Chapter 2
Series 1 Chapter 2
I got home an hour before Connor.
I didn't turn on the lights.
I sat alone in the dark, still seeing Brooke beneath the spotlight, standing where I should have been.
A little after midnight, the front door opened.
Connor came in with Brooke leaning against him.
He didn't notice me.
He took her straight to the guest room, helped her onto the bed, adjusted her pillows, and spoke to her in the soft voice he hadn't used with me all night.
Only when he stepped back into the hallway did he see me.
His expression tightened.
“You’re still awake?”
I stood.
“You brought her home?”
“Brooke had a rough night,” he said impatiently. “People were making comments after the gala. I wasn't going to leave her alone.”
I stared at him.
“You erased me from our company's history tonight.”
His jaw hardened.
“I spent seven years building that company with you. I sold my investments to keep it alive. I slept on the office floor beside you. And somehow every memory on that screen belonged to her.”
Connor folded his arms.
“You're making this about yourself again.”
I almost laughed.
“It was my life too.”
“Brooke knew me before you did,” he snapped. “She believed in me before any of this existed.”
“And that means she gets to replace me?”
His face turned cold.
“No one is replacing you. You're just insecure.”
I went still.
Connor kept going.
“You've always been jealous of her. She's been in my life for twenty years, Natalie. I'm tired of apologizing for that.”
Before I could answer, the guest room door opened.
Brooke stood there wrapped in one of my shawls.
My shawl.
“Please don't fight because of me,” she whispered.
Her eyes were red.
“If I'm causing problems, I'll leave. I can find a hotel.”
She took one step forward.
Connor immediately crossed the space between them.
“You're not going anywhere.”
He caught her arm and pulled her close.
Then he looked at me.
“See what you're doing?”
His voice was full of