“No!” The word burst from his mouth. His face darkened instantly, his mouth pressed into a hard line.
3
Arizona’s POV
“Right now is a crucial time for me,” Charlton said in a low voice. “If a divorce scandal breaks out, it will damage my chances of promotion. Wait one week. Once I’m promoted, we’ll talk about it.”
As soon as he finished, he scooped the sobbing Mariam into his arms and strode away, as though afraid I might say something else he didn’t want to hear.
Without anyone else but me around, the room fell silent. I stood frozen, then a bitter laugh escaped my throat, and tears blurred my vision.
So that was it. It wasn’t that Charlton refused to divorce me. He had only been stalling because he feared for his career.
I had been telling myself to be patient, that one week was nothing. I could wait.
After that, I would divorce him and see both him and Mariam pay for what they had done!
I curled slowly onto the small, already-ruined bed where my son had once slept.
My tears soaked the pillow little by little until exhaustion pulled me under.
When I opened my eyes the next morning, a small blanket had been draped over me.
I pushed it aside with a sneer. What game was Charlton playing now?