Replacing my ex

Chapter 3

When I woke up the next morning it was to a shrill, piercing sound that jerked me upright.

A pounding headache instantly throbbed behind my eyes, accompanied by a wave of intense nausea. I groaned and lay back down against the pillows, squinting as I tried to make sense of my surroundings.

Then, the memories of last night came rushing back like a tidal wave.

I was in the honeymoon suite of The Sovereign. Alone.

The sound that had dragged me from my fitful slumber was the hotel phone at my bedside. I reached over and picked up the receiver.

“Good morning, Mrs. Miller,” the receptionist’s voice chirped politely. “It’s 15 minutes until official checkout time. Would you like to request a late checkout?”

“Um… no, thanks. I’ll be out in a few,” I croaked.

I forced myself out of bed and dragged my feet into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and quickly scrubbed the smeared evidence of last night’s breakdown off my skin. Because I was working against the clock, I didn’t bother with my usual grooming routine. I pulled on the casual dress I had specially chosen for our ‘magical morning after’, packed up my stuff, and headed downstairs.

“How was your stay with us, Mrs Miller?” the receptionist asked, offering a practiced smile.

“Lila, please,” I corrected quietly.

“My apologies. How was your stay with us, Lila?” she asked again.

I didn’t even know how to begin answering that question. ‘I absolutely lost it after I found out my husband is having a baby with his ex but the bathroom floor in the suite was actually quite perfect for having a mental breakdown’?

“It’s a beautiful suite,” I replied instead, hoping she would just drop it.

Once the checkout cleared, I walked down to the hotel’s basement parking garage, resolving to pick up some pain meds on my way home.

At home, I managed to force down some basic breakfast. I sat at the kitchen table and immediately began mapping out my next steps. If you had told me yesterday morning that I would be spending today googling divorce attorneys, I would have called you insane. Yet here I was, scrolling through endless legal listings.

The options were overwhelming. It turned out that heartbreak was a booming business.

Overwhelmed, I finally decided to call my best friend, Viola. I needed someone to talk through this whole thing with. To tell me if I was completely losing my mind for jumping straight to divorce.

Aside from Ryan, Viola was all I had. We met at night school and became instant friends. She knew every last secret I possessed, and I knew hers. We were basically sisters at this point.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite person in the entire universe,” Viola answered.

Typical. She never started a conversation with a normal ‘hi’ or ‘hey’.

I smiled genuinely for the first time in a while.

“Are you busy?” I asked.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Where are you? Send me your location right now,” Viola said, the playful tone vanishing instantly, replaced by sharp concern. She could always read me perfectly, even through the phone.

“I’d prefer to come to you, if that’s okay,” I answered.

“I’m home right now,” she said without hesitation. “I have a Teams meeting in a few, but consider it cancelled. I also have a tub of ice cream and a bunch of wine. I’ll be sitting here sharpening my kitchen knives until you arrive.”

“Good. We might actually need them,” I murmured, chuckling softly.

I was already starting to feel a tiny bit better. God, I loved this girl.

“I’ll be there soon.”

When I started the car engine, the radio instantly played the first chords of Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License.

I glared at the dashboard.

“Not now, Olivia,” I said aloud as I slapped the power button, plunging the car into silence.

When I pulled into the parking lot of Viola’s apartment complex, I looked up and saw her standing by her window, watching for my car. A rush of pure affection for her warmed my chest.

The moment I stepped through her front door, Viola was already there with her arms wide open.

I collapsed into her embrace, and the dam finally broke. These weren’t dainty, quiet tears. They were big, ugly, body-shaking sobs. We clung to each other until the storm in my chest quieted down.

She gently led me to her big, plush couch. I lay down, resting my head in her lap as she softly stroked my hair. Because she knew me so well, she didn’t bombard me with questions right away. She let me break the silence when I was ready.

“My life is over,” I finally whispered, sitting up.

“Not on my watch, it isn’t,” she countered with a sad smile. “How about we start from the beginning?”

I looked at her face and let out a watery laugh. “Are you crying? You don’t even know what happened yet!”

“I’m not crying. You are! You big crybaby,”she scoffed, playfully hiding her face as she walked to the kitchen.

She returned a moment later with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” I asked.

“Considering you look like you’ve been weeping for days on end, it’s right on time,” she said with a smirk, handing me a glass.

She disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with a tub of ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. My favorite!

