“Divorce? The last time we talked I got the feeling you were falling for your husband.”
She bit her lower lip and fought against the urge to weep without ceasing. The tissue box was empty. She knocked it off her bed before leaning back against two pillows. “I’ll be okay.”
“It’s me. Remember? Your ride-or-die. You know you can tell me anything, and you can start with why. Why are you getting a divorce early?”
Katie took a shaky breath and explained the whole situation to her best friend. She told Bianca about the stock, Chase’s messy childhood, and their big fight. Bianca listened without making a sound. After Katie finished telling the story, her best friend had questions.
“Is he a good man?”
“He is,” Katie said.
“Do you love him?”
“I do.”
“What do you love about him?” Bianca asked.
She smiled while thinking about him. “He takes care of me when I’m sick and defends me to his family and always knows the right thing to say when I’m feeling down. Despite being raised by greedy people that I’m sure didn’t show him an ounce of love, he’s got a compassionate soul.”
“Sounds like a great guy, maybe someone worth fighting for.”
Katie groaned. “It’s difficult to fight for a relationship when the man isn’t interested. He never wanted a wife or a child, and I think he feels duped. But I’m not the one that came up with this crazy plan. It was him.”
They sat in silence for a moment while she tried to stop crying. The tears continued no matter what she did. She’d never felt like this before, like she wanted to bury her head in the pillow and stay there all day.
Bianca sighed. “The way I see it, you have two choices. You can move here to New York and hope he misses you enough to follow you. Christian followed me to London. Remember? He didn’t think he loved me until I left him. Maybe your guy is the same way. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “What’s my second option?”
“Stay where you are and fight for him.”
“How do I do that when he doesn’t trust me?”
Chase thought she was after money and prestige. If she stuck around now, he would think he was right and nothing she could say would change his mind. But if she left the state, he’d be too stubborn to follow her even if he realized he loved and missed her. Neither choice seemed ideal to her.
“What else have you got?” Katie asked, hoping to hear a better plan.
Bianca groaned with what sounded like frustration. “Tell him you love him.”
“What if he laughs in my face or worse? What if he feels sorry for me?”
“At least you’ll know and you can move on with your life. If you don’t tell him, you are always going to wonder what could have been.”
Bianca had a point. All her life Katie had prided herself on not backing down when she wanted something. Running away from the situation with Chase was not the way to go. If she did, she’d always regret it.
On the other hand, if she stayed, he would just think he was right to suspect her of wanting his money. How could she convince him she’d still be in love with him even if he was a pauper?
“I don’t know what to do,” she told Bianca. “It seems like I’m trapped between the proverbial rock and hard place. No matter what I do, it can backfire in my face, and I’ll lose him forever.”
“Follow your heart.”
Katie wiped her damp face with the back of her hand and climbed out of bed. Her gaze went to the bathroom. A warm shower was what she needed and a clean set of clothes. Then she’d be ready to make a final decision.
“If I decide on New York, will you send the jet?”
“Of course,” Bianca said.
“I might want to stay here until the baby is born. Not sure yet.”