Page 17 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

Agreement of Terms

It had been a week since I moved to my place.

My closets took forever to get together, but I was ultimately pleased with the final outcome.

I added some lights to the bookcases to give them a more polished look.

While I hesitated to declutter, it couldn’t be avoided.

I donated a lot of things to a local donation place.

Whoever was lucky enough to get my stuff would be almost as fashionable as I am.

Jacob had been busy on set, so we hadn’t been able to see each other.

I missed his company, but not being around him was for the best. He checked in on me several times during the week, which I appreciated.

It was nice to know that I was on his mind.

Jacob made me feel desired, and I loved the feeling.

I locked myself in my design office when I got in this morning.

There was research to be done for the upcoming season.

After being back here, I hardly ever went into my other office.

I didn’t want to be too far away from the design team.

Being on the floor in the midst of everything gave me a sense of what was going on.

In the middle of searching through old photographs to find inspiration, my phone rang.

It was Lisa’s office number, so I quickly answered, “This is Faith.”

“I have the most amazing news for you,” Lisa excitedly declared.

“I’m listening,” I replied.

“Mason agreed to an equal split of the condo. You guys are on the same page with the Long Island property. In terms of your business, he will not ask for anything from you. He has stopped his request for the money back,” Lisa explained.

“This sounds too good to be true. Did you have to show him the pictures?” I questioned.

“You know that man well. I did have to show the pictures. As you can imagine, he tried to play hardball. His infidelity was in direct violation of the prenup. It was odd. I thought he would have figured out that we had met at the gala. I’ve seen cases of arrogant husbands, but Mason seemed to be top tier,” Lisa commented.

“Is this really it? It’s over just like that?” I inquired.

“In thirty days, you should be officially divorced. Once the condo sells, you will each receive a check with your portion of the sale,” she explained.

“Thank you so much,” I cried.

“The pleasure was mine. I told you I love to see my clients win. Once everything is settled, my assistant will send over the final invoice for my services. If you ever need me, you know where to find me.”

With that, we disconnected the call as I cried silently in my office.

The tears represented a mixture of sadness and relief.

Sadness that things didn’t work out but relief that this entire ordeal was finally behind me.

I was free of Mason, and nothing could have made me happier.

As I let the news soak in, there was a knock on the door.

The doorknob turned as Milani entered the office. She looked confused at my tears.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay? Why are you crying?” She rapidly fired questions at me.

I took a moment to catch my breath. “It’s over. My divorce will be finalized in thirty days. I’m free and I don’t have to worry about my company,” I shared.

Milani’s eyes grew wide as the words registered.

“Oh, my God! You’re free!” she squealed as she hugged me.

The happy tears continued to stream down my face as we rocked back and forth. A sense of relief continued to flow through my body. Since my last conversation with Lisa, all the uncertainty of the unknown had weighed heavily on my spirit.

“We have to go celebrate. Let me text Imani and tell her to meet us at Pia’s.” Milani gushed. The excitement she felt for me warmed my heart.

Milani and Imani were everything to me. I was grateful for them throughout this entire ordeal because they listened and never judged.

An hour later, Milani, Imani, and I were at Pia’s cutting up.

The drinks flowed, and the food was plentiful.

We even got our favorite hostess, Ginny, to take some shots with us.

Out of the three of us, I was the light drinker.

Milani and Imani could go at it all night if I let them.

Our server brought out some food to help soak up the alcohol.

The alcohol seemed to increase my appetite.

I gobbled up the food like someone who had missed a few meals.

“Now that you’re free, are you going to give Jacob a chance?” Imani asked.

I continued to stuff my face and ignored her question.

“Not you pretending like you can’t hear me,” Imani commented as she reached for my plate.

“You’re so damn nosy. Let my damn plate go, then maybe I’ll answer you,” I replied.

Imani moved her hand back and tilted her head sideways.

“I told Jacob I wanted the divorce to be finalized before we pursue anything. Now that everything is pretty much done, I’m nervous to put myself out there,” I confessed.

“Out where? Jacob has made it clear he’s on whatever vibe you are on.

We can tell he wants more from you. I think you want more from him too.

The man has taken you down memory lane. You guys have had vulnerable, honest conversations.

