She’d hurled that accusation at him so many times. It used to bother him—because it was true. But tonight, when he could easily answer with “whatever” and mean it, he knew he was truly over the past. Finally!
“You’ll be sorry for what you’ve done to me,” she said. “You’ve ruined my life!”
His indifference had only made her angrier. “Don’t hang up.” He could tell she was about to. “You need to hear the rest.”
“Go ahead and say it,” she cried. “You’re not going to pay me anymore. Isn’t that what you’re driving at?”
“Whether I pay will depend on you.”
“How?” This response sounded more sulky than angry.
He pivoted at the corner of the patio but kept his head down so his voice wouldn’t carry inside the house. “You have to stay completely away from me and Lourdes. No more calls, no more pleas for help, no more seeing my truck and stopping when I’m trying to eat or shop or grab a cup of coffee—”
“Oh, get over yourself,” she broke in. “You make it sound like I’m stalking you.”
Sometimes it felt that way, but he went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “And you’d better not do anything malicious to Lourdes. If I hear that you’ve been saying slanderous things, posting gossip on the internet or doing anything else that could damage her career—or hurt her in any way—you won’t get another dime out of me.”
“You can’t refuse to pay me forever,” she said, slightly less defiant than she’d been before.
“That may be true. But I can hold off until I owe you money. Then I can make you try to force me. And just before you manage that, I can take you back to court and whittle down the amount I owe per month. I promise you, if it goes that way, you’ll have to pay a lot more of your own bills than you’re paying now.”
“You’ve already had the amount lowered once! The judge won’t let you do it again.”
He didn’t think she was totally convinced of that, despite her words. And neither was he. He’d been so eager for the divorce he’d agreed to pay far too much, so he’d gone back to court to have the amount adjusted. But the judge had simply consented to what he’d offered in lieu of the first amount, which was still more than he should have to pay, considering they’d been together for such a short time and didn’t have any children. He’d been largely supporting her for the past five years. That was plenty of time for a childless partner to take over responsibility for her own finances.
“Are you willing to take that chance?” he asked. “Are you willing to risk getting much less? Or even zero?”
Nothing. No response.
“At least tell me you understand my terms,” he said. “Otherwise, I’ll assume you refuse to comply, and I won’t send January’s check.”
“You’re serious! I just lost my job, probably won’t even be able to eat, and you’d do this?”
She always had her parents. He wasn’t too worried about her eating. “I absolutely would,” he said.
“You’re not being fair—”
“Tell me you understand,” he repeated. “That’s all I want to hear.”
After several seconds, she gave him a grudging, “I understand.” Then she added, “But I’ll never forgive you for this,” and disconnected.
Kyle didn’t feel the elation he’d hoped to feel after that call. Noelle’s parting words left him uneasy. To keep the peace in Whiskey Creek, to prevent the past from tainting Olivia and Brandon’s happiness, and to atone for his own mistakes, he’d always chosen to avoid direct confrontation. He’d stalled Noelle, cajoled her, ignored her when he could and compromised with her when he couldn’t. His go-to solution had been to give her money, because that satisfied her the quickest. He’d never decisively kicked her out of his life—not until now—and wasn’t entirely sure how she’d react.
But he meant what he’d said. He wouldn’t hand her another dime if she did anything she shouldn’t.