Jade stands in front of the large window in Cat and Robbie's apartment in the Upper East Side, overlooking Central Park. It's midday, and the portion of the park that she can see is crowded with people. Local residents are cutting through on their way elsewhere, families are out for a walk, and tourists are snapping pictures of everything that they see. There's something relaxing about the normalcy of it. Jade can't remember the last time that she just...went for a walk in the park. She's famous enough that she would be recognized, that people would stop her and make a fuss, and she doesn't like to travel with security. She will, when it's necessary, but it makes her feel less human. Wilmer would never let her go for a walk in the park alone, and he'd certainly never offer to join her.
"So, uh..." Beck clears his throat to catch her attention, buttoning his shirt as he enters the room "Where does he think you are right now?"
Jade had been so relieved to hear that Cat and Robbie were allowing Beck to stay in their New York apartment, that he was going to be in close proximity to her for as long as he is able to. It's going to be harder for her to come up with lies for Wilmer though, just 'going to lunch with a friend' isn't going to cut it. Most of her 'friends' in New York are also Wilmer's friends, or married to Wilmer's friends. There's a greater opportunity for her to get caught, which makes it all the more stressful.
"Optometrist." Jade shrugs, continuing to look out the window at the park below "My eyesight is fairly decent, he'll believe me when I come back and say that I don't need glasses."
"Oh, so you're one of the lucky ones then?" Beck teases her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and placing his chin on her shoulder "Careful, we're pushing thirty. Perfect eyesight might not last forever."
"Don't remind me." Jade smirks "Can you believe this view?"
"It's pretty amazing." Beck admits "Although not surprising, Cat has money."
"So does Wilmer, and we don't have this view..." Jade sighs "Look at everyone, just going about their day. They have no idea that we're watching them."
"S'kinda weird that we're watching them, don't you think?"
"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a normal adult?" Jade asks him "To cut through the park on your lunch break? Grab some coffee and bring it back with you?"
"Not really." Beck admits "I've worked my whole life to get where I am now, I don't want to think about anything changing."
"That's fair, I suppose." Jade agrees
"You okay?"
"I'm okay..." She nods "Just, I've done a lot of reflecting lately, obviously. About my life and where I've ended up. Makes me wonder if this is actually where I was supposed to end up or not."
"What do you mean?"
"My whole career is tied to Wilmer." Jade reminds him "Part of me wonders...if I hadn't married him, what would I have done? Would I have the career that I have now or-"
"Of course you would." Beck insists "The credits might be different, sure. But you're very talented Jade, you were always meant to be an actress. You would have found your way to fame with or without Wilmer."
"Jenna found me a divorce lawyer..." Jade turns to face Beck, placing her hands on his shoulders "Dave Coleman, he's supposed to be the best in the city."
"Good." Beck nods "That's good that you have that lined up."
"I'm meeting with him on Tuesday."
"Oh?" Beck raises an eyebrow at her "So, does that mean that you're...speeding up the timeline?"
"I can't wait until Thanksgiving, I can't." Jade insists "The other night we got into a petty argument about...well, nothing really. But he got so upset and he raised his voice and was so...mean...I just couldn't do it anymore. It was the final straw."
Beck can't believe that out of everything he's heard about Wilmer so far, his raising his voice at her was the final straw for Jade. Everyone has their breaking point though, he supposes, and Jade's most likely finally came after a cumulation of other events.
"What about the movie?"
"I..." Jade hesitates "I don't know. Wilmer doesn't typically do press, so I'll be fine there. Maybe I skip the premiere though, if he doesn't ban me first."
"It'll look terrible if he bans you."
"He doesn't care." Jade sighs "He'll find a way to spin it to make it look like I'm in the wrong."
"Well, hopefully Dave Coleman can keep that from happening."
"All Dave Coleman can do is make sure that my assets are secure and that our prenup is honored." Jade shakes her head "He can't control anything that Wilmer might try to do to me in the court of public opinion."
"What if you came out and said something first?" Beck suggests "Let people know who he really is before he has the chance to turn anyone against you."
"He has too many friends." Jade shakes her head "He knows too many important people. I...look, I don't need this to be an easy process, I just need it to be amicable."
