggest issue I had. Everything I did was wrong in his eyes. It wasn’t wrong as much as different than him.”
“So if it’s not the way he does something, it’s the wrong way?” he asked.
“Yes. If I put the toilet paper on facing under, and he does it over, then my way is wrong. Who the hell cares? It comes off the roll the same way.”
He laughed, thinking she was joking. She wasn’t laughing. “Seriously?”
“I guess I can come up with examples. That’s a petty one but one we had early on when we were living together.”
“Damn,” he said. “And if that is the case, then it makes no difference who ended things, this would be the same situation regardless.”
“I think so. But you asked if he wanted to separate. The truth is, I think he had no idea. I wasn’t a person he loved, I was a possession. The woman who had his baby. The mother of his child. That is how he introduced me at times.”
Trent just hated this guy more and more. He wouldn’t say it though. There was no need and he had to stand behind what he’d said to Roni’s family. This wasn’t about him or his business.
“I can see where that would annoy you.”
“More than annoy. As I said, it was just one of hundreds of things. I got sick of it. I tried to make it work, but I was losing too much of myself.”
“It’s harder to walk away than to stay,” he said.
“I know that. Jax was there for me supporting my decision to leave. When I told Jeff that it wasn’t working out he thought I was nuts.”
“He thought things were fine?”
“He did because everything was his way. I tried to say all the things that weren’t working for me, but he didn’t care. He didn’t ask me to stay. He didn’t want to try to work anything out. He said things were good and if I wasn’t happy, then fine, to leave.”
Sounded narcissistic to him. “And you did?”
“Not right then. I didn’t want to leave Eli. I didn’t know what my options were. I stuck it out another two months while I met with an attorney without telling him. I wanted to know my options. Then when I left, I took Eli with me and was able to tell Jeff I’d already seen a lawyer and this is what we could do. I didn’t want to say he couldn’t see Eli. And as much as it hurt me to give Eli up for half the time, I wanted to show good faith to the courts.”
