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The third time Nicolas Reid and I stood
before the courthouse, it was because he’d given my coveted position as lead meteorologist to the station’s newest
weather anchor.
Leaning casually against his car, a cigarette dangling from his lips, Nicolas exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked at me with
thinly veiled impatience.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked, his tone dismissive. “I mean, giving her your spot is just a way for you to take a break, isn’t it? God knows you could use one.” He smirked, flicking ash to the pavement.
“Besides, I only gave her the role to make her happy. Can’t you just suck it up and do this? For me?”
I kept my gaze steady, staring straight ahead as if he hadn‘ t just uttered those infuriating words. Calmly, I replied with three clipped syllables.
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“Let’s go inside.”
That evening, I saw Nicolas wrapping his arm around the new girl, laughing and drinking with his friends like he hadn‘ t a care in the world.
“So, what you‘ re gonna do if Rowena actually divorces you?” One of his friends. joked, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Nicolas took a long swig of his drink, his eyes narrowing with a sense of superiority.
“That’s not gonna happen. She loves me too much to go through with it. She’s just being extra. Typical her.”
It wasn’t until he saw me, weeks later, sitting in the back seat of another man’s wedding car that he realized I hadn‘ t been bluffing.
Walking out of the courthouse after our divorce was finalized, Nicolas shoved the
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divorce papers and my copy of the household registry into my hands.
“There, happy now?” he said, lighting another cigarette. His lips curved into a smirk as he glanced at me sideways, arrogance dripping from his expression.
I folded the papers neatly, sliding my copy into my bag. Then I slapped his copy against his chest, hard enough to make him stagger slightly. I didn’t say a word. Turning on my heel, I headed toward my car. But just as I reached the door, my wrist was grabbed and before I knew it, he had me pinned against the car. The sickly sweet scent of his cologne–or maybe it was her perfume–invaded my senses, making me want to gag. His grip was like iron, his eyes blazing with fury as he leaned in closer.
“All this over a damn job?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I already told you, I gave her your position just to keep her happy. It’s only temporary. Once she gets bored, you can have it back! Why do
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you make a big deal out of it?”
His voice rose as he continued, “Do you really need to drag us to the courthouse every time we have different opinions? How many times has it been now? I’m not a saint, Rowena and you know it. Cut the act before I reached my limits!”
My breath hitched and then, to his surprise, I laughed–a sharp, bitter sound that cut through his tirade like a knife.
“Limits?” I repeated, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You‘ re in no position to talk about limits right now, Nicholas.”
We had grown up together, childhood sweethearts who became husband and wife. Six years of marriage had tied me to
this man.
A week ago, Nicolas brought Annette into my life once again. Without so much as a warning, he made a call right in front of me to the state meteorology bureau, where I’d worked tirelessly for years.
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you make a big deal out of it?”
His voice rose as he continued, “Do you really need to drag us to the courthouse every time we have different opinions? How many times has it been now? I’m not a saint, Rowena and you know it. Cut the act before I reached my limits!”
My breath hitched and then, to his surprise, I laughed–a sharp, bitter sound that cut through his tirade like a knife.
“Limits?” I repeated, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You‘ re in no position to talk about limits right now, Nicholas.”
We had grown up together, childhood sweethearts who became husband and wife. Six years of marriage had tied me to this man.
A week ago, Nicolas brought Annette into my life once again. Without so much as a warning, he made a call right in front of me to the state meteorology bureau, where I’d worked tirelessly for years.
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“I’m planning to invest $2 million into the station,” he had told the director on the other end of the line. “But I have one
condition.”
Holding Annette protectively in his arms, he turned to me. His gaze was cold, his tone deliberate.
“The condition is this: Rowena steps down. and Annette takes her place.”
The words felt like a dagger to the chest. I stared at him, wide–eyed and disbelieving, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he doubled down, making the decision on my behalf.
“She’s fine with it,” Nicolas assured the – director. Then, looking down at me, he added, “Tomorrow, Annette will report for work. Rowena, you’ll show her the
ropes.
I lost it that day. I screamed, threw anything within reach and even slapped both Nicolas and Annette across the face.
“Who the hell do you think you are,
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making that decision for me? You have no right, Nicholas!” I shouted. “I never agreed to quit my job!”
“Oh, I have every right to do it.” He stared back at me with infuriating calm,
“In case you forgot, I’m your husband, your legal guardian. What I say goes. And, it’s settled. You don’t have the job anymore, Annette will take over.
He let out a sharp breath and added,
“Why can’t you see it the way I see? You get to have a break and Annette gets the experience. It’s a win–win.”
In the end, I told them both to get out. Nicolas, ever the protector, shielded Annette keeping her safe in his embrace. Before they reach the door I herald him muttering under his breath, “You‘ re
crazy.
No one knew how I spent that miserable. week. Nicolas, fearing I’d interfere with Annette‘ s new job, locked me inside the house. I was a prisoner in my own home,
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trapped with my spiraling thoughts and emotions. I alternated between crying and laughing–both hysterical, both hollow. The man I had once trusted above all else had made me a pawn in his twisted game and I had no one to blame but myself for letting it get this far.
