Dear Ex-Husband, Watch Me Love Again

Chapter 11

Katherine stopped in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?"

Zane looked up from his phone and smiled. "Good morning to you too."

"I'm serious." She moved closer to the table, glancing around like she was checking if she had entered the wrong place. "I thought it would be at least a few days before we ran into each other again."

“Same.” He said, leaning back in his chair. “But, I had to come because Kenneth sent for me.”

Katherine tilted her head. “Kenneth?” she asked. “Dad? Why?”

"He called me about an hour after you left the house yesterday." Zane gestured toward the chair across from him. "Sit down, I'll explain."

She sat slowly, her bag still on her shoulder. "Please do."

"Your father and I have been business partners for a while now. When you left yesterday, apparently he was so happy about your decision that he called me almost immediately. He said his daughter had finally come to her senses and he wanted to make sure she had the best person guiding her." He paused. "He asked me for a favor. I said yes."

Katherine sat with that for a moment. "Does he know that we've already met? Do we know each other?"

"No," Zane shook his head. "I didn't mention it."

"Why not?"

He looked at her. "Because this is actually perfect for us. Think about it. We were going to have to find ways to meet without raising suspicion. Now we don't have to. Every session we have here is already approved by your father. We can plan everything we need to plan and nobody will question it."

Katherine opened her mouth and then closed it again. Then she laughed, short and genuine. "One stone, two birds."

"Exactly."

She finally dropped her bag onto the chair beside her and relaxed properly for the first time since she walked in. "Okay," she said. "That actually works."

They sat quietly for a second and then she said, "Lucas didn't come home last night."

Zane nodded slowly. "Erica didn't either. But honestly, that's nothing new for me. I've known about the affair long enough that I stopped keeping track of when she comes and goes."

"How do you do that?" Katherine asked, and it wasn't an accusation, just a genuine question. "Just let it happen and not react?"

"Because reacting without a plan only gives them a reason to be more careful," he said. "The goal was never to catch them in the act. It was to have enough that they can't deny it. They can't spin it and can't escape it."

Katherine looked down at the desk. "I just hate that he thinks he can do whatever he wants and then walk back through that door like everything is normal. Like I'm just going to be there waiting."

"He does think that," Zane said. "And that's his biggest mistake." He leaned forward slightly.

"Katherine, forget him for a moment. Forget the affair and the cruise and all of it. Think about what you're actually doing here. You're building something for yourself that has nothing to do with him."

"I know."

"Do you?" he asked, not unkindly. "Because here's the thing about Lucas. He didn't just marry you because he loved you. A significant part of his reputation, his client list, the respect he gets in certain rooms, all of that comes from being connected to your family. He needs you more than you need him. And the moment you rise in that company, the moment people start seeing you as the Whitmore heiress and not just his wife, that fucker is going to feel it. Badly.”

Katherine was quiet for a moment. "He's always been proud of the connections," she said slowly, like she was remembering something. "Whenever we went to events, he always made sure people knew who my father was."

"Of course he did," Zane said simply.

She sat up a little straighter. "Then I'll make sure he watches me get to a height he'll never reach. Not because of who my father is but because of what I build myself."

"Now you're thinking clearly," Zane smiled and then reached for the folder on the desk.

***

The bedroom in Erica's private apartment was dim, the curtains drawn against the afternoon light.

Lucas was stretched out on top of the sheets, his shirt unbuttoned, turning a wine glass slowly in his hand. He watched Erica come out of the bathroom in a white robe and loose hair.

She climbed onto the bed beside him and reached for her own glass from the nightstand.

“Last week was a close call. We almost got caught.” Lucas started, fear flashing across his face.

Erica took a sip of her wine. "I know."

"I'm serious, Erica.”

She rolled her eyes and settled back against the pillows. "I told you bringing Katherine was a bad idea. I said it before you even booked the trip. We could have had the whole cruise to ourselves and instead we spent three days pretending." She shook her head. "She was everywhere."

"She's my wife. I could hardly leave her at home."

"Why not?" Erica said, perfectly serious. "You managed to leave her out of everything else."

Lucas looked at her.

Erica smiled and reached over to touch his jaw. "Relax. I'm just saying. She walks around that ship looking at you like you hung the moon. It's almost sad." She laughed a little, setting her glass down. "Katherine genuinely thinks you're hers."

"She is my wife," he said again, though it came out with less weight this time.

"She's your trophy," Erica said simply. "A beautiful, well-raised, well-connected trophy that you put on the shelf and take down when you need to look a certain way." She kissed him once, easy and unhurried. "And she has no idea."

Lucas didn't argue with that.

"Your husband nearly ruined everything as well," he said after a moment.

Erica pulled back slightly and the lightness in her expression cooled a little. "I already told you. I didn't know he was going to be there. Zane doesn't tell me his plans. He barely speaks to me at home." She looked away, something flickering across her face. "That cruise was actually the most I've heard him say in months."

"Then why did you marry him?" Lucas asked.

"Business. Family. The usual reasons people like us get married." She picked her glass back up. "It was never romantic. It was never supposed to be."

Lucas watched her. "Do you want it to be?"

She looked at him. "What?"

"With him. Do you actually want Zane and you're just here with me because he won't give you what you want?"

The question sat between them for seconds.

Erica held his gaze for a moment without answering and that moment was just a second too long.

"Erica."

"Don't do that," she sighed.

"I'm asking you a pretty simple question, you know?”

"And I'm telling you not to f*****g do that." She set her glass down and shifted toward him, her voice dropping. "I could have stayed in that marriage and made it work if I wanted to. Zane Ashford is not a man you leave easily, you know that. But I'm here. I chose this." She looked at him evenly. "Doesn't that mean something to you?"

Lucas looked at her for a long moment. The tension in his jaw slowly eased.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "It does. I’m sorry.”

She exhaled heavily and settled back against him while he put his arm around her, staring up at the ceiling.

"I love you," he said after nearly five minutes.

“Hmm.” Erica smiled and kissed him, leaving out a response.