Page 203 of Pucking Wild

“What finally tipped your scales? You ignored the abuse because he was always careful. There was never any proof, no witnesses. It was my word against his—”

“Tess—”

“So, what changed, Bea?” I press. “Did you find out about the stalking and harassment? Maybe someone tipped you off about the photographer he’s had trailing me for weeks.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replies, every inch the boardroom tiger protecting her wayward cub.

I narrow my eyes, hooking on the truth. “It was the TRO, wasn’t it?”

Her eyes flash, and I know I’m right.

“He used your name, didn’t he? He roped you in to pull strings with the judge. You’re not just protecting him now. You’re here protecting yourself…aren’t you?”

“You have what you wanted,” she says, pointing to the papers. “The divorce. That’s what you said you wanted, yes? We were generous. It’s an even split, per the laws of the state of Ohio. All assets, all properties—”

“I don’t care about assets and property.” I slap the documents down on the desk. “That’s your obsession.Youcare about the look of things. I never did.”

“I know,” she replies solemnly. “It’s how I knew this marriage was doomed to fail.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I drop my hand down to the desk, gripping it tight.

“You were always too headstrong, too uncultured,” she goes on. “You fit into our lives like a rusty, broken wheel. I did my best, for Troy’s sake. You were what he wanted at the time, and I can deny him nothing.” She pauses, her gaze tracing my features.

I lean instinctively away, hating her appraising eyes on me.

“And then I saw how broken you were,” she says. “A bird without her feathers, yearning to fly. So, I took you under my wing. I played the part of your doting mother, your business advisor. I taught you to dress and speak and act. All the while I watched as you two pecked at each other. I watched you bring out the worst in my son, and I was helpless to stop it.”

“And his worst carved out the best of me,” I challenge. “I thought it was gone, lost forever. I thought I would never know that wild, happy Tess again. You call me a rusty, broken wheel. Do you know what Ryan calls me?”

She purses her lips, saying nothing.

“Dream girl,” I say, a smile lighting my face. Love for him fills me, lighting me up as I face down my last remaining dragon, sword and shield in hand. “You’re right about me, Bea. All my life, I’ve been a lost bird, looking for a home, somewhere I could feel safe and loved and free to be myself. In my ignorance, I thought maybe money and power could buy those things. I was so wrong. It took me walking away from everything to find that home at last.”

“I assume your new home is Jacksonville?” she asks.

“No. My home isme. It’s been me all along. I am everything I need. I am enough just as I am. I am smart and driven. I’m kind. I’m passionate and funny and sexy as hell.” I square my shoulders, confidence flowing through me. “I came to Jacksonville to be closer to Rachel. I thought she was my home. But I was wrong. She’s just the first person to hold up a mirror and show me that I’m enough.”

“And this new young man?” she presses, one brow raised.

My smile widens. “He’s my mirror ball. His every surface reflects my perfections back at me. He loves me for exactly who I am. I’m not too loud for him or too opinionated. He doesn’t cringe when I tell jokes because he’s worried I’m funnier than him, pulling away his spotlight. He lets my light shine out as brightly as I want, and he shines it all back on me. I have never known a love or an acceptance of self like I have with Ryan.”

“Well,” she says, emotion thick in her throat. “It sounds like you got everything you always wanted, then.”

I nod. “I’m happy now, yes. And I’m free. Even without these,” I add, tapping the divorce papers. “I was already free in my heart. These free me on paper, too, the last chains tying me down to the rotting edifice of the life I thought I wanted.”

“Rotting edifice?” she says with a raised brow. “Hardly flattering.”

“Well, if the Manolo Blahnik leather slingback fits,” I reply with a shrug.

She sighs, glancing around the small office as she shifts her Kelly onto her arm. “I need your word it ends here. I need to know you won’t retaliate against Troy.”

I purse my lips, glancing down at my phone on the desk. No message from Ryan yet. Right now, he’s in Cincinnati going to the PFH office, pressing Troy to sign the papers. My window is closing. If ever I wanted to claim something from Bea Owens, now is my chance.

I square my shoulders at her, hands on my hips. “On the phone, I told you I had a plan for how we all walk away clean. You didn’t believe me. You sided with Troy. And now you’re implicated in his legal malpractice.”

“Tess—”

I raise a hand to silence her. “Let’s not beat around the bush here. All I have to do is say the word, and my lawyer will come down on you both. I’m the one with the leverage now, not you.”

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