Chapter 4 - The Cost of a Slap
Three days later, Eric showed up at the upscale, temporary apartment I was renting downtown.
When I opened the door, he looked absolutely ravaged. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and the arrogant, dismissive husband from the dinner table had vanished, replaced by a man in a state of absolute, free-falling panic.
“Lauren,” he gasped, stepping into the doorway. “My mother just called me sobbing. She says the bank is threatening immediate foreclosure on the restaurant because the mortgage payment bounced.”
I leaned against the doorframe and nodded slowly. “Yes. I imagine they are.”
“And Kimberly’s corporate card was declined at the wholesaler this morning,” Eric continued, his voice rising in pitch. “She can't fulfill her catering contracts for this weekend. She says she might lose the entire catering company!”
I looked at him, my expression entirely blank, and said nothing.
“You have to help them, Lauren!” Eric demanded, his panic turning into entitled desperation. “Call your accountant and fix the transfers! They are going under!”
“No.”
Eric stared at me, his jaw dropping as if I had just spoken to him in a foreign language. “What do you mean, no? Lauren, they’re family!”
“They’re your family, Eric,” I corrected him smoothly.
His expression hardened, a flash of defensive anger returning to his eyes. “You’re destroying them, Lauren! You are destroying my mother’s livelihood because Kimberly made one mistake at dinner!”
I shook my head, feeling a profound, radiant sense of liberation wash over my soul.
“No, Eric,” I said quietly. “I am not destroying them. I spent twelve long years actively protecting people who never, ever respected me. I subsidized their failures while they mocked my success.”
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I walked over to the entryway console table, picked up the thick manila envelope my lawyer had prepared, and placed the divorce papers firmly into his hands.
“I’m not taking anything away from your family,” I told him, looking directly into the cowardly eyes of the man I used to love. “I’ve simply stopped giving.”
