Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
I lift my eyes to his and feel my throat get tight like I might cry. And I really do not want to cry.
“Thank you.” I take my bag from him. “I was about to go to the station to see if I could get it. You saved me a trip.”
“You might want to check it to make sure everything is still inside. I don’t think they had time to go through it, but you never know.”
With a nod, I carry it to the kitchen and place it on the counter, opening it to find everything exactly where it was last evening. “All of it is here.” I take out my phone and plug it in so it can charge, then look across the high counter that separates the kitchen from the living room. I find him still across the room by the door, but his gaze is on the couch where I left my laptop.
“You looking for a car?”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t your insurance give you a rental until you can get a new ride?”
“If I weren’t going through a divorce and my ex-husband wasn’t a jerk, that’s how it would work.” I walk out of the kitchen and go to the couch to pick up my computer and close it. “But since Conner has been threatening to take my car for weeks now, I’m sure he’ll use this as the perfect excuse to do just that.”
“He’s been threatening you?” Noah asks quietly. When I meet his gaze, I find the same look on his face as last night when he found out someone had pointed a gun at me.
“Not like that,” I assure him softly. “He’s just lashing out. I don’t think he would ever hurt me.”
“How’s he lashing out?” He leans back, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
“It’s nothing.” I shake my head.
“How’s he lashing out at you?” he repeats a little louder while leaning into me. I flinch. “I would never put my hands on you, babe.”
I lick my lips. “I know.” And I do know that. Still, with his size compared to mine, it would only take him flicking his finger to cause damage. And even if Conner is way smaller than Noah and never hit me, he did get angry and shove me or jab his finger into my face or chest hard enough to hurt. Sometimes, he grabbed me a little too tightly, leaving bruises.
“Never.” His eyes hold mine.
“Okay.” I wrap my arms around my middle.
“Now, tell me how he’s been lashing out at you.”
“It’s nothing, really. He just won’t let me get my stuff and has been threatening to take the car.” I shift on my feet.
“Why haven’t you asked your brother to help you go get your things? Or requested a police escort to pick them up?”
“Because the stuff I have there are things he paid for, and Items I would just sell if I ever got them back. All I really want from him is his signature on the divorce papers so I can move on with my life.” I wave my hand. “I’m trying not to argue with him about bags or shoes I don’t actually need.”
“So he’s not signing the divorce papers?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. My lawyer said he has thirty days to respond. If he doesn’t, we can file with the courts and wait for a date to have the divorce finalized by a judge without his signature.”
“Maybe he’s not happy with what you’re asking for,” he says. Even if he might not mean it with ill intent, it still makes me angry. I know what people think of me, what my brother thinks of me, and what I’m sure he’s said to Noah about the kind of person I was. He might have been right before, but he’s not anymore.
“That’s funny because I’m not asking him for anything, even though I could get alimony and probably a whole lot more than that. I want nothing from him except to forget I was dumb enough to marry him in the first place.”
“You married him for a reason.”
“You’re right. I did. Because I thought I loved him, and he loved me. Then I convinced myself that having nice things and going on trips alone made up for the fact that he was a pompous jerk and a perpetual cheat and liar.” I suck in a breath through my nose, then drop my voice. “Regardless of what you might think of me, I’d rather be broke than broken.” I walk around him to the door and place my hand on the handle. “I really appreciate you bringing me my bag. I know you didn’t have to do that.”
“Babe,” he says gently, his expression going soft.
I open the door, making it clear it’s time for him to go. And, honestly, he needs to leave before I start to cry. With my nose stinging and throat tightening like it is, I know that might happen at any second. “As you know, I have a lot of stuff to do today.”