Teachers Tapestry

Eighty-three

✽Valentina's POV✽

Stella walked into my house at the worst time possible.

"I'm sorry baby." I said to Collette just as Stella walked into the kitchen.

"It's okay." She leaned on my side while I still held her close.

"I need one reason." She said.

"You walked in at the worst possible time. What if Collette and I were fucking on the counter right now?" I said sternly to my best friend as she grabbed a bottle of water.

I turned to Collette who turned bright red. Probably not entirely the best thing I could've said but everyone always walks into my house, anytime of day.

This must be how Rainnie felt while we were in college.

"I'll tell you the same thing you told me. You have a bedroom." She said as she turned around.

"But I need one reason not to hand these papers to my wife." She said placing divorce papers onto the kitchen counter.

"Because she's your wife Stella. Do you realise how stupid all this makes you look?" I asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"She's trying so hard to be okay with this but I can see it's really eating at her." She replied.

"Are you not worried that it's eating at you more than it's eating at her? What if she's happy just the four of you guys?" Collette asked calmly.

"Valentina—"

"It wasn't me, but have you stopped to actually think she's right." I cut her off before she could get pissed.

"No, I just don't like seeing her like this." She said coldly with a sigh. "One reason not to hand these to her."

"If I remember correctly, you told me she turned your world. You broke a man's fingers for her. So if you hand these to her, your world would stop." I said to her.

"I've thought about that Val." She said coldly.

"Okay, you want something more." I said calmly to her. "Do it. Give her the papers. Watch her sign them and then you move out, leave your girls asking Lottie "when is mama coming home." So do it. Divorce her, watch as she falls in love again with someone else and suddenly you're only a second thought to her because her first thought is the person sleeping next to her, someone that isn't you. Instead of you being the one to hold her at night, it's someone else. Someone who wasn't selfish." I shrugged.

"Personally, the thought of someone else sleeping in my space next to the person I love makes me worried for the other person." I added.

"You can't be serious." She scoffed.

"I'm very serious Stella, do it. Watch as someone else lov—" I'm cut off by her. Her face torts in anger just thinking about it.

"Okay fine. I can't do it. She means too much. I don't even know why I got these." She sighed and ran her palm over her forehead.

"Because you got scared. Just like you did on your wedding day. You got scared and ran. And you want to do it again." I said to her remembering the hell she put me and Vivian through on her wedding day.