All you do is blush when you talk to him or about him.

He seems to be the total opposite of Mason.

Thank God. So why the hesitation?” Milani asked.

“With all the time I spent alone thinking of what went wrong with Mason, I had to take some accountability. I accepted Mason even when I noticed the red flags. The idea of checking off my boxes and getting my fairytale took away my common sense. I don’t want to be in another situation where I put the man I love on a pedestal and ignore his flaws.

It’s a hard pill to swallow when you admit that you loved the idea of the person and not who they really were,” I admitted.

“Damn, friend, that’s deep. First of all, applaud yourself for doing the hard task of honest self-reflection.

Most people jump from person to person without a second thought.

Now that you understand where you went wrong, you should have also figured out how to avoid repeating the same thing in the future.

Don’t be hard on yourself, Mason was a lesson you had to learn,” Milani advised.

I took a sip of my drink as I tried to deflect the stares Milani and Imani sent my way.

It wasn’t my intention to get so deep. Jacob had been at the forefront of my mind after I found out the news.

Part of me wanted to call him and give him the news, while the other part of me wanted to sit on it a little longer.

Was I ready for what came next for Jacob and me?

Could we really date and make it work? There were so many questions I couldn’t seem to answer.

The unknown was what scared me. Just the thought of Jacob switching up on me and potentially breaking my heart made me want to hide.

“This is not a decision you have to make tonight. I’ll say Jacob is a very eligible bachelor, so I wouldn’t wait too long to decide. The man has been patient, which is commendable. If you aren’t ready, don’t force it. Everything should flow and feel right between you two,” Imani reminded me.

“Everything has flowed and felt right. That’s the scary part. Is this the real thing this time, or another form of me believing what I want to happen? What I experienced with Mason makes me doubt myself. Normally, I would trust my gut, but being in love clouds my judgement,” I admitted.

“Without thinking too hard, tell me. Do you want to see where things go with Jacob? Just yes or no. Blurt it out,” Imani coaxed.

“Yes!” I shouted.

“Then I think you need to tell that man your good news,” Imani responded.

I poured myself another glass of mango margarita from the pitcher.

Before I called Jacob, I needed some liquid courage.

I downed the glass before pouring myself another drink.

My stomach did somersaults while my nerves tried to get the best of me.

The restaurant was too noisy for me to call him at the table.

“I’ll be right back. It’s too loud in here for me to make the call,” I told the ladies.

Imani and Milani were so embarrassing, clapping for me as I got up to call Jacob. I tapped on his number as I exited the restaurant, and after a few rings, he answered.

“Hey, love. Please tell me your day has been better than mine,” he stated.

“As a matter of fact, I do have some good news to share,” I replied.

“Oh, yeah, what is it?” Jacob asked.

“Mason accepted the terms of our divorce. The paperwork was filed to finalize everything, so in thirty days, it’ll be official,” I disclosed.

“Wow. That is good news. How are you feeling?” he inquired.

“Right now, I’m feeling very good. Imani, Milani, and I are out celebrating, so ask me again when I’m sober,” I admitted.

Jacob let out a low chuckle. “I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying yourself. Something tells me you’ll be feeling the same when you’re sober. When do I get to celebrate with you?” he asked.

“I can make time for you whenever. Just let me know when your schedule opens up,” I replied.

“Soon, love. My schedule will be opening real soon. I can’t wait to see you,” he assured me.

Someone in the background interrupted us.

“I’m sorry, love, I have to get back to the set. Congratulations, and I’ll check in with you soon,” Jacob stated as we ended the call.

I walked back into the restaurant where Imani and Milani were enjoying themselves.

“How did it go?” they asked in unison.

“Fine. We made plans to celebrate when his schedule opens up. He’s on set filming for the foreseeable future,” I told them.

“Sounds good to me. We need to turn up. All that man talk can wait for another day,” Milani said.

Milani passed me a drink, which I gladly accepted.

For tonight, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Whatever did or did not happen with Jacob was to be determined.

Milani walked over to the bar and introduced herself to a guy who was alone.

I looked and shook my head. All she needed was some liquid courage to become extra friendly.

This was going to be a night to remember.