“Corina Schmidt, you’ve been served,” he says, taking the folder I pass over to him and handing them to my soon-to-be ex-wife.
And with that, I spin on my heel, Cobi doing the same, and head for my truck. I give him a salute of thanks as he makes his way to his own truck, and he gives me a chin lift.
I’ve got plans to make in order to win back the love of my life.
30
Cece
As I’m getting ready for bed, my phone rings, and I glance down at where it sits on my bathroom counter as I brush my teeth. Winston’s name lights up the screen, and my heart lurches in my chest.
What the hell is he calling me for? Not once has he tried to contact me after I asked him not to when I quit. He’s respected my wishes, even though part of me wanted him to ignore them. Which apparently he is now.
A war wages inside me, whether or not to answer.
My brow furrows when the ringing cuts off, and regret immediately fills me, missing the opportunity to hear his voice.
The screen goes dark, and I finish brushing my teeth. As I’m wiping my mouth, my screen lights up with a text message, and I snatch it up, seeing it’s from him.
Winston: Naekkeo, I need to speak to you. It’s important, and I want to actually tell you, not through a text. Please, Cece. I know you won’t agree to meet me face to face, so will you please allow me to FaceTime you?
I’m filled with a swarm of emotions as I read the text. Anxiety, fear, even a little hope. And a large helping of adolescent giddiness at his use of his special nickname for me and at the fact that he wants to FaceTime me. He’s right. There’s no way I can allow myself to actually meet him in person to hear this important news, because being within touching distance is just not smart when we have a problem keeping our hands off each other when that’s the last thing we should be doing.
But he’s done so much for me, and I hear the desperation in his words—and I can admit I want to see his face on my screen more than I want my next breath—so I give in. Instead of replying to the message, I FaceTime him myself, my heart pounding erratically when I push the green camera button. He answers before I can even tell it rang.
His face fills my screen, and I instantly sink down on the toilet’s closed lid because of how fucking handsome he is. He literally makes my knees weak just at the sight of him. Or maybe it’s because it’s been so long since I’ve seen him, the longest I’ve ever gone since I met him almost a year ago. Sure, it’s only been a little over a week, but he hasn’t left my mind for one moment.
“Cece,” he breathes, and I can almost feel that breath along my neck as the sound of it sends a chill over my skin.
“Hey, Win.” Oh, God, is that my voice? I sound like a lovesick heroine in some romance movie about star-crossed lovers. I clear my throat. “Are you okay?”
His face goes soft, and his eyes fill with so much emotion I feel my heart clench. “It’s over, naekkeo. It’s finally over. She’s been having an affair for over a year. I hired a PI, and he got all the evidence I needed. She was served a few hours ago with the divorce papers.”
It’s almost as if my brain short circuits. Did I hear all of that correctly? Or am I really asleep already and dreaming? This has to be too good to be true. All I manage to squeak out is a “What?”
“I’m serious. Here.” The screen goes dark with the word Pause printed across it, and I hear him fumble with his phone. A moment later, I receive a text message from him. I open it up, and there are several black and white photos of Corina with a man who looks vaguely familiar. And then my heart clenches once more when I see the last picture, a screenshot of divorce papers with Winston and Corina’s names typed. “I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you, but I couldn’t sleep, as usual.”
I go back to the FaceTime screen and wonder why it’s so blurry, and it’s not until Win tells me, “Don’t cry, baby. You’ll never have a reason to cry ever again if I have anything to do with it,” that I realize tears have filled my eyes.
I let out one puff of a laugh as I grab a piece of toilet paper and dab at the inner corners of my eyes, sniffling as I try to think of anything to say. “How? How did you do all this?” I’m not even sure what I’m asking, since he already explained what happened.