Page 31 of In Every Lifetime
I groaned, my head falling back into the chair. “It was a stupid attempt to protect myself from being hurt again. If he thinks I’m taken, he won’t even consider crossing certain boundaries. Boundaries I would gladly let him cross if given the chance.” I took a breath and did my best to keep any emotion from overcoming me. “I want to be here for him, but I still need to keep my heart safe.”
“Sarah,” Will sighed, “do you need to come home? I can get a car, or even a plane to you by the end of the day.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. The man had no concept of money. “Use your billions for other purposes. I’m okay here, really. It’s where I want to be. I just needed to vent for a minute.”
“Well, that’s what reluctant best friends are for.”
I laughed again, sitting back up in the chair, grateful I had Will to vent to. While I had been going to my own therapist during the course of my separation and divorce, I also needed friendslike him to vent to. People who would listen without judgment or bias when I needed to get anything off my chest. Besides Fai and myself… and my therapist… and maybe Fai’s… Will was the only person who knew all the details of the divorce. He knew of the ups and downs during our years-long separation, and even the details of that final argument that put the final nail in the coffin. The nail that had me calling up a lawyer the next day to finally end the mirage that our marriage was.
People often wondered why I stayed, why I kept fighting for our marriage long after it began to fall apart. We were separated for two years before I filed for divorce. In those two years, I felt like a soldier fighting the battle of my life. The battle that would decide the fate of the war.
I stayed for the simplest of reasons. We loved each other. Despite all the ups and downs, the pain and heartache, Fai and I loved each other. More than we loved ourselves. I knew I would fight as long as that love persisted.
But only my love did…
“Sarah?” Will’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Lost in my own world.”
“What are you doing anyways?” he asked, sounding amused. “I thought you were up in the mountains away from any internet… or cell service.”
“Ha ha,” I mocked. “You knew I could call. Fai let you know we made it. You just don’t likethisphone call. And I’m… just looking around the cabin. Getting the lay of the land.”
Will barked a laugh. “You’re snooping, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
“Well… did you at least find anything interesting? I’m rather curious about this Gabriel fella.”
“No,” I complained. “Unless you count some bills in the Mormon book.”
“Oh come on, there’s gotta be something more exciting.” He was invested now. I could hear it in his voice, and judging by the shift in tone, his papers had been completely abandoned.
I shook my head and quickly realized he couldn’t see it. I took the phone from the crook of my shoulder, holding it tightly as I glanced over the papers. “Really, there’s nothing. Even in his office it’s just bills and statements and…” I moved one of the top papers, my voice trailing off when I located what seemed to be a document about me.
“I have a feeling you finally found something interesting,” Will mused.
Interesting was one word for it. I knew Gabriel had a PI look into Fai and, by extension, me. Looking at the results of the PI felt invasive. It was only a single sheet of paper, but it was filled with details about myself.
Name: Sarah Martin
Birthplace: White Plains, New York
Age: 34
Ethnicity: African American
I rifled through the papers, finding Fai’s under a few statements and what seemed to be shopping lists.
Name: Faizal (Fai) Acharya
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Age: 38
Ethnicity: Columbian? Indian.
“It’s what I assume are the private investigator reports,” I explained, trying to find more on the desk. At the very bottom of the stack, almost like they were hidden, were half a dozen documents. They ranged from Fai’s background to mine, copies of documents such as our marriage certificate and diplomas. “It’s weird seeing my life on a stranger’s desk.”