"Is Wilmer capable of amicable?"
"I don't think so..." Jade sighs "But we'll see what happens."
Jade's phone starts buzzing on the couch, the default marimba tone startling them both as she goes to silence it. She had set an alarm so she would know when to return home, not wanting to risk raising suspicion in Wilmer by being gone longer than what would be considered normal for an eye appointment.
"Time to go?" Beck asks her
"Unfortunately..." Jade nods "Wilmer is playing golf tomorrow. Maybe I could come over then?"
"Of course." Beck smiles, leaning down to kiss her "Just say the word, and I'll be ready."
Jade's meeting with Dave Coleman goes well, which is relieving. Wilmer has, unknowingly, made the process relatively easy. Their prenuptial agreement is airtight; his money will remain his, and what money she has earned herself will go with her. The house in Los Angeles and the penthouse they reside in while they're in New York are in his name and will stay with him, but Jade doesn't mind. He had already owned both properties when she married him, she would have never felt like she would have had any right to them anyway.
A petition for divorce is being drafted, on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, on Jade's behalf. As soon as it's finished she'll be notified, and as soon as she gives the okay...Wilmer will be served. She's going to do her best to make sure that she isn't home with him when that happens, it might turn ugly if she is.
In the meantime, she tries to keep her head clear and act as if nothing is happening. She does't want to raise any suspicion in Wilmer, to make him think that something out-of-the-ordinary is happening. On this particular evening, she's utilizing the private gym in their building, something she does maybe once or twice a week.
Nothing for him to question.
"Welcome back." Wilmer says to her when she enters the apartment post-workout
"Thanks." She sets her keys and phone down on the counter in the kitchen "I'm going to go shower."
"Fine by me." Wilmer chuckles "I'd actually suggest it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She rolls her eyes "I'm sweaty, I get it."
Her shower is slightly longer than usual, but only because she gets lost in her own thoughts. For the last decade, this apartment is all that she's ever known. As soon as she says the word and Wilmer is served with the divorce papers, all of this will go away. She'll have to find somewhere else to live, somewhere else to start over. Will she move in with Beck? It seems a bit presumptuous to assume so, probably even a little unrealistic. Her relationship with Beck only exists within a certain bubble, it isn't a real relationship, not yet anyways. They should give it time, and she should get to experience what it's like to be out on her own.
Yes, she's going to need somewhere else to live...and probably soon. Should she start working on that now? Shopping for real estate might be difficult to keep from her husband. It might be best to have a hotel lined up for a few weeks whenever she decides to serve the divorce papers and then go from there. She'll ask Jenna to start working on that soon.
"Jade!" Wilmer's voice booms through the apartment as soon as he hears their bedroom door open "Get in here! Right now!"
He sounds angry, and that scares her. It could be for any number of reasons too, she has no idea what to expect.
"What's wrong?" She asks him, entering the living room, her hair still damp "Is everything okay?"
"No, everything is not okay." Wilmer insists "Is there something that you want to come clean about?"
He's holding her phone, so he must have found something either regarding her arrangement with Beck or her meetings with Dave Coleman.
She decides to play dumb.
"What are you talking about, Wilmer?"
"Are you gay?"
She's not sure what he would have found to suggest that.
"What?"
"All of these texts with Rebecca Olson..." Wilmer unlocks her phone and scrolls through the messages with Beck "It's disgusting, the way you two are talking to each other. You don't even speak to me this way."
"Believe me, it's not what you think it is."
"Tell me what it is, then."
"It's nothing." Jade snatches the phone out of his hand "Why were you going through my phone, anyway?"
"You left it in the kitchen and it wouldn't stop buzzing." Wilmer informs her "That 'Rebecca' sent you like, five messages, about coming over to see her tomorrow."
"I'm not gay." Jade tells him "This is a fake contact. I've been texting a man."
Their marriage is going to end tonight. One of them is going to storm out, she can already tell. They've had their last happy evening as a couple, even if her 'happy' was forced and fake.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"We need to talk about this." Wilmer demands "Right now."
