four

Once our drinks were firmly in hand, I turned to Harper. “So what happened?” I asked. “I thought you were happy.”

Harper took a long sip of her gin and tonic before answering. “Gracie happened,” she said. “Dan always told me that he wanted to have children, but when I got pregnant, he behaved as if it was nothing more than a silly hobby of mine. He didn’t come to any of the doctor’s appointments, and he wouldn’t come with me to pick out furniture for the nursery. The night I went into labor, Dan was at the theater reviewing a new show. I texted him and told him to meet me at the hospital.”

I felt my eyes go wide. “Please do not tell me that he didn’t go to the hospital,” I said.

Harper shook her head. “Oh no, he came all right. But it was four hours later. Not only did he stay for the entire play, but he went to the office to write up his notes while they were, and I quote, ‘still fresh in his head.’”

“Oh Harper,” I said, giving her arm a sympathetic squeeze, “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

Harper shrugged. “I hardly see him anymore. He’s always working on that damn book of his. I think. But it’s fine. In a way, it’s a good thing. I mean, the scales finally fell from my eyes, and I realized what a colossal jackass he is.”

“Don’t feel you need to mince words on my behalf,” said Nigel. “Marriage to Nic has cured me of my delicate sensibilities.”

I let out an inelegant snort. “You wouldn’t know a delicate sensibility if it snuck up and bit you on the ass.”

“That right there shows how little you know about delicate sensibilities,” Nigel replied waving a scolding finger at me. “They wouldn’t dream of doing something so crass.”

I swatted his finger before turning back to Harper. “Have you told Dan how you feel?” I asked.

Harper let out a mirthless little laugh. “Are you kidding? Even if I did, he wouldn’t believe me. His ego has grown to such proportions that I think I could walk up to him, tell him I hated him, shoot him, and he’d still think it was a misunderstanding.”

“So what are you going to do?” I asked.

Harper took a deep breath. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, I have to think about Gracie.” She paused and added, “Even though he certainly doesn’t.” She took a sip of her drink. “I just know I can’t continue with the way things are anymore.”

“Meaning divorce?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Harper sighed. “I don’t want to make any rash decisions now, especially when I haven’t slept through the night in months. And if I do decide to leave him, I’m going to need a damn good game plan.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Harper glanced around and lowered her voice. “You’ve heard of a premarital contract, right?”

“Of course.”

Harper sighed. “Well, in my stupid naivety, I thought that I didn’t need one. Daddy pushed and pushed for me to get Dan to sign one, but I thought the very idea was disgusting. So I refused. The bottom line is that if I divorce Dan now, he gets half of everything.”

I did not come from a family of wealth. I did, however, marry into one. The net worth of the Martini family is one of those figures that would cause your fingers to cramp if you were to write it out in longhand. However, compared to Harper’s, they’re barely scraping by. Even half of what little Harper controlled would still be a fortune.

“Harper,” I began.

Harper raised her hand to stop me, saying, “Don’t say it. I’m already kicking myself on a daily basis for that decision. But don’t worry about me. I’ll figure something out. And in the meantime, I’m focusing on two things: Gracie and not bashing in his face.” She drained the rest of her drink. “Would anyone else care for another one?” she asked indicating her empty glass.

Nigel glanced down at his unfinished drink and shrugged. “Well, when in Rome, I always say,” he replied as he tossed back the remains.

“We’re not in Rome,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but I have it on good authority that all roads lead there,” he replied.

I considered his point. “Can’t argue with that logic,” I finally agreed as I did the same.