11

Chapter 11

Valerie Will

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“So you sent your mother to convince me to change my mind about the divorce?” I hadn’t even properly entered the house when Patrick’s voice echoed through the quiet room.

I froze.

What did my mother say to Patrick?

She was meant to talk to him about holding it off until after the movie premiere.

Patrick stood a few feet away, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

“I didn’t send her,” I replied quietly. “She offered to do it by herself.”

He scoffed. “Does she know the reason why I wanted a divorce? Did you tell her about everything?” He asked, narrowing his eyes on me.

“What? Why didn’t you tell her about it when you ran off to break the news to her?” I rolled my eyes, my voice slightly cracked.

“I didn’t tell her about the divorce. I haven’t even spoken to your mother in a while.” He replied with a hint of confusion in his voice. “I was even surprised when she called me to discuss it.”

What was going on?

If Patrick didn’t tell her about it. Who did?

“Who else did you tell about the divorce? How did she hear about it if none of us told her about it?” I asked with a hint of curiosity in my voice.

He hesitated for a while, rubbing his head. “I told Jordan. But I don’t think Jordan would call your mother. You know that woman always has a way to find out about our business.”

A soft chuckle escaped my lips. “Yes, that’s true.”

For a moment, that familiar feeling resurfaced - the one where Patrick and I were happy. When we laughed and talked about our lives together.

But as I looked at Patrick’s face, I knew that it was just a temporary feeling. Things had changed and our lives had turned around.

He felt I cheated on him and wouldn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt. A part of me wanted to bring it up again, I wanted to convince him that I would never hurt him like that.

But it was all too much.

I had tried but he wouldn’t listen to me.

“Have you signed the papers yet?” His voice snapped me out of my reverie. “I didn’t see them in the room.” His eyes were locked onto mine.

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“Why?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I didn’t cheat on you, Patrick. I’m not ready to give up on you just yet.” The words felt heavy as they left my mouth. “I want to prove to you that I didn’t betray you.”

Patrick laughed. “You’re really a good actress.”

My heart broke into a million pieces.

What was so funny? Why wasn’t he taking me seriously?

Was he acting differently because he had found someone else? Was this all an act just to push me away and make me give up on him?

My mind raced with different thoughts and answered questions. Why couldn’t he just show me the evidence he had?

But it didn’t even matter anymore.

Celeste would help me get what I was looking for.

I just hoped that we would actually find the evidence. At least I would be able to debunk it and fix my marriage. But if there was no evidence and he was just lying about it, I would have to let go and move on with my life.

The uncertainty gnawed at me.

Letting out a deep sigh, I looked at Patrick, my eyes filled with desperation. “I don’t know what else to say, but I’m not signing the papers right away.” I crossed my arms across my chest. “The movie premiere is in a week. We will talk about the divorce after that.”

Patrick shook his head. “No, I can’t sleep on the same bed with someone who cheated on me with her co-star. You even get to see him all the time, who knows what else you have been doing with him?”

I let out a deep breath. Then another one. And another one.

I wasn’t sure what Patrick was trying to do. It seemed like he was trying to get a reaction out of me. Did he want me to confess to something that I didn’t do?

Anyway, it wasn’t going to happen.

“I’ll move out of the room. We don’t have to share the same bed.” I replied, my voice barely audible. The fact that I was the only one trying to fight for the marriage made me hurt so badly.

But I decided to endure it.

I just had a feeling that it would all be worth it in the end.

“Fine, you have to move right away.” He replied, his voice void of emotions. “I’ll see if I can tolerate you until after the premiere.”

I exhaled sharply. “Thank you, I guess.”

Before he could say anything else, I walked past him and made my way upstairs. I spent the next hour moving some of my things from our bedroom to an empty room at the other end of the hallway.

By the time I was done, my eyes were soaked with tears.

I sat on the bed, staring at the wall.

I just moved out of the room and it didn’t even bother him. He sat there and watched me pack my stuff without even offering to help.

Rather, he made side comments at intervals, asking me to hurry up. I couldn’t believe what my life had turned into. Where was the man I fell in love with?

Where was the man who was in love with me?

How was it so easy for him?

Why did he give up on me?

Why couldn’t he fight for our love?

As I thought about the situation, I contemplated reaching out to Jamal. I wanted to talk to him about it. Maybe he would have an idea why Patrick was accusing us of cheating.

But if Jamal knew, he would have talked to me about it already.

I was confused about what to do. I didn’t want to drag Jamal into my mess. It would just make the situation worse.

I decided to keep it to myself until I figured out what was happening.