Page 2 of Bad Luck, Hard Love
For years, I was nothing more than a pressure valve for his temper. If work stressed him out or plans fell through, I paid for it. With bruises. With silence. He cheated constantly—secretaries, waitresses, wives of business partners. Terrance had charm in spades. He used it to hook me. Then he used it to trap me.
I tried to leave. God, I tried. But every single time, he found me. Once, I made it three days—just three—before he dragged me back from a motel two states away. It wasn’t until he hit me in public, right in front of a business partner, that everything changed. One slip. One witness. And his perfect image cracked wide open.
I inhale deeply, trying to steady my pulse. Every nerve in my body screams to run, but I hold my ground. If I back down now, I’ll carry that regret forever.
“I didn’t provoke you. You hit me. You broke me. You turned me into someone I don’t recognize. That’s on you—not me.”
He doesn’t respond. Just stares at the table. Then, slowly, he looks away.
His attorney clears his throat, finally breaking the silence.
“Can I have a moment with my client?” Terrance’s attorney requests, masking the unease beneath it. The request hangs in the air with unspoken tension, and after a brief, silent nod from Gail, he and Terrance slip from their chairs. They move deliberately to the far corner of the confined room, creating a barrier of space that feels like an eternity's chasm. Their heads bend toward each other, adopting a conspiratorial stance as they huddle together. From this distance, their muted whispers are indecipherable, lost in the oppressive quiet that envelops us like a shroud.
I watch them intently. His shoulders are tense, squared with a stubborn defiance that I know all too well. It's the same stance he used to adopt before lashing out in anger—an anger that used to leave me shattered and fearful. But now, that fear is something I'm determined to overcome.
Several agonizing minutes tick by slowly as if time itself is reluctant to move forward. Finally, Terrance and his attorney cease their exchange. They return to the table with an air of reluctant acceptance weighing down their shoulders.
Terrance's face is impassive as he takes his seat again, avoiding eye contact as if looking into my eyes might burn him. I study his face for any flicker of emotion—remorse or recognition of what he's done—but find only stone-cold indifference. The silence stretches taut between us until it threatens to snap.
“We recognize how challenging this situation is,” his lawyer says, settling back into his chair. “However, we are prepared to accept your conditions. We agree to the proposed settlement and are ready to sign the documents to finalize the divorce.”
My heart stutters. It’s over. It’s really over.
The papers are passed across the table, the pen heavy in my hand as I stare down at the final line that still bears my name—his name. With a steady breath, I sign. One stroke after another, I sever the last legal tie binding me to the man who once promised me forever.
Terrance signs next, his expression unreadable. No words are exchanged between us. There’s nothing left to say.
A wave of relief crashes over me, stronger than I expected. I can finally begin to rebuild my life. It's been a long and brutal journey, but I know that with time, I’ll heal—and I’ll come back stronger.
I rise from the table and offer Terrance a faint smile. He gives a short nod, not quite meeting my eyes.
As soon as I step into the hallway and the door clicks shut behind me, I break. Tears spill freely, raw and unrelenting. My attorney catches me in her arms, holding me as I sob against her shoulder.
“You did it, Charlotte,” she whispers.
I draw back and wipe my face, clearing away the last tears he’ll ever cause. For the first time in seven years, I feel it in my bones—freedom.
CHARLOTTE - PRESENT DAY
The sun shinesthrough my open patio doors as the sound of the waves from the Pacific Ocean crashes against the beach in the distance. The early morning sun peeks through my curtains as they sway against the breeze coming off the water.
I roll over and feel the soft cotton sheets against my bare skin. My eyes lock onto the empty half of the king-size bed. The only other occupied space on the bed is from a tightly coiled black kitten—the only worthwhile companion I have found the last few months.
Meow.Shadow calls out when he notices I am awake. He pads over to me with an exaggerated stretch, butting his head against my face with a loud purr rumbling from his chest. I peer over at my phone on the nightstand and groan when the time pops up on the screen.
“Seriously?” I grumble. “I don’t have to get up for work for another three hours. Can’t you go back to sleep?” He paws at my face, “I’ll take that as a no.”
I stretch leisurely on my bed. My satin sheets feel cool and smooth against my skin. Shadow follows suit, making a grand spectacle of rolling by my feet. He brushes against my bare legs as I force myself up.
“You’re hungry, I get it,” I scoff before heading to the kitchen. I make quick work of Shadow’s breakfast while I let my coffee maker brew. The sweet smell of coffee fills the small space that surrounds me. Taking my cup, I grab a blanket and my phone from my room, step out onto the open patio, and settle into one of the rattan deck chairs to watch the sunrise. A beautiful kaleidoscope of oranges and pinks brightens up the sky. The best view money could buy, and I got it with Terrance’s money.
I let out a deep sigh and close my eyes, feeling the warm sun on my face. I hadn’t heard or seen him since our settlement. Not that I was concerned with his life in the least. Terrance came from money, and his family, well, they’ve likely already started searching for the next Mrs. Roberts. I had none of those things when we met. I’d been working two jobs, living in the tiniest studio apartment I could afford, barely making ends meet, until he stumbled into the bar where I’d been working. From then on, he came in every night. Until I fell for the monster I didn’t know he was.
He’s in the past now. A fading memory, I was actively working to distance myself from each day. The first step was buying my townhouse far from Los Angeles and his family. Isettled into a quiet ocean town up the coast, as remote as you could be in California. While the spousal support would set me up for the next couple of years, I’d opted to work. Relying on that money would be a crutch, so I found a remote position working as a billing agent for an online pharmacy. It wasn’t the grandest job, but it paid the bills so that I didn’t need to dip into my alimony savings.
Shadow jumps onto the chair, sniffing around my coffee cup. I take another sip before setting it down, then pick up my phone to check my messages. Most are work emails from the East Coast offices, but it’s a message from my friend, Minny, that grabs my attention.
I click on the notification and scan through the messages she sent me while I was asleep. An image pops up on the screen. Her smiling face is set against the backdrop of an airport. I stare at it, realizing she’s at LAX.