We curled up on the couch, and I told her everything. I didn’t hold back a single detail, finally sliding my phone over to show her the entire text thread. By the time she finished reading, Viola was absolutely seething.

“Do you think I would be overreacting if I talked to a divorce lawyer?” I asked tentatively.

“I think you’re under-reacting,” she shot back instantly. “You should have had an appointment booked an hour ago. What are we even waiting for?”

She aggressively pulled out her phone. “That bastard better pray I don’t catch him in the streets. It is on sight,” she exclaimed, punching the air, throwing an imaginary right hook at Ryan’s face.

I laughed, taking another bite of ice cream.

“Wait,” Viola stopped, narrowing her eyes. “Have you even heard from him since yesterday morning?”

I paused.

“Actually… no. I didn’t even notice until just now.”

“Right. That settles it,” Viola stated, her logistical brain kicking into overdrive. “There’s a moving company a few blocks from here. We can have you moved in here in just a few hours. You never have to look at his stupid face again.”

Before I could even process that, she kept typing on her phone.

“And… done. I just booked you an appointment with a top-rated divorce lawyer. I like her reviews. I think she would be a good match for you.”

Viola stood up and looked down at me, clapping her hands. “What are you waiting for? We have a lot of ground to cover today. Chop chop!” She reached down to snatch the ice cream away.

“Wait, Vi,” I stammered. “Isn’t this too fast? The moving, the lawyer… all of it? I haven’t even thought everything through.”

Viola paused, her expression softening. She sat back down beside me and took my hand. “I’m sorry, babe. I thought this was what you wanted. What do you actually want to do right now?”

I looked at her, swallowing hard. “I mean… I like the plan. I’m just in shock, I guess, and I haven’t figured out all the details.”

“And I know much you love a good plan,” she teased, her usual smile returning. “God forbid Lila Storm wakes up without a detailed plan for the next seventeen years of her life.”

I hadn’t heard my maiden name in five years.

I laughed, playfully shoving her off the couch.

“Hey, watch it!”she shouted from the floor. “That’s my good shag rug. Don’t go flipping your ice cream all over it.”

“God forbid Viola Hutch can’t get her back cracked on a pristine rug,” I fired back.

By then, we were both trapped in a fit of giggles.

After a serious discussion, we finalized the temporary living arrangements and drove over to the house I shared with Ryan. I was pleasantly surprised to see the moving truck was already backed into the driveway, complete with stacks of empty boxes.

After we stepped out of the car, Viola casually walked over and hugged one of the two movers.

I blinked, a smirk spreading across my face.

“Wow, Viola. This moving company really takes customer service to a whole new level. Talk about above and beyond! You certainly know how to pick a service provider.”

“Shut up,” she laughed. “Lila, meet Caleb. Caleb, this is Lila.”

“Hi Caleb,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Hi Lila,” he replied with a smile.

We quickly mapped out a strategy. Everyone took a role, and we made incredibly fast work of it.

Even though I hadn’t packed a single thing prior to our arrival, we managed to load up all of my clothes and personal belongings in just under two hours. I made a strict point to leave behind any household items or decor we had bought together. I wanted nothing that associated me with him.

All that was left to gather were my most important legal documents. My passport, academic documents, birth certificate and our marriage license.

On my way toward the bedroom safe, which Ryan had insisted on installing for “security”, I kept chatting with Viola.

“So… Caleb?” I asked, winking and making mock kissing noises.

Viola rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t hide her grin.

“It’s really not that deep. We literally met 2 weeks ago. But I’ll tell you everything when we get home. I know how much you like the dirty details. You nasty girl.”

We both laughed as I crouched down in front of the safe.

I opened the heavy steel safe and began flipping mechanically through documents, still talking and laughing along with Viola.

My fingers brushed past tax returns, searching for my passport and our marriage license.

But then, an unfamiliar legal folder caught my eye.

It was a deed of purchase for an apartment. I recognized the luxury downtown address instantly.

It was the exact "investment property" Ryan had raved about months ago, claiming it would secure our financial future. He had begged me to sign off on releasing the funds from our joint savings account to pay for it.

I opened the folder, expecting to see Miller Holdings or both of our names on the title.

My eyes scanned down to the legal owner line. My breath trapped inside my throat.

The property hadn't been bought for business. And my name was nowhere near the paperwork.

The deed was registered completely, legally, and entirely to Willow Black.