Page 12 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

Negotiation Talks

It had been two weeks since Mason had served me.

Day after day, reality continued to set in.

The lack of calls solidified the inevitable.

My marriage was over. The future that Mason and I talked about would never come to fruition.

The moments of sadness would hit me at the weirdest moments.

One minute, I would be happy, but then anything could cause a sudden shift.

It was hard to grieve such a loss. There was a time in our relationship when we couldn’t go more than an hour without checking in.

I hated how he seemed to move away from us so easily.

I received an email from my attorney’s assistant.

She wanted to schedule a call with me this afternoon.

There were no further indications of what we would discuss.

She just said Lisa wanted to review some updates with me.

Other than the email after the fashion show, Mason had been quiet with no calls, no texts, and no more emails.

I was grateful for the lack of communication.

On the other hand, I was leery of what he could be up to.

I decided to work from home today. Just in case the news wasn’t in my favor, I wouldn’t want to bring bad energy to the office. I took a few calls Milani had scheduled for me, and at exactly noon, Lisa’s receptionist called. Once I confirmed I was free to speak, she patched Lisa through.

“Faith, dear, how is everything?” Lisa asked.

“That depends on what updates you have for me,” I replied.

“Mason’s attorney has gotten back to me with his full list of demands,” she continued.

Hearing the word demands reminded me that we were in the process of negotiations. Still, I reminded myself to keep my cool regardless of what he wanted.

“First off, he wants the current market value of the initial investment in Love Faith. If you are unable to provide that, then he would like equal co-ownership. Next, he wants to sell the condo and split the proceeds sixty-forty, with you taking the forty. He claims he made the down payment on the home. And last but not least, he would like to keep the Long Island property. You would give up all ownership of the home. He’ll keep whatever money is in his accounts, and you’ll keep yours,” Lisa explained.

It was a lot to take in, and much more than I expected. I took a deep breath to take it all in.

“My biggest concern, of course, is my business. In terms of the homes, we were supposed to sell them both and split the proceeds equally. He wants me homeless and at a large financial loss. Were you able to prove his infidelity like we previously discussed?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m sending you some photos my private investigator was able to snag.

The good thing is that his mistress’s pregnancy helps us to establish a timeline for the affair.

We can use the medical records from your fertility treatments to prove you weren’t aware of his illegitimate child,” she replied.

“Right, because I would never actively try to conceive while my husband had a baby on the way. Is there a way to avoid going to court? I don’t want this to be a long, drawn-out process,” I inquired.

Lisa paused before responding. “Here’s what I’m thinking.

You agree to the sale of the condo, with the proceeds being split equally.

You pay him for the original initial investment in Love Faith, not the current market value.

And how attached are you to the Long Island property?

We have to make him feel like he won. While you are taking a short-term financial hit, this will be the quickest way to get rid of him,” she explained.

Although Lisa couldn’t see me, I nodded my head in agreement. Mason liked his ego stroked, which was why he continued to mention a business he never had an interest in.

“I agree. Mason can keep the house on Long Island. If he can agree to the split of the condo and the amount on his investment for Love Faith, I’m fine with that. Do we use the information from the private investigator if he doesn’t agree?” I asked.

“Exactly. If he takes the generous offer, he won’t know anything about being followed.

If he tries to play hardball, we’ll push back until he gives in.

You’re more than generous, but I understand the strong desire to be done with him.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress. If all goes well, we’ll have an uncontested divorce finalized within thirty days,” she affirmed.

Lisa and I said our final goodbyes while I reflected on my current reality.

I had no desire to go back to either of our homes.

Since we didn’t use the Long Island property as our primary residence, I never left anything of value there.

All that the house held were memories of my designing the house to make it a home.

We only purchased the house to be close to Mason’s grandmother, whom I adored.

Once we had children, we planned to move out of the city.

We intended to make that house our primary residence.

With Mason so adamant about keeping the house, I assumed he would keep that plan with his mistress.

The idea of someone enjoying all my designs made me sad all over again.

I started the daunting task of apartment hunting, something I thought I would never have to do again.

With the sale of the condo, I would have enough for the down payment on a new place.

The thought of purchasing something right now felt so final.

It was a step I just wasn’t ready for. The cost of rent in the city was more than my mortgage payment.

I didn’t want to waste money, so I started my search in Brooklyn.

I initially thought of staying in this building, but as the days went on, I didn’t love the amount of traffic coming in and out.

