Worlds Apart.

I sighed as I loosened my tie and opened my front door. Today was an exceptionally easy day, but I never liked going home.

Inside waiting for me was a woman who would find any excuse to fight. It was getting harder and harder to figure out what she'd explode about now since there was seriously absolutely nothing to explode over.

The first few times were understandable, my work life consumed me and she wasn't getting the attention she needed, so I made changes to my schedule and worked towards being a better husband. I slipped up a few times, and I take full responsibility for those times. I didn't have to work as late as I did, but I had chosen to so I could climb my way up the corporate food chain.

Things just got worse from there though. Eventually the long nights of consoling her turned into screaming matches with me just going back to the office to sleep on my couch. Then there were scandals. Scandals that she had laid out to cut me down. She cheated, she lied, and she stole. All in attempts to bring me down.

I don't know what I did, but she hated me for it.

Honestly though, I don't ever think we really were in love.

I may have coerced myself into believing that I did loved her. We had an amazing year together when we first met, but that was beyond over now.

"Grace?" I shouted, praying to whatever higher being is out there that she would be gone for whatever reason. At this point I was begging for her to cheat again just so she would be out of my house for an undisclosed amount of time.

"In the kitchen. Would you come here?"

I took a deep breath and sighed heavily at the sound of her voice. She already sounded angry and I just didn't have it in me to deal with it tonight. But there was no escape so I made my way slowly into the kitchen to see her standing there with a folder placed on the counter between us.

I knew exactly what was in that folder, and knew exactly why she had that scowl on her face. She went snooping through my desk drawers and found something she didn't like.

"Mind explaining this Carter?" Her tone was even as she pulled out the papers that were inside.

"Yeah, that's our wedding license and that's the prenup your father made me sign to keep me away from your inheritance." Which all went to her sister anyways after the scandalous behavior Grace pulled. She didn't quite plan on that backfiring as badly as it did.

"Yes, now what's this?" She pulled out the divorce documentation I had stashed away in the same folder. I figured that would be the last place she'd ever look for divorce papers... Or really anything... But I guess I was wrong.

"That's the divorce documents I had drawn up after our last big fight." I sighed and went to the fridge. I really didn't care, I mean I wasn't scared that she found the papers, nor was I upset. Just mildly irritated that I can't ever just come home to relax.

"What were you thinking about doing with them?" Now I knew she was dumb, but come on.

"I thought I'd use the marriage license as toilet paper as I handed the divorce papers to my lawyer. What the fuck do you think I planned on doing with them Grace?"

"I'm not signing them."

"That's fine." I sighed. "I don't need your signature."

"Oh you don't?"

"Nope, I'll drag this through the mud, and I'll leave you with nothing. Just like your father. No skin off my nose. I mean he made me sign the prenup, and you didn't disagree with it, so... This sounds like all your problem. Not mine."

"So when were you thinking about serving me these?"

"When I was good and ready." I chuckled as I pulled out a bottle of whine. "If you need me I'll be in the living room."

"Carter, I'm not finished talking to you."

"What more do you have to say? That you're sorry? Because if it's not that, I don't want to hear it."

"Sorry? Sorry for what? You're the one who started all of this!"

"Cheating, lying, stealing, defamation, destruction of property, invasion of privacy, and the list goes on! But please, enlighten me on how I started all of this."

"You're the one who had gay websites on their computer! Do you know how it feels to not know who you're married to?!"

"Yeah I do. What of it?" I yawned as I opened the bottle, because this was really starting to bore me. Does she really think I'd willingly marry someone this crazy? I honestly didn't know that's what started all of this, but if she would have talked to me about it instead of flipping out she would have found out that yes, I am bisexual, but no I wasn't on those dating sites to use them. I was deleting my ancient accounts when I was considering running for governor, but that went out the window when her explosions happened.

As I sat down I realized I grabbed the wrong bottle. This was that sweet moscato shit, and though that's fine and dandy with dessert, I just wasn't feeling it tonight. Why did I even grab wine? I should have just gone to the liquor cabinet.

So of course, being the man I am I had to get back up and go get what I actually wanted. I'm not one to settle, but of course that meant seeing Grace again.

"Wine not strong enough?" She sneered as I put the wine back in the fridge.

"Not tonight no."

