He didn’t respond. But when I got home, I found him sitting in the darkened living room. The room was cold, and he was crouched in a comer of the coffee table, surrounded by bottles of red and white wine.
When he saw me, his eyes were red, and he looked up at me with desperation.
“Pearl, you knew this day was coming all along, didn’t you?‘ he asked.
I smiled at him, but there was no warmth in my gaze.
“Hank, you were the one who signed the divorce agreement and you were the one who went to see Susie behind my back. How is any of this my fault?”
The plea in his eyes was almost unbearable, his entire demeanor pitiful as he looked at me, humbled and broken.
“Pearl, I really know I was wrong. We’ve been together for so long… you know me. I’ve never done anything to truly betray you. I…”
“You love me. I know. And I also know that no matter how far you went with Susie, you never crossed that final line,” I spoke calmly, as if we were discussing someone else’s problems.
“I know Susie was just a fleeting distraction for you. I know you’ve always loved me…”
With every word I spoke, hope returned to his eyes, and by the time I finished, he was looking at me with renewed belief.
“Pearl, since you understand, does that mean we…”
But before he could finish, I shattered his hopes without mercy.
“No. It’s over, Hank. You already signed the divorce agreement, and it clearly states you’ll leave with nothing. If you come with me tomorrow to finalize the divorce, we can reconsider the division of assets and maybe leave you with the company.
“But if you don’t show up, I’ll take the divorce agreement to court, and you won’t get a single cent.”
Hank stared at me in disbelief, as if he couldn’t accept that these words had come from my mouth.
“Pearl, are you really going to go through with this?” His voice trembled with a mixture of disbelief and desperation.
I glanced at the empty bottles on the table, my gaze cold and unyielding. “You know me. Once I make a decision, I never go back on it.”
A bitter smile spread across his face as he leaned back and collapsed onto the floor, defeated.
“Pearl, you don’t understand.” His voice wavered as he stared up at the ceiling, tears of regret rolling down his face. “When I was young, my parents were strict. They wouldn’t let me have friends. Only Susie was willing to be my friend, so…”
He kept talking, pouring out the reasons for his attachment to Susie, the regrets and justifications, but I didn’t care to listen. His excuses meant nothing to me now.
I turned away and headed to the bedroom, shutting out his voice as I prepared for bed.
By the time morning came, even though I knew he didn’t want to, Hank was left with no choice. For the sake of his family, he had to go according to by plans.