"You want to talk?" Jade laughs, slipping her phone into her pocket "Alright, let's talk. Let's talk about how I've pretended not to notice every time you come home smelling like another woman's perfume. Let's talk about all of the 'business meetings' you've insisted you couldn't miss, but that I wasn't allowed to attend with you. Let's talk about how you manipulated me into only working for you for the last decade, keeping me to yourself, alienating me from my friends and my family-"
She's taken off-guard when Wilmer lunges at her, shoving her up against the wall and pushing all of the air out of her lungs. Despite his age, he's quite strong. He's able to keep her pinned against the wall with only one arm while he grabs her wrist with his other hand.
"You ungrateful little bitch." He sneers, pressing his face towards her's "Do you have any idea how much you owe me? You would be nothing without me. You'd have no jobs, no career, and you certainly wouldn't have anyone to love you."
"That's not fucking true and you know it."
"Yes it is." He insists "Who else would have taken a chance on the poor little college reject down on her luck? And who will hire you once I tell everyone what you've done?"
"Tell everyone what, exactly?" She squirms under his grip "That I tried to step out of a loveless marriage? That I tried to leave a husband who has been cheating on me for the better part of our relationship? What if I get my story out first? What if no one buys he bullshit you try to sell them?"
What if he kills me? Jade is thinking to herself What if he keeps me pinned here and chokes me to death? Then what will everyone think of him? There'd be no way to hide it.
"Impossible." Wilmer insists "I could have lawyers drafting divorce papers by morning."
"And what if I told you my papers are already drafted?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm fucking done with you, Wilmer." She tells him through gritted teeth, still trying to break free "I'm not going to let you control me anymore. I'm not going to let you manipulate me anymore. We're through, I'm leaving."
"Why you little-"
Wilmer shifts his arm upwards slightly, pushing harder against her windpipe as he attempts to choke her. Beginning to feel a bit lightheaded from the restricted amount of oxygen she's receiving, Jade makes one last attempt to break away from him, raising her knee to his crotch and kicking as hard as she can. Out of instinct, Wilmer's hands move to his groin as he doubles over in pain, and Jade slips away to run to the bedroom.
Moving as quickly as possible, she grabs the first bag that she sees. It's technically a purse, but its big enough that she'll be able to pack what she needs...which is really the bare minimum. All she'll need is a few outfits, the rest can be purchased later. She'll be back in a few days, when Wilmer isn't home, to grab the rest of her things.
"Don't be stupid, Jade." Wilmer calls after her "I can end your career. You'll never make another movie, you'll never work in Hollywood again. I have too many friends."
"Yeah, well. I have friends of my own." She reminds him "And with the current cultural climate, I'd be careful what you say about me. Wouldn't want to incriminate yourself."
At least not before she gets the chance to incriminate him herself.
"Stop packing that bag, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened." Wilmer tells her, appearing in the doorway "Come on, let's get ourselves cleaned up and take a minute to calm down. Come to bed with me...and I'll forgive you."
"Forgive me?" Jade scoffs "I think you're the one who needs to be asking for forgiveness here."
She throws the purse over her shoulder and shoves past him, making her way towards the front door. She swipes her keys off of the counter and checks her pocket to make sure that her phone is still there, it is.
"If you walk out that door, you'll never be welcome back. Do you understand me?" Wilmer threatens "I mean it, Jade. I'll make you regret it."
"I won't regret this." Jade shakes her head, hand on the doorknob "Goodbye, Wilmer."
"It won't bruise." Beck assures Jade as he examines her neck "None of the blood vessels are ruptured, the skin is just irritated. It'll be fine in a few hours, if not then certainly by morning."
She had called him as soon as she made it safely to the penthouse's private elevator, letting him know everything that had gone down with Wilmer. How he had found their messages and confronted her, how he had gotten physical with her and she had needed to also get physical before he could hurt her severely. Of course, Beck had told her to come straight to Cat and Robbie's apartment, and that she could stay there with him for as long as she needed.
"Since when are you a doctor?" She raises an eyebrow at him
"M'not..." He chuckles "I've just played a few before."
