Torn [SHAWN MENDES]

~68~

Yasmin and Shawn sat at a wrought iron table on the stone patio of a small Santa Barbara coffee shop.

"You okay?" she asked before taking a sip of her non-fat latté.

"That was better than I expected, but I feel kinda empty right now."

"Me, too. I'm sad, but I'm also relieved. I think we're doing the right thing for us and for Piper."

They'd just met with their lawyers to draw up the terms of separation. It had gone smoothly since they were in agreement about everything, but starting the process to dissolve their marriage was still difficult. In six months, they would reconvene to sign the divorce papers, since California had a mandatory waiting period after separation was official.

Shawn looked at the beautiful woman across the table and gave her a sad smile. "I want you to know that I don't regret anything. I know that mistakes were made, but I'm happy that you are a part of my life."

"I feel the same way, probably for the same reason. We created an amazing daughter together, and she makes it all worth it. I think that as long as we continue to make her our priority, we'll be fine."

"I'm going to miss you."

Yaz laughed. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other, so that might not be true!"

They'd agreed to keep their separation a secret for as long as possible, which meant they'd be seen in public together to prevent speculation about the split. Shawn was moving out, of course, but if it came up, they were going to claim that he wanted a state of the art studio for recording. Hopefully that would justify the need for a second home to the probing media. In fact, they were going house-hunting together that afternoon.

They recently told their parents the news, which had resulted in very different reactions. Bill and Caroline thought it was a terrible idea and tried to convince Yasmin to stay married to Shawn, even if they'd both be miserable. Her mother argued that she had plenty of friends who hated their husbands yet stayed with them for appearances and financial reasons. Conversely, Karen and Manny were extremely supportive and promised to do anything they could to help. The only tense moment during his conversation with them was when his mum warned him to proceed with caution when it came to getting involved again. He knew she was referring to Taryn.

He swore to Yasmin that he wouldn't attempt a reunion with his first wife until after the divorce was final, yet he felt a very pressing need to let Taryn know they'd split up. He wasn't contacting her any time soon, but that didn't mean he wouldn't reach out in a month or two. A long-distance relationship after the divorce wouldn't be easy, though it certainly wasn't impossible given the love they shared.

"How do you think Piper will handle all this?" he asked.

"She won't understand what divorce is until she's older. I think it will be confusing in the beginning when she goes back and forth between our houses, but she's so young that she'll soon forget what things were like before. As long as she knows she is safe and loved, she'll be okay. Rosie will help her feel like things haven't shifted too much."

A few days earlier, they sat down with their wonderful nanny to tell her what was going on. She knew to keep the information confidential and had no problem working out of both homes. Rosie hadn't seemed shocked by their revelation, which meant they'd probably been exhibiting signs that there were problems without even knowing it.

Vera was also not surprised when they met with her. She told them that she admired the effort they'd put into saving their marriage, but that it was mature of them to know when to let go. Yasmin was going to continue to use her as a therapist, while Shawn was finding a new one for himself. He was fully aware that he had some work to do on himself.