Hattie Bailey

A photo of me straddling the hottest male singer in the country tore through Washington society overnight. The comments on social media wouldn't stop climbing. [Oh my God, isn’t that General Walker’s wife?] When my friend burst in, I was leaning back on the sofa, a cigarette smoldering between my fingers. Her voice was strained. “Are you insane? Aren’t you afraid Lowell will kill you?” I crushed the cigarette out on the leather sofa. “Afraid of what? The divorce papers are already in effect.” Before she could answer, the door was kicked open. Lowell stood in the doorway, his hair slightly disheveled. “Had enough fun?” I looked up at him and smiled. “Can’t handle it, General? I put up with it for five years.” Lowell needed a respectable general’s wife. My father, concerned with the interests of both our families, arranged the marriage in a hurry. In five years, we barely saw each other. Every conversation felt like speaking to a stranger. Even our son, Leo, had been taken by Lowell to the base in Quantico. He said he wanted to handle his upbringing personally. I used to think he just wanted our son to adapt to his world early. Until our son’s fourth birthday, when he looked at me and said, very seriously, “Mom, my birthday wish is for you and Dad to get divorced, so Aunt Claire can be my new mom.” That was when I finally understood. What Lowell meant by “handle his upbringing personally” was letting our son, right alongside him, welcome Claire into the space where our family should have been. I laughed and took out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago. “Fine. I’ll grant his wish.” ... I pushed the signed divorce agreement across the desk to Lowell, my tone calm. “I’m granting Leo’s birthday wish. I don’t want custody. I don’t want alimony, either.” “Our joint accounts and property can all go into a trust under Leo’s name. Consider it his inheritance from me.” Not a muscle moved in Lowell’s face. It wasn’t until I tapped my fingers on the desk that he finally looked up at me. “What did you just say?” I glanced at the Department of Defense files spread open in front of him and understood at once. He hadn’t heard a single word. That familiar wave of helplessness washed over me. For five years of marriage, it was as if I was invisible to him. I even suspected he’d never truly registered my name when people said it. I’d had enough of this life. I turned the divorce agreement to the last page and slid it in front of him. “Just sign.”Lowell frowned, about to lower his head to read it. A rush of footsteps came from upstairs, and Leo ran down. “Dad! Aunt Claire said she’s taking me to the shooting range today!” Claire was the creative director for the Army’s performance troupe and an old friend of the Walker family. The moment Lowell heard her name, his eyes softened. He closed the file and started to stand. I pressed a hand on his wrist and put the pen in his hand. “Sign. It won’t make you late to take your son to see her.” Lowell finally looked at me properly. A flicker of surprise crossed his face. He probably hadn’t expected that the woman who had once chopped off her hair and deleted her Instagram after a single, “That’s an order,” from him would speak to him like this. “Dad!” Leo bounced anxiously. “Hurry up! Aunt Claire will be upset if we keep her waiting.” “Fine.” Lowell immediately picked up the pen and signed his name without even reading the document. I watched father and son leave, then wrote my name beside his signature. In this life, our names had appeared side-by-side only twice. The first time was at the County Clerk’s office in Virginia. That day, right after he signed, an emergency call had summoned him back to the Pentagon. The second time was now. He still left quickly, without a single look back. A tear fell onto the paper. I wiped it away at once, sealed the do......