"Harold" Charlotte called as she descended down the staircase. Her silk rode flowing behind her.

"Yes dear" replied Harold who was sitting at the kitchen table engrossed in the morning paper.

"We need to um ..talk" Charlotte said taking a seat across from her husband. He set down his paper and looked up to search her face, this sounded serious.

Charlotte looked down at her hands which she kept folding and unfolding in her lap, she knew what she wanted to say, but how to say it was a different story.

"I ..umm ..I think we need to spend some time apart"

Harold almost choked on his coffee. Charlotte had been distant for a few weeks, but he figured she'd get over whatever was bothering her and they'd be their lovey dovey selves again.

"Where's this coming from?" he asked.

"I wanna focus on me" she said "I haven't done that in the past 19 years ..when we met I gave up my life for you ..and Blair of course"

He sat back and ran his hand over his face. "Charlotte, I'll buy the gallery back for you, or whichever one you want" she glanced down at her hands again.

"Cynthia's already offered to give it back to me ..at a good price"

"You've been planning this?" he asked.

Of course she hadn't been planning it but she had it in her mind for a few weeks she just didn't know how to go about telling him. She gave him a pleading look, she didn't want this to get ugly, she knew the person it would hurt the most was Blair.

"Oh Charlotte" he laughed "do you remember what you had when I married you? ...because I do" he paused as he leaned forward "Whether you write the check or I do that's my money being used to buy that gallery"

Charlotte stared at him in disbelief.

"We've been married 19 years ..and you just decide to up and leave ..how did you expect me to react?"

He slowly got up from the table as he made his way back upstairs. She burst out in tears covering her face with both hands.

"He said what?!" Carrie exclaimed.

Charlotte nodded bashfully.

"How dare he? That son of a bitch" Samantha blurted out.

"Samantha" Charlotte hissed looking around to see if anyone had heard her.

"No" Samantha interjected "you've been married for 19 years, you have a child together ..he can't talk to you like that ..or make you feel guilty about anything"

"Yes he can" Charlotte said taking a sip of her sparkling water, "If we go through with this ..I'll be the one uprooting my family ..Blair loves her father"

"Blair's old enough to understand that you need to be happy too ..and she would want that for you"

Charlotte took a deep breath, "I really do want to go through with this ..but if I do ..he'll leave me high and dry I won't have my gallery ..he'll take the house ..and probably try ti get full custody of Blair"

"Big and I can lend you the money for the gallery" Carrie offered.

"How about we all chip in" Samantha suggested.

Miranda nodded in agreement "You can't let money be the reason you stay with him" she added "we want you to be happy"

"Besides it's 2009 I know you've heard of a little something called alimony" Samantha added. They all gave her a sideways glance and laughed. Charlotte smiled gratefully at her best friends "Thanks you guys"

Charlotte had already been in the bed for twenty minutes, her back propped up against the headboard with the help of a pillow, when Harold climbed in. He made himself comfortable on his side of the bed and turned off the light on his bedside table. Charlotte waited until he stopped stirring to say "I want to proceed with the divorce."

He said nothing.

"And whatever money I use to buy the gallery back.. because I will, will be legally mine"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh just a little something you may have heard of called alimony"

"You think that you can .."

She cut him off "We've been married for almost 20 years ..I had your child, I supported you as you've built up your practice into the success that it is today, i've got accustomed to a lot over these past years ..I plan to keep up that lifestyle Harold and you're gonna be the one to foot the bill"

Charlotte was not a malicious person at all, out of her group of friends she was the nicest, but if it was one thing that could really bring the bitch out, it was someone trying to walk over her. She wasn't going to have that. She slid down and nestled her head in the pillow and couldn't help thinking Samantha would be proud.