Page 58 of If You Love Me

“Now you know I was a good husband,” I whispered.

“Oh, you were a great husband until she came back. Now, I don’t know who you are, Tyrion.”

“Yeah, well that makes two of us. This is hard for me, too, Nina.”

“Considering the obvious, it seems pretty fucking easy to me.”

“What is the obvious!” I yelled, throwing my hands up.

“You sent her divorce papers, Tyrion!”

I frowned. “I didwhat?”

“So you didn’t put divorce papers in her parents’ mailbox like a coward?”

“No, I didn’t. I would never do some shit like that to her. If I was going to divorce her, I would tell her to her face because she deserves that much respect.”

She stopped and stared at me. “You really didn’t do it?”

“On my life. I love her, Nina. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt her more.”

“Then who—” She paused. “That bitch. I’m gonna fuck Iona up. On everything I love, she’s catching these hands, Tyrion.”

She stormed ahead of me to catch up with the girls. I stood there for a moment, infuriated that Iona would pull some shit like this. She just wasn’t going to stop. At this point, she was being antagonizing, and the shit was turning me all the way off.

I took a deep breath and counted to ten to get my raging emotions under control. Once I was calm, I made my way through the funhouse to catch up with Nina and the girls. About five minutes later, we came out on the other side. Evenie was standing next to Jaime, with a look of relief on her face. Walking over to her, I gently took her arm and led her away.

“Tyrion, let go of me,” she said calmly.

I released her, but my gaze never left hers. “I know what you think I did, but that wasn’t me.”

She folded her arms. “So it was her?”

“It had to have been.”

“But you got the paperwork, and you signed it.”

“No, I didn’t. She took it upon herself to print that out—did you say signed it?”

“Yes. Your signature is there clear as day.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t do that to you, love. You know me, Evenie. You know how I feel about communication. Maybe I didn’t tell you about Iona first thing, but I have never lied to you. I’ve never done some underhanded shit like that, and I would never leave something as serious as divorce papers inyour parents’ mailbox. If I wanted to divorce you, I’d bring that conversation to you like a man.”

She eyed me suspiciously, but my stance never shifted. Her hands dropped to her side.

“You really didn’t know?” she asked.

“If I knew, you would have never gotten those papers. I told her flat out that I wasn’t doing this shit to you when she presented them to me.”

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “You need to get her under control. I’ve played nice, but she isn’t above me putting my hands on her, Tyrion. This shit is crazy. That’s the woman you want? That’s who you want to play step-mama to your daughter? Wow.”

She tried to walk off, but I gently took her arm again.

“Let me go,” she said firmly.

“Look at me.” Her gaze slowly met mine. “I’m gonna handle this. I’m sorry she did this shit to you, Ev. It’s not okay, and I’m not gonna let it slide.”

“If you say so, Tyrion. I’ll believe it when I see it. Can we just get back to the day?”

---