Chapter 44

I knock on Derek’s door and call out to the girls as I step inside. “Bea? Tris? It’s Miss Esme from next door!”

I see the younger daughter poke her head out from behind the couch. “Miss Esme!”

Bea comes running out of her room, black hair everywhere. “You came over!”

She nearly tackles me with her hug, and I can’t help but laugh. “Oh, gosh! Yes, I’m here, I came to see how you two are and to talk to your dad.”

“Oh, just talk?” Bea wiggles her eyebrows.

“Bea!” I scold her with a smile. “Yes! To talk!”

“About?” Tris has now made her way over to us.

“Your dad is helping me separate from my husband.”

The girl’s mouth’s drop open with large “O’s.”

“You’re married?” They yell in unison. Do they practice that same-time routine?

“Technically, yes, I’m still married.”

“I didn’t know that!” Tris complains.

“Is that because you two thought I was going to go on a date with your father?”

The girls don’t reply; instead, they trade stares. Their eyes are still wide, but I smirk and them and let out a laugh.

“You two are so clever, you know that? More than any young girls I know.”

Bea puffs out her chest and returns my smile. “I like being smart!”

I touch the back of Bea’s head, looking at her with all the admiration in my heart. “Don’t ever lose that desire to be the smartest person in the room, okay? Boys can be mean, and others will doubt your intelligence.”

“No way!” Tris crosses her arms.

“Yes, way!” I retort. “Sometimes being the smartest can also be the loneliest.”

“We’re not lonely! We have you and our dad!” Bea confirms.

“You do indeed.”

A pounding suddenly sounds from behind me, the front door loud against our ears.

“I know you’re in there, Esme! Open this door right now!”

Is…is that Ryan?

I spin around to shield the girls automatically. What the fuck is he doing here?

And above all, how did he know I was here?

“Esme!” He pounds on the door again.

“Who is that?” Tris whimpers against my leg.

“A mean man,” Bea replies, barely above a whisper.

“You’re not wrong,” I murmur.

The pounding stops, and we back up slowly from the door. Hopefully, Derek will come back to the apartment soon and can help us out. Ryan may have dropped me, but with Derek’s girls, I’m severely nervous for their own safety.

Then in one singular motion, Ryan comes bursting through the door shoulder first. He’s utterly red in the face, his blonde hair an interesting contrast to his skin.

“Girls, go in your room!” I tell them, hurrying them down the hallway of Derek’s apartment.

“Miss Esme!” Tris cries, but I turn in time to watch Bea pull her younger sister away from us.

When I return my gaze to my soon-to-be-ex, he’s still breathing heavily, the door wide open now as his blue eyes whip around in every direction.

“What are you doing?” I snap at Ryan, not even knowing where to start.

“What am I doing? What are you doing, going into some man’s apartment and being around his daughters?” He emphasizes all of the words as if they are slurs. It’s sickening.

“For your information,” I seethe, gritting my teeth as I watch the bastard. “This is none of your business!”

“Anything you do with another man is always my business!”

“Not when you’ve fucked my cousin and filed for divorce! I filed that restraining order for a reason, and here you are, breaking the law.”

“It’s not in effect unless they can serve me with the papers. And guess what I’ve still yet to receive?”

“That’s not going to matter in a moment.”

Ryan and I turn to the door, and neither of us notices that Derek has returned to his apartment. His eyes are stunned, glowering at Ryan as if a hungry wolf.

“You live here?” Ryan’s shock even surprises me. He didn’t know this was Derek’s place? Then how did he know this is someone else’s home with other people’s kids?

“And you’re trespassing,” Derek replies cooly, taking large steps as he approaches my idiot husband.

“What are you doing with my wife, you big brute?”

I groan at his attempt of insults, but I’ve learned that Derek is nothing if not the most intelligent man in the room. He’s always five steps ahead of everyone.

“First of all, Ryan,” his voice is a low growl. “You have entered my private property without ever actually speaking to me. That alone is a breaking and entering charge.”

Ryan points his finger at me, but I can’t see his face. “I was following her.”

“Her name is Esme. And she had permission to be here. If I’m not mistaken, aren’t you trying to divorce her for absolutely everything she is worth, Ryan?”

I thought Ryan’s emphasis was strong, but Derek’s is much more intimidating.

“You can’t go around fucking other people’s wives, Mr. Anderson.”

Instead of responding, Derek walks past Ryan and over to me, touching my arm as he leans in. “Are you alright? The girls?”

I nod, though still shaking from the adrenaline rush of the door being slammed open. “We’re okay.”

This seems to enrage Ryan further. “Get your hands off my wife!”

But that’s another mistake. Ryan lifts his arm up to hit one of us—I’m honestly unsure who he’s aiming for—but Derek’s quicker. He grabs the other man’s arm and twists him around so fast that I wonder for a second if I’m seeing things.

“The moment you decided to fuck someone else, you lost the right to care about, talk to, or be anywhere near Esme,” Derek tells him as Ryan cries out like a child.

“You have no say in any of this!”

Derek twists harder, making my husband scream.

“You came into my house today. You scared my kids. You scared my employee. You’re in violation of your restraining order, and above all else, no one wants you here.”

Using this as a bit of momentum, I step in front of Ryan as he struggles against my six-foot-tall boss.

“Just because you weren’t given the paperwork doesn’t make you innocent,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “You broke every promise of our marriage. Now, you break into someone’s home and threaten those inside. You’re not just causing unnecessary havoc; you’re making a goddamn fool out of yourself.”

Ryan tries again to pull from my boss’ grip but fails again.

“I’m not signing anything,” he flat-out taunts.

“Then get ready for an embarrassing trial,” I spit back.

“Get off my property before I call the police. You have wasted enough of our time today.”

Derek pushes Ryan hard toward the door, and he quite literally falls onto the sidewalk outside.

The two of us standing over the idiot, Ryan wipes at his lip, which has somehow begun bleeding.

“Don’t forget, Esme. We’re still legally married. You can’t hide behind a temporary restraining order if I can help it.”

“It’s a legal document, so unless you want to be taken to jail right away, I suggest you continue to show up.”

I swing my head up to Derek, who’s face is scrunched up like he’s never had a reason to be so angry before. I see his muscle strain, noticing his fists clenching so hard I wonder if he’ll make himself bleed.

“Unless you want a black eye to go with that bloody lip, I suggest getting the fuck off my property and never coming back.”

Somehow, that is the ticket, and Ryan quickly scampers up and limps down the row of apartments, snarling and murmuring to himself.

He glances back at me and lets his eyes squint at me as best he can. He seems to remind me none of this is over.

And even with all my anger, I still wish to be alone to burst into tears.