"You know, my father always said you could tell a lot about a man by what he drinks."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. The first time I saw you, you were drinking wine at a party where there were thousands of other drinks... And he always said a man who willingly drank wine when there were plenty of other drinks around was a secret alcoholic." She stepped closer to me as I opened the liquor cabinet. When I pulled down the scotch she started laughing.

"What now?" I sighed.

"He said a man who drinks scotch is definitely a pompous asshole."

"Mmm." Thing were quiet as I poured myself a small glass of scotch. I didn't care what her father said, and I knew better than to give her any type of reaction other than a disinterested one.

Maybe it was childish of me, but if she knew that she could get to me in any way she would definitely take advantage of it. So I had to keep a strong poker face at all times.

But then she started laughing again, so I glanced up from my glass. Just enough to see her shaking her head.

"I should have known that you were gay. I should have known. My daddy always said, "a man who drinks a margarita is definitely hiding something, and would never appreciate the company of a woman." I guess he was right about all of them. You're a gay alcoholic asshole Carter."

"Yeah? Well I wasn't before I met you." I chuckled and left the room with my bottle of scotch. I could feel her eyes burning holes into my back, but I just kept walking.

I heard her heels clicking against the linoleum floor, but the sound soon disappeared. So it was safe to assume that she now in the living room with me.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked, her tone now turning to a softer more innocent sounding tone.

I glanced back to see her unzipping her dress. I should have known this is where she'd take this. She thought sex was a sure fire fix for anything... God was she crazy.

"Grace... Not now." I groaned as she climbed into my lap in nothing but her lingerie.

She pouted as she finished untying my already loosened tie. Her hands slowly worked their way to the buttons of my shirt, and slowly she unbuttoned the upper half of them before running her cold hands over my bare chest.

"Grace st-"

"Shhh Carter, I just want to help you relax." She interrupted as she started rocking her hips back and fourth. I watched for a second, completely unamused by this.

I wasn't some dog she could train, I wasn't some slave to sex, and I definitely wasn't about to cave just because I was offered a treat for her shitty behavior.

I didn't want an obedient wife, hell, I didn't want a wife at all, but I wasn't going to bend to Graces ways. She could be as crazy and vindictive as she wanted to be, but I wasn't going to stoop to her level.

So I gently picked up the small woman and carried her upstairs. By the sounds she was making and the way she was kissing at my neck, it was pretty safe to say that she thought she won. But when I laid her down in our bed and tucked her in tightly her mood went straight back to crazy.

"I'm going to go sleep, you have yourself a wonderful night Grace."

"Carter you son of a bitch, get back here!" She screamed.

"Goodnight Grace." I called back as I shut the door behind me.

We both knew very well that she could have just came after me, but I think she got the hint.

Things between us had died before they even really began. I'd like to say it was because of her over bearing father, but really this was just a fraud of a marriage.

She picked me because I wasn't what her father wanted for her. She deserved a prince in his eyes and back then I was merely just a pauper.

And I picked her, because her beauty opened doors. I was just a low level creative agent in a large advertisement firm, but as soon as I found out my boss was a bigot with dollar sign eyes, I formed my own plan.

I dumped my boyfriend at the time and found Grace. I didn't find out till later who her family was, but when I did her father never offered his help, and I never asked. He made sure that a poor piece of shit like myself could never touch his money, but I don't think he ever expected to see me with more than he could ever dream of having. His entire fortune is how much my summer home cost me.

My boss started seeing me as an equal though since I had a bubbly blonde girlfriend. He was a horrible man, but it was a means to an end. He never touched her, I made sure of that, but I got close to him and then took down his entire company. One report to the IRS and he was gone, then after that his accounts had limited options of where to go.

So I monopolized on that. I took Amanda and a few others and made our own business. It was hard, we worked out of my apartment, but we made it work until we could grew.

We were unstoppable.

And within a mere three years I had everything but happiness. But that was just a minor detail. Something that I could definitely work through.

Building something like this takes time and sacrifice. I'd given a lot of both, and I'm not sure I was anywhere near ready to plateau and settle yet.

I wanted to expand, and I wanted to reach every market I could. Advertising just didn't seem like enough anymore.

I knew I was probably just trying to fill some void, but I'd deal with that later.