He squinted his eyes closed as if trying to make it all go away. He raised his fingers to his eyes to keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He found that seconds later, his knees buckled beneath him and he slumped down to the floor.
He felt like a massive part of the foundation of his life was cracking wide open beneath him and he was in danger of being swallowed up by the pull of it. He opened his eyes again, let out a sigh and stared straight ahead. He remained silent as he flagged Sean over and headed out of the hotel doing his best to hold his head high, not saying one word.
* * *
With so much of her life changing in mere moments strung together, Kit found she was more introspective than usual. As the days got closer to her trip to fly out and meet with Sully, she knew much had to take place.
Wes had learned through his real estate broker contact that a house was purchased in Malibu seven months prior and just like Moira mentioned, it was purchased when Sully was home for a few days on a tour break. After meeting with the business planner that managed their joint accounts, she came to find out that there was no way he used their joint accounts for the purchase. All the money was accounted for.
If Sully did buy that house, it came from one of his personal accounts. She thought the realization that he didn’t use the funds from their joint accounts would make her feel better, but it didn’t. The realization that he bought a house and didn’t tell her left her feeling unsettled and wondering if he bought it for his mistress. The mere thought of that alone, felt devastating.
In her silent reflection over the last three days, she came to the realization she had spent most of her life betraying herself—her wants, her needs, her desires: burying them deep down inside of her. Each time she did that, it was like a chink was taken out of her soul armor.
Every day she was getting clarity on who she wanted to show up as and it was going to shock everyone, except maybe Alexa. Alexa had known her since they were small children and could read her like a book. Everyone else had a certain container they had placed Kit in and she was sick of it. She wanted to break free.
Although she loved Sully with all of her heart and knew she would for the rest of her years on earth, it was time to let him go. She reviewed all the way back to when they met, a good memory for her and found herself giggling. They had been such a strong team, both invested in each other’s success from day one.
She looked back on their marriage and noticed a different story. They hadn’t had much of a normal relationship. They got married at what they thought was the height of his fame, guessing they could handle it, having no idea of what was to come, including his career and fame taking a stratospheric trajectory. He had been on the road or in the studio or doing promos and when he was off, she was in the studio producing or in meetings for Diamond. She couldn’t remember the last time they watched a movie together or had a date night and she felt deep regret over it.
The root of the relationship was the problem, Kit realized. She was the one helping him make decisions and it had been that way from the start. That was fine when she was strictly his manager and his friend, but as their relationship morphed into romance and became more serious, it put a tremendous strain on both of them. She had ended up taking care of him instead of being the one taken care of. She was sick of it.
Not only had she been taking care of him, she had been taking care of the band, some of the artists she had produced and some of the other bands she had managed. It was a pattern that started in her childhood. She was the big emotional support to her father because her mother was an alcoholic, prescription drug addicted train wreck. The memories were all crystal clear now and she was mad as hell.
With her medical leave, she had more than enough time to work through all of this and she found it a blessing. This was her rise from the ashes—her phoenix moment. Her hand trembled as she held the business card in between her two fingers, cradled the phone on her shoulder and dialed the phone number.
The receptionist’s voice answered. “Maddox, Thompson and Phillips.”
She gulped. “Lizbeth Phillips, please. This is Kit McKenna. I’ve been referred by Ria Michaelson.”
“One moment, please, Ms. McKenna.”
Lizbeth Phillips was one of the best divorce attorneys in the Los Angeles. Lizbeth understood discretion and much would be needed in this case. The majority of her clients were celebrities or public figures with high visibility.
“Hello Ms. McKenna, Lizbeth Phillips here.”
Kit took a deep breath before she started. “Hi, Lizbeth. Ria recommended you. I’d like to discuss… um… possibilities.” She let out a long sigh.
“I understand. Everything we discuss will be completely confidential, even if you decide not to go forward. Would you like to book a time to come into my office this week?”
Kit was eager and didn’t want to waste time for fear of changing her mind. “How about today? Do you have time later today?”
* * *
Moira squeezed her hand and gave her a hopeful look. “Please don’t let this discourage you. You’re young. You’ve got your entire life in front of you. Plenty of
