All Chapters of My Husband Wants An Open Marriage: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I lean back in my chair, forcing myself to stay calm. My face gives nothing away, but I feel the tension coiling in my muscles, especially in my jaw. The silence stretches between us. Even the hum of the air conditioning feels deafening, and the ticking of the wall clock sounds like gunfire.The nerve of Ryan O’Brien to come at me with a question like that. I take a deep breath. No way am I letting him see me lose it. Not now.I let my body relax, settling deeper into my chair. When I finally speak, my voice is calm. Too calm. “I’ve read about you, Mr. O’Brien,” I say. “Harvard, right? Top of your class in Business Administration. And what was it? A Master’s degree in International Economics? Impressive.” I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes just a little. “Tell me, at what point during all those years of education did they teach you it’s okay to ask your business partner a question like that?”Ryan's face remains neutral, but there's something in his eyes. Smugness? I’m not sure, but i

As I stand here, trapped between my mother’s vice-like grip and the dark water below, a long-buried fear claws its way up through me. Every inch of my body wants to twist away, run from this hellish, familiar grip. But it’s like being eight again, clinging to the hope that it’s different this time, that she’ll look at me with something other than contempt.“Let me go,” I say. But her nails dig deeper into my skin.“Not until you make that promise.”My blood turns to ice. It’s crazy because, at the same time, I want to laugh at how absurd this is. My own mother is standing here, threatening me on a bridge like something out of a thriller. But looking into her eyes, I know she’s dead serious. Several memories can attest to that. Those cold nights when she’d shove me outside, locking the door from the inside because I’d dared to spill milk on the kitchen floor or did some other silly thing she deemed punishable. I’d stay there for hours, curled up on the floor, listening to her pace back

Just as I say “Ten,” I see Ryan take a reluctant step back. Soon enough, I notice it’s not entirely by his choice. Emily's fingers are wrapped tightly around his arm, pulling him away from me. Her face is set in a hard line, eyes blazing with an expression I can’t name. Ryan tries to shrug her off, but Emily holds him firm, blocking his path. “Emily,” he says. “What the hell are you doing? I’ve told you so many times not to involve yourself in these fights. Let me handle Julie.” Emily doesn’t budge, doesn’t look away. Her voice is cold, quiet, but beneath it, there’s a fire bubbling up, one I’ve never seen from her before. "That woman," she says, eyes fixed on him, "just survived a near-death experience. Do you really think she won’t go through with her threat? That she won’t burn this entire house down if she wants to? I have properties worth a lot scattered all over this place, Ryan. You’re not going to make her light them up. Do yourself some good and calm the fuck down.” Ry

A couple of minutes after I hang up the call, I see an Aston Martin pulling into the hotel’s driveway at a crazy speed. It sounds a lot like it’s heading in my direction. I quickly step aside, not wanting to add ‘hit by a car’ to my list of today’s problems.That is until I see Luke flying out. He doesn’t even bother to turn off the car before he’s out of the door, his face hard.“Julie,” he says, “what happened? Did that son of a bitch kick you out?”I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. The words feel caged somewhere deep inside me. How do I explain the mess I’m in? How Ryan has stripped me bare of everything, left me stranded, powerless… humiliated. I try again, but all that comes out is a shaky breath.Luke’s eyes narrow. He’s watching me carefully, taking one slow, measured step at a time. He stops right in front of me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him, close enough that I can smell his faint cologne, something deep and woody that makes me want to pull h

~~Ryan O’Brien~~ Ryan O'Brien stares down at the stack of papers in his hands, the ones just handed to him by a server. TO: RYAN O’BRIEN YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action, which is brought to obtain a divorce, and to appear before the Ravenswood District Court of the State of New York, Greenwood County, within twenty (20) days after service of this Summons upon you." Complaint: "PARTIES: Plaintiff: JULIE JENKINS (currently known as JULIE O’BRIEN) Defendant: RYAN O’BRIEN ... GROUND FOR DIVORCE: Adultery (Domestic Relations Law § 170(1)) …… The world blurs for a second. A divorce Summon? He reads it again, slower this time, each word grating against his mind, and his grip tightens on the paper. Somewhere in the background, he hears a faint hum. It’s Emily. She’s hovering beside him with her hand on the back of his chair. “How did she manage that so quickly?” Emily asks. She doesn’t sound unhappy about it. In fact, Ryan could swear there’s a hi