"Alright, I trust you." She smirks
"Jade, in all seriousness...are you alright?" Beck asks her, taking her hand "I mean, what you went through...it sounds terrifying."
"It was." She nods "There was actually a moment where I started contemplating what would happen if he killed me...like, he wouldn't have been able to hide it, you know? His fingerprints would have been all over me. And then what would be have done?"
"Well, thank goodness he didn't kill you." Beck squeezes her hand and presses a kiss to her cheek "And thank goodness you're finally done with him.'
"I didn't think it would ever come to this..." Jade admits, a tear sliding down her cheek
"I don't think anyone ever does."
"I wish I could warn myself..." She tells him "Like go back in time and stop myself from going to that audition, or tell myself not to marry him...something to prevent myself from wasting the last ten years of my life."
"It wasn't a waste." Beck assures her "You've grown as a person, you've learned new things about yourself...we both have."
"I wish the circumstances were different."
"Me too." Beck agrees "Do you want to try to get some sleep? Or is your adrenaline still running too high?"
"We should go to bed..." Jade sighs "I don't know if I'll actually sleep, but I should at least try. Something tells me these next few days are going to be..."
"Crazy?"
"Crazy, hectic, absolute hell..." Jade shrugs "However you want to look at it."
"Well, I'll be right here with you until you tell me not to be." Beck assures her "I promise."
"I want you here with me." She nods
"Then I'm here."
It's not easy for Jade to fall asleep that night. Every time she closes her eye she sees Wilmer lunging at her and feels his hands closing around her neck. Beck holds her close to him, and that makes her relax a bit, but her sleep is light and dreamless...almost like she's hovering between consciousness and true sleep.
She awakes early the next morning, unable to fall asleep once sunlight starts streaming through the curtains. Her first instinct is to call Cat and fill her in on everything that had happened the previous night, but it's still only 3 am in Los Angeles...that call will have to wait. When she grabs her phone off of the charger beside the bed, she's confused. There's three missed calls and two voicemails from an unfamiliar number, coming in at just after two, three, and four in the morning.
Curious, she raises the phone to her ear to listen to the first message. The time stamp says 2:18 am.
"Hi, Mrs. Gordon. This is Anne from Mount Sinai Medical Center. I'm calling with information regarding your husb-"
Jade clicks the next message and brings the phone back to her ear. This one has a time stamp that says 3:14 am.
"Hi, Mrs. Gordon. This is Anne from Mount Sinai Medical Center. Just calling you again to let you know that we have information regarding your husband. If you could please give us a call back at your earliest convenience, our number is-"
"Beck!" Jade reaches over and shakes him awake "Beck! Wake up!"
"Hm?" Beck rolls over to face her "What's wrong?"
"I got three calls and two messages from Mount Sinai overnight." Jade tells him "They want to talk to me about Wilmer."
"Did you call them back?" He asks her, sitting up
"No, not yet."
"Maybe do that..." He yawns
"Doing it now..."
She hits the button to re-dial the same number that had called her the night before, then puts the phone on speaker. It rings four times before someone picks up.
"Mount Sinai Medical Center, how may I help you?"
"Hi." Jade greets the person on the other end of the phone "My name is Jade West-Gordon. I have three missed calls from this number? They said it was regarding my husband..."
"Just a moment."
The call is clearly placed on a hold and Jade looks to Beck, the two of them sharing a moment of confusion.
"Mrs. Gordon?" A different, this time male, voice appears on the other end of the phone
"Speaking."
"Good morning. My name is Dr. Spring." The doctor says "Last night, our paramedics responded to a call from your address from a man complaining of chest pain. It appears that your husband had a heart attack."
Jade has to stop herself from gasping, sharing a worried look with Beck. Had she given Wilmer a heart attack by leaving? Had he given himself one by getting violent with her? Either way, it looks bad. She can only imagine the bullshit lies that he's spinning right now for any nurse or doctor who will listen.
"Okay..." She does her best to keep her voice steady "Has he been admitted?"
"That's the thing, Mrs. Gordon..." The doctor sighs "We've been trying to reach you because...well, I hate to be the one to inform you but, Mr. Gordon didn't make it."