Chapter 3

At Dinner 52, my dying mother was one door away.

My husband still found somewhere else he believed needed him more.

Yesterday, Eleanor’s condition had been stable enough to give me a false sense of hope. But late this afternoon, the doctor pulled me into the quiet hallway with a grim expression.

"Her organs are failing," he said. "We only have a few hours left."

I walked into the ICU. My mother opened her eyes and looked at the empty space beside me.

"Does Mason know?" she asked.

"I called him."

She let out a breath. "I don't want his apologies, Avery. I just want to see him. I want to see if he will walk through that door for you, just this once."

I stepped out to the hallway. I ordered a double dinner set from the restaurant across the street and asked them to deliver it to the family lounge. Then, I dialed Mason's number.

"The doctor says she won't make it through the night," I told him, keeping my voice as steady as possible. "She wants to see you. "

"I am on my way," Mason answered immediately.

Twenty minutes later, the elevator doors opened.

Mason rushed out, breathing heavily.

He ran up to me outside the glass doors of the ICU. He pulled me into a fierce, tight embrace.

His eyes were red with genuine worry.

"I am right here, Avery," he whispered, kissing my forehead softly. "Is she awake?"

He reached for the ICU door handle.

I looked at his tall profile. My heart trembled. For three years, I had waited for this exact moment. He was finally choosing us.

His hand closed around it.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated violently in his pocket.

Mason frowned deeply and hit the reject button through his pocket.

But it immediately buzzed again, relentless and demanding. Sighing, he stepped away from the ICU door and answered it.

Vanessa’s panicked voice burst through the speaker. "Mason! Sophie’s school play is starting. Her partner’s dad didn't show up. She is terrified! She refuses to go on stage!"

I stood right in front of him. I stared at him.

No medical emergency. No injuries. No legal forms. Just a school play.

Mason rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking stressed. "Vanessa, I cannot come over there tonight. Avery's mother is dying."

He was making the right choice, but Vanessa refused to back down. "Sophie, talk to him."

A child's sobbing voice came through the phone. "Are you going to leave me too? Just like my real dad? When I need you most?"

Vanessa took the phone back. "Mason, you made her believe you wouldn't leave her. She is standing in front of all her classmates, waiting for you."

Mason’s hand froze on the doorknob. He hesitated.

Right at that second, the heart monitor inside the ICU beeped rapidly. Two doctors rushed past us and pushed the door open.

I grabbed Mason's sleeve tightly.

"Mason," I pleaded, my voice breaking. "She only has a few hours left. You are already standing right here. Just push the door open."

Mason looked at the ICU door. Then he looked down at his phone.

He gently, but firmly, pulled his arm out of my grip.

"Avery," he said softly, avoiding my desperate gaze. "You are already by her side, and you are so strong. But Sophie... no one can replace me for her right now."

He had called me strong so many times that I had never noticed what the word allowed him to do.

I let my hand fall to my side. "She may not be alive when you come back."

"The performance is only twenty minutes. I’ll come straight back," he promised, his eyes begging for my understanding.

I didn't stop him.

Mason turned around. The hospital room door was right behind him. All he had to do was step backward.

Instead, he walked toward the elevator.

I took Dinner 52 from the booklet and handed it to the lounge attendant.

Then I went back into the ICU alone.

My mother slowly opened her eyes, looking at the empty space behind me. She didn't look surprised at all. She simply squeezed my hand with the last bit of her strength.

"Avery... don't wait for his next time," she whispered.

I held her cold fingers tightly.

Half an hour later, the monitor flatlined.

I walked blindly into the family lounge. On the table sat two warm meals and two sets of silver cutlery.

The last slot in the leather booklet was now completely empty.

I didn't touch the food. I took out my phone and dialed my lawyer's number.

"Claire, please file the divorce papers," I said.

Then, I pulled the diamond wedding ring off my finger.

I left the ring resting on the empty leather booklet.

Before I left, the nurse handed me a sealed black portfolio that had been resting beside my mother’s belongings.

HART HOTELS was embossed across the cover.

A small card from Mr. Sterling was attached to it.

I did not open the portfolio.

I carried it with me and walked out of the lounge.

The elevator arrived. The metal doors slid open.

My phone buzzed in my hand.

It was a message from Mason.

"The performance is over."

"I am coming back now."

For three years, whenever Mason said he was coming back, I had kept waiting.

Behind me, my wedding ring rested on the empty booklet.

In my hand was the sealed Hart Hotels portfolio my mother had left behind.

This time, I stepped into the elevator and pressed CLOSE.

There would be no Dinner 53.