Replacing my ex

Chapter 17

“Sign these,” I said, tossing the envelope straight at his chest.

“Hon, I-,” Ryan started, his tone oozing with that sickening, patronizing sweetness he always used when he thought he could manipulate me.

“Enough with the ‘hon’s for God’s sake. Just sign the papers,” I snapped, my voice ringing hard and clear down the hallway.

“What is this?” he asked, as he picked the envelope up from where it had fallen to the carpet after bouncing off his chest.

He pulled the documents out and his eyes scanned the first page before his jaw dropped, his face draining of all colour.

“Here,” Sam said smoothly, stepping forward and holding out a sleek black pen, her lawyer persona locked firmly in place.

“What’s this? You can’t be serious. Lila. Answer me right now. What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, his voice pitching higher as panic started to replace his false confidence.

“They’re divorce papers, Ryan. Sign them,” I said, keeping my voice completely level.

“Are you insane, Lila? Come on, let’s be rational. I said I was sorry. Let’s just go home. I’ll make you dinner and we can talk about this like adults,” he pleaded, taking a step toward me with a desperate, pleading look in his eyes.

“Sign the papers, Ryan,” I insisted, standing my ground.

“Honey, please. You don’t mean this. You’re just angry, and I get it, but all of this- it’s just a

massive misunderstanding,” he begged, his hands hovering uselessly in the air.

“What part of it is a misunderstanding, exactly?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “The cheating? The lying? The calculated manipulation? The financial fraud? Which one of those is a misunderstanding, Ryan?”

“Hon-”

“Call me hon one more time,” I warned, taking a dangerous step forward.

He threw his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, okay! Sorry. Lila. Please. I can explain everything if you’ll just listen.”

“You can explain it to a judge. Just sign the papers, Ryan,” I said, completely fed up with his pathetic excuses.

When he realized words weren't working, he actually dropped to his knees, reaching out a trembling hand toward my waist. I immediately slapped his hand away, disgusted.

“Babe?” Willow cried out from down the hall, walking over with an expression of pure, unadulterated shock on her face.

“What is going on out here?”

“Lila, I’m begging you. Don’t do this to us,” Ryan continued, completely ignoring Willow.

“Don’t piss me off Ryan. Sign the damn papers,” I growled, my patience wearing dangerously thin.

Slowly, Ryan hauled himself back up to his feet. The desperation in his eyes flickered out, replaced by a sudden, stubborn flash of anger.

“No,” he said flatly.

“Babe?” Willow shrieked at the exact same moment I blurted out,

“Excuse me?”

“No. I won’t sign them,” he repeated, his jaw tightening before he suddenly ripped the papers clean in half.

“Ryan!” Willow cried, her voice cracking in horror. “What are you doing?!”

“You do know we can just print out a hundred other copies, right?” I sighed, crossing my arms at the sheer stupidity of his actions.

“And I’ll rip those up too, Lila! I don’t care!” he declared, puffing out his chest as if he were starring in some tragic romantic drama.

“I’ll fight you on this. I’ll fight for you. I’ll fight for this marriage!”

At that absolute absurdity, I looked over at Sam, and the two of us simultaneously burst into helpless, hysterical laughter.

“Let’s just go to marriage counseling instead, Lila! We can work it out!” he yelled desperately.

Which, somehow, only made our laughter worse. My sides were aching, and tears of pure amusement prickled at the corners of my eyes at how utterly delusional he was.

“Let’s go,” I told Sam once we finally managed to catch our breath.

As we turned to walk toward the elevators, Ryan’s hand shot out to grab my wrist, but I jerked my arm back, dodging his grip with ease.

“Ryan, what the hell?!” Willow shrieked again behind us.

“Shut up, Willow!” Ryan shouted back at her.

Sam and I didn’t look back, stepping into the elevator as the two of them immediately launched into a full-blown, screaming match down the corridor.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked gently once we were safely buckled into her car.

“Yes. Although, it’s pretty clear Ryan is going to make this as complicated and obnoxious as possible,” I sighed, rubbing my temples.

“Looks like it,” Sam agreed, her hands gripping the steering wheel tight enough for her knuckles to turn white.

“But whether his stubborn ass likes it or not, this divorce is happening.”

“Thank you, Sam. For everything,” I turned to her earnestly, feeling a profound wave of gratitude.

“No worries. We’re going to take that bastard down,” she said with a fierce, determined grin.

Sam drove me back to my apartment.

When I finally walked through the door, the adrenaline completely drained out of me, leaving behind a crushing wall of exhaustion. I collapsed face-first onto the couch, spilling every chaotic detail of the confrontation to Viola.

After venting, I took a long, scalding shower to wash away the last lingering stress of the day. Viola and I cooked a simple, comforting dinner together, ate while watching a mindless movie on the TV, and turned in early. I couldn't wait for the weekend to finally arrive.

The weekend moved at a deliciously slow, lazy pace. The perfect antidote to a chaotic week.

True to our plans, Viola and I headed over to Sam’s place on Saturday evening.

“There will be no talk of my good for nothing ex husband tonight,” I declared the moment I sat in Sam’s living room.

“Amen to that,” Viola agreed as she uncorked a bottle of rich red wine.

Sam nodded in approval while she set before us a platter of the most appetizing chicken wings I had ever seen.

“I could kiss you right now, Sam,” Viola said, her eyes glued to the wings.

Sam laughed in response.

That evening, we uncorked several bottles of wine, blasted our favourite songs, and just let loose, laughing until our stomachs hurt.

“So, wait, how is work going by the way?” Sam asked me midway through the evening.

“Oh, my god,” I gasped, my eyes widening. “I completely forgot all about work with all this divorce madness going on. You’ll never guess what happened yesterday.”

I let them beg and plead for a full minute before I leaned forward with a massive grin and began recounting the chaotic, surreal Friday I had at Legacy Tower, keeping them thoroughly entertained well into the night.