Divorced! Now what?

Chapter 42

Bethany POV



After the meeting, I headed to see Mr Green. I gowned up and took a tray of coffee and snacks with me. We restricted who could visit until after the operation, and if the family wished to sit with him, they needed to gown up and no kissing. We cannot risk any infection so close to the operation.

'Good morning Bethany, all set for Monday?'

'Good morning, and yes. I have the media starting to promote it on Sunday and wanted to warn you.' I started as a greeting.

'Well, that will be interesting. I will have to watch the TV and see if I have a good face on.' He chuckled.

'I did not think you would want a picture of you. I mean how you are now.'

'I think they should come here and take a picture of me so they can see how I am before the operation and what I am going through, don't you think?' Mr Green was a wonder; he thought over all of this and was prepared for the media circus this might cause.

'I will speak to Mr Philips; he is our voice to the people, and I will see if he would like to do that.' Mr Green was serious. I did not want to get him all worked up, and in the end, I agreed to mention it to our media representative.

Mr. Philips, or Saun, as he wanted to be called now he was under contract, had wanted to do the waiting room side of it, and I loved the idea, so he jumped at the chance to meet Mr. Green.

'Come with me, and I will introduce you to Mr Green.' I had Saun follow me and give him a gown. I am eager to get in there, meet Mr Green, and get permission to take photos. He would add this to the media release and put a current face on it.

'Mr Green, this is our media man, Mr Philips.' I introduced them and left Saun to ask all the questions.

'Please call me Saun. Can I take some pictures of you? Some before and after, and then maybe in a few months, as you get stronger and better?' I loved the way he spoke to Mr Green. He did not show any signs of this going wrong.

'That sounds like a good plan, document it all for the world to see how great this is going to be for everyone.'

Saun and Mr Green got on well. Saun took several photos both in the room and outside, so others could see his isolation until the operation. After about half an hour, Saun left, and I needed to leave. I had to prepare to see Bret. I had no idea what he wanted and was a little concerned he would take Cynthia with him, hence the need for Theo as my backup plan.

Theo came to my door at six, and we had a coffee. I was wondering if I could sit and eat with Bret.

'So you want me to be your boyfriend, and this Bret is your ex?' Wow, thanks for being so blunt about this.

'Yeah, a recent event.' I was not happy to meet with him; he had nothing I wanted to hear.

'I have your back. Don't worry; I will say nothing unless you need me to.'

We walked to Dino's entrance and found a table. We sat so we could see the door, order coffee, and wait. I feel I did nothing but drink coffee all day today. 

Bret walked in alone. To my relief, I did not want another session with my sister today. I watched as he looked around the room for me. His eyes lit up when he saw me and dimmed when I noticed Theo beside me. 

'Hi.' Bret greeted me as he took a seat opposite me, ignoring Theo.

The waitress arrived, and he ordered a coffee and waited till she left.

'Why? Bethany.' He started, and I had no idea what he meant. Which why?

'Think you better tell me what you mean by why, Bret.' 

'Why did you divorce me and leave my clothes at Cynthia's place and lock me out of my own home? That man was going to call the police and have me arrested for trying to break into my own home.' So he wanted to play dumb. He had to have known from what was written on the divorce notice.

'I heard that you and Cynthia are expecting a baby.' I replied softly. I wanted confirmation.

'That is what she said, but I have yet to see proof.' He said sadly. I think there is a chink in his armor at last.

'You don't believe her?' I asked incredulously.

'Cynthia has had several men in her life. If she is pregnant, I will need a DNA test done before I accept it as mine.' He sounded defeated, and I briefly wondered what had happened. Did she kick him out, and was he trying to crawl back to me? That is different from what that photo Dad shared with me looked like. It seemed nice and cozy.

The waitress arrived with his coffee, stopping all our conversation as she placed it on the table, giving me a chance to absorb what she was saying.

'Bethany, why? I thought you loved me. Why mistreat me?' He pushed again.

'You know what you did.' I spat back, trying not to get angry with him.

'Tell me, give me closure.' He was not backing off; he wanted all his dirty laundry out in the open. Well, that's okay then.

'You have been sleeping with my sister, not once but many times over the years; you have been spending my money on her, buying her expensive jewelry, and taking her on holidays while telling me it is work-related. You never brought me jewelry or took me out on holiday; you were always too busy, and I found out why. You are trying to tell me it was not what it looked like and that you are innocent in all of this?' I spat at him with more venom than I had thought I had in me.

'I do not deny I did sleep with her just once, and for that, I am sorry, and what you are saying is untrue; you and I did have good times together. The jewelry was for birthday and Christmas gifts and was for work-related trips, not holidays. Could you please let me know why you threw me out like last night's trash?'

I pulled out my phone and played the video of them that I had given to my lawyer. He watched the video, and his face paled as he saw all the truth playing in front of him.

'If you saw this, would you not wish to throw that person out like last night's trash?' I asked softly, quieter than I intended.

'You were home? You saw? Or was this someone you had following me?' He said bitterly. I wondered if that bitterness was because he was caught and the nerve of this man to try and make me look like the insecure one.

'Yes, I was home. I swapped shifts with another doctor and was a little surprised by what I saw. I had my phone out to take a photo of you and was a little surprised at what more I had gained, and then you phoned me to say you were leaving early for your trip. That gave me the time to see a lawyer, get a divorce, and start looking for a new home, but your phone call saying you were staying for an extra day was icing on the cake, giving me extra time to sell the house and move out, all done in four days.' I spoke coldly and without emotion; I was beyond it now; it was time to put it behind me.

'I am so sorry, and I never meant to hurt you. It all started after a drunken night out and grew from there. I am so very sorry. I wanted to get back to you and start over again.' I interrupted him before he started to dribble more lies.

'I call what you are saying Bullshit. Are we done now? Got your answers?' I was fuming.

'Yeah, I can see that you are not going to give me a chance to make it up to you, that we are beyond repair, that nothing I say or do will change what has happened or have a chance to start a new, that video was a little confronting, and I am shocked to see it.' He probably did not hear about the video or maybe did not believe it was true.

'A front row seat of your betrayal, it was confronting, and no, you are right, you have no chance for us to get back together, and nothing you say or do will change what happened that day, to shatter my illusions about our marriage.' I almost let myself fall into years as I admitted the loss of our marriage and how foolish I was that he ever loved me.

Bret looked at me with sad eyes, stood up, and left the café, not once looking back. His back was straight, his head held high, but I knew he had lost this fight.

Chapter 43 - Divorced! Now what?