Free Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas Page A

knowing it didn’t matter how put
together he looked when he was falling apart on the inside. He ran
down the stairs, half-hoping he would slip and break his neck so he
wouldn’t have to deal with another day of misery.
    He cursed
softly when he saw his mother and sister on the other side of the
wrought iron and glass door. He wished it wasn’t too late to
pretend he wasn’t home. As much as he loved his family, he wasn’t
in the mood for one of their inquisitions. Pulling open the door,
he forced a smile, hoping it would be enough to convince them he
was fine.
    “You’re back,”
Tonya said, smiling. “How did it go with Eve?” Tonya was thirteen
years younger than Alex. She was only nine when he had brought Eve
home for the first time, and she always looked up to her as the big
sister she’d always wanted.
    “I don’t want
to talk about it.” The truth was he feared he couldn’t talk about
it without breaking down. His marriage was over, and he had to
figure out how to move on without Eve. Glancing at the framed
wedding photo on the hall table, he wondered how they’d gone from
being so happy to contemplating divorce.
    Tonya and her
mother shared a concerned glance before Marianne Bolton said, “We
expected you to be gone longer. When Tonya got your text about
Sharon—”
    “Sharon passed
away a few days ago,” he said quietly, closing the door and leading
them into the great room. He looked around the austere space. Their
possessions surrounded him, but he felt as if he’d stepped into
someone else’s life, and he wanted out.
    “Oh no,”
Marianne said, reaching for her daughter’s hand.
    His family
loved and respected Sharon as much as he did, and he knew their
distress was genuine. “Eve is taking it pretty hard.”
    “So why aren’t
you there with her?” Tonya demanded, glaring at her brother as
though he was the enemy. “She needs you.”
    “No, she
doesn’t.” He would give anything, everything, if his wife still
needed him.
    “How can you
say that?” Marianne demanded. “Sharon was like a mother to her.
Think about how wonderful Eve was when your father died.”
    His father’s
death was sudden and they were all so distraught, they barely got
through the days that followed. Eve stepped up and took over,
planning a celebration of life ceremony that would have made his
father proud. All day Alex’d been sitting at his desk in a daze,
thinking about the amazing qualities that made Eve irreplaceable.
He may date again someday, but he knew he would never, ever love
anyone the way he loved her. “You don’t have to remind me.”
    “What’s going
on?” Tonya asked, her voice trembling. “Is there something you’re
not telling us?”
    He knew his
mother and sister considered Eve the heart of their family, and he
hated that he had to tell them his mistakes meant she wasn’t coming
home. “We’re getting a divorce.” Just saying the word nearly
destroyed him, but he couldn’t hide from the ugly truth any
longer.
    “You can’t!”
Tiffany shouted. “What are you thinking?”
    “I’m thinking I
don’t have a choice! I can’t force her to stay married to me!”
    Marianne asked
gently, “So the divorce was Eve’s idea?”
    “You think I
wanted this?” He walked to the window because he couldn’t stand to
see the devastation on their faces. He’d let down everyone he
loved, and he had to face the consequences of his actions. “Eve is
my life.” If he’d done more to prove it, he wouldn’t have to say
it.
    “Then tell her
that,” Tonya said, crossing the room. She grabbed the arm of his
black Armani suit and turned him to face her. “Tell her you still
love her, that you’re sorry, that you’ll do whatever it takes to
save your marriage.” In many ways, Tonya was still naïve about love
and life. She was a senior in college, involved with her first
serious boyfriend, and she believed everyone got their happily ever
after.
    Alex didn’t
want to burst her bubble,