I chuckle. I always enjoy her bluntness, and in fact, it’s one of the many things about Lori that I find charming.
“I am beyond glad to be divorced,” I promise her. I take each of her hands in mine, and her grip is warm and soft. In fact, I’m beyond grateful to have her with me now. “I would never speak ill of my ex in front of Weston,” I start cautiously. “And honestly, I would never speak ill of her to anyone, because she’s the mother of my child. But our relationship was messy and we never really worked, except maybe for a few years in the beginning.”
Lori nods thoughtfully. “Yes, I’ve heard that can happen. Don’t get me wrong because I hope it never happens to me, but I know lots of couples who think they’re right for each other, and then discover that they aren’t.”
I smile grimly. She’s wise beyond her years, I think to myself before nodding.
“Of course, no one ever gets married just to get divorced, but Leonora may have been the exception to that rule.”
Lori tilts her head to a side. “Can I ask something?” she hesitates.
“You can ask me anything,” I affirm in a growl. “I want you to understand more about my situation. My life is an open book.”
The pretty woman bites her lip.
“Okay. Well, I guess I just want to know what happened between you two?” I can tell my lover feels bad for prying, but then again, Lori has a right to know.
“Honestly?” I sigh. “It always seemed like Leonora was never really happy in the marriage, no matter what I did. We’d go on vacations, and she’d say the sun was too bright. I’d buy her jewelry, and she’d return it saying it wasn’t her style. Towards the last few years, she started to get really into bodybuilding, right after Weston was born. Originally, it was a way for her to get her figure back, but somehow, she got really into it and into competing too.”
“That’s good,” Lori says in a soft voice, her brown eyes limpid. “Physical fitness is important, definitely.”
I nod.
“Don’t get me wrong, I was supportive of my ex’s new hobby at first,” I continue. “Especially because I knew that she needed something just for her that would be an outlet from her role as a new mom. I guess I hoped it would help Leonora feel like herself once more.”
“Did it?” Lori asks, cocking her head to one side.
I shrug, thinking for a moment.
“Yes and no. At the beginning, it seemed great. Leonora was going slow, just hitting the gym once or twice a week, maybe for an hour at a time. She made some new friends at the gym, and even took a few classes. But then a few days a week became nearly every day, and for a couple of hours too. Soon, she was spending pretty much the entire day at the gym, if you can believe it.”
“Wow,” Lori gasps, her eyes wide. “I can barely even handle thirty minutes of working out.”
I nod grimly.
“To be honest, if I’m being totally candid, I think part of spending so much time at the gym was about not having to interact with me at all. Leonora would schedule her gym time so that it coincided with the times that I was free. Towards the end, we never even saw each other.”
Lori looks stunned by this information. “But what about Weston?” she asks in a low voice. “I mean, did she ever spend any time with him?”
My heart swells at her concern for my young son, but I smile mirthlessly. “That’s the worst part. All that time at the gym meant that she was never around to interact with Weston either, even though he was practically a baby. We hired help, including round-the-clock nannies, and whenever I wasn’t traveling for work, I made it a point to work from home so that I could be with my son as much as possible.”
“That’s heartbreaking,” Lori says quietly.
I nod again, feeling dejected. “I made it work for as long as I could, but it was clear that things were in a downward spiral. And then when Leonora started bailing on events with our son, I knew it was time to end things. She didn’t even attend Westie’s third birthday party, believe it or not. We had a huge party, but my ex didn’t show.”
Lori’s shocked. “Wow, that’s really bad,” she whispers.
I nod.
“Imagine how confused our guests were. But unfortunately, you can’t change people. Leonora still prioritizes her bodybuilding above all else, and she cancels visits with Weston all the time even now. And when she does take the time to be with him, we get the sense that she doesn’t really want to be there. Really, she just wants to drink her protein shakes while preparing for her next competition.”