Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
According to Tyler and Zak, I’m the king of self-sabotage, something I didn’t even know was a thing, but now that I look back on it, it is hitting the nail on the head. I had to lose her to realize what she really meant to me, but I’ll never let that happen again. Now that I have her promise to give me another chance or to at least let me try to earn it, there’s no way I’m going to lose her again.
As for the others, the ones who put a wedge between us, I have lots in store for them. I hadn’t told Janie about the divorce or the fact that she stood to gain nothing because I’d had her sign a postnup that day as well, leaving her nothing.
Once I came to my senses and got the gist of what was really going on, I was bothered by the thought of giving her any of what belonged to Elena by rights, the thought of her and her family or anyone else benefiting from the pain they’d caused her.
The postnup and everything else I’d done that day were so ironclad that there was no way for it to be broken. I have the Saunders family to thank for that, and though I’ll never know why they were so invested—Tyler and Zak’s reassurances that it was because of their nieces seem too farfetched to believe—I’m still forever grateful.
Whatever the case, whoever was behind the screen blasting Mary and the others with daily updates exposing their most well-kept secrets to the world would forever have my undying gratitude. The person had done more in the last few weeks than I could’ve achieved in a year, and their sources of information seemed nonending. I’m only glad that I’m not their enemy, or they’d have made mincemeat out of my ass.
I’ve already suffered a tongue-lashing from them, albeit it was sent in an email that somehow had no return address and no IP either; I'm not sure how that’s done, but whatever. I was warned of what would happen to me if I messed up again and how they would do worse to me than they had the others if I broke her heart again.
I’m not sure why, but more than Tyler and Zak’s threats, that one sticks with me. It came after I’d complained about them telling Elena’s fans to stop wishing for us to get back together. I saw that as them saying they didn’t want us together again and was highly affronted.
Obviously, Tyler and Zak had snitched because how else would this MengeLiNi person know what I’d said in my mini rant? It was only a few hours later that the email came through, blaming me for all that had happened in scorching terms and telling me all that would happen to me going forward if I didn’t get my shit together. And I was supposed to believe that three little girls had written that.
I was brave enough to ask them why they’d addressed the fans like that, and their answer was that I was still indeed married, and anyone wishing for me to get back together with Elena in that state was, in essence, asking her to commit adultery, something they, along with their ‘uncles’ were heavily against it seems.
I was almost tempted to believe that they were, in fact, little girls because of the underlying hint of hero worship for Elena and me in their prose. If little ten-year-old girls were showing me up, then it was a given that I needed to get my shit together, as they put it.
She made a sound in her sleep and curled into my side, and I wrapped my arms more firmly around her. There’s no peace like the peace I feel when we’re together like this. How I’ve missed it, missed her and who I am when I’m with her. Looking back on the last five years without her, it’s a wonder I made it this long. I could actually breathe again, and it felt amazing.
I find myself in a bit of a dilemma now that the dust has somewhat settled, though, because I hadn’t been completely honest with her. Not because I wanted to hurt her, but quite the opposite; what I was keeping from her would hurt her to the core, and that’s why I’ve held off on sharing, but I know that if I want us to be open and honest with each other, there’s no way I can leave here without telling her the whole truth.
Then there was still the mess I’d left at home to deal with. I hadn’t mentioned anything to Janie or anyone else; as soon as I got the confirmation that my divorce was final, my only thought was getting to Elena. Then the phone call where Janie and the others were plotting to harm Elena came right on the heels of that great news, and I was in even more haste to get to her.