I needed a building that wasn’t so busy but with similar amenities.

Within a couple of hours of searching, I had some appointments scheduled for this evening.

My first thought was to call Imani or Milani to see if they could join me.

Deep down, I knew I needed to do this alone.

This would be the start of my new life as a single woman.

If I had a hard time finding a place, I could loop them in at that point.

As of now, I have to stand on my own again.

Out of habit, I twirled my wedding ring on my finger.

With the current state of my marriage, I took my rings off.

My marriage was over, and that version of a woman who was married to Mason needed to grow.

I needed to remember the woman I was before I allowed a man to verbally abuse me.

When I stared at the tan line on my finger, a dull ache in my heart overcame me, and a lone tear slid down my cheek.

The finality of the life I lived hit me.

My rings symbolized the marriage I fought to keep together.

They symbolized the relationship that failed.

The rings were a reminder of what was supposed to be my fairytale ending.

I would now have to grow out of the daily habit of putting them on.

Around six in the evening, I stood in front of the first location the realtor Debby wanted to show me. From the outside, it was quaint. It appeared to be only three floors. As I approached the front door, a woman I assumed was Debby greeted me.

“Faith?” she asked.

“That’s me. It’s nice to meet you,” I confirmed.

“Thank you for providing such a thorough list of what you are looking for. It should make this process a lot smoother for us. Let’s head on upstairs to the second floor,” she directed.

I followed Debby as she led the way to the second floor.

As I looked around the building, it was well-kept but older than I would have liked.

There were some cracks in the tiled floor.

I questioned whether Debby truly looked at the list I sent to her.

This was our first viewing together, so I decided to keep an open mind.

When we reached the second floor, I noticed there were only two units on the floor.

The building was quiet, which I appreciated.

Debby opened the door to Unit 2A, and I followed her inside.

“As you can see, the building is not as busy as most. The layout of the units is railroad style. There are two bedrooms and one bath in this unit,” she continued as we walked around the place.

The kitchen needed to be updated. Although I didn’t cook, I still needed an updated kitchen. As I continued to walk through the place, I couldn’t picture myself living here. Debby continued on trying to sell me on the place.

“Debby, this isn’t for me. Why don’t we move to another place?” I inquired.

“Tell me specifically what isn’t working for you. I don’t want this experience to be a waste of time,” she offered.

“The railroad-style apartment is a no for me. I’m looking for something modern. Something that has been updated within the last five years minimum. While I love how intimate the building is, I can’t fathom where the amenities are hidden. Do you have any newer units to show me?” I asked.

Debby smiled. “Actually, I do have something that may work for you. It’s a little over your budget, but if you’re okay with that, we can head over,” she responded.

“As long as it has everything I need, an increase in the budget won’t be a problem,” I assured her.

With that confirmation, we headed out and hailed a cab.

As we traveled to the next location, I noticed we weren’t far from the place I was currently renting.

The Brooklyn Bridge came into view as we approached the building.

It was much newer than the building we had just left.

We were already moving in the right direction.

This building was roughly twenty stories tall.

I looked around and made a mental note of the homes and other structures that lined the block.

This felt more residential than where I currently was.

The doorman of the building held the door open for us as we exited the cab.

“Good evening, ladies. Debby, it’s good to see you again,” the doorman greeted us.

Debby returned the pleasantry as we entered through the glass doors.

The large glass chandelier in the lobby took my breath away.

Everything about this building screamed luxury living.

Debby led us to the elevator bank and hit the button for the fourteenth floor.

Anticipation rose in my belly as we made our way up.

Debby wore a sly smirk as we exited the elevator.

She walked to the end of the hall to Unit 14P.

“Welcome to the penthouse suite,” she announced as we entered.

The view of the bridge took my breath away as soon as we entered.

I took note of the double oven in the kitchen.

Drawers hid the microwave with room for other appliances.

The place also had a large pantry and plenty of cabinet space throughout.

Next, I moved onto the primary bedroom. It was large enough for a king-size bed and had an en suite bathroom.

I walked to the second bedroom and half bath then went out to the spacious patio area.

While it wasn’t as large as my current rental, the view stole my heart yet again.

“What do you think? Did I get it right this time?” Debby inquired.

I smiled as I asked, “How soon can I move in?”

We shared a laugh. All the dread I felt about this process was quickly replaced with happiness. The idea of living here increased my excitement about this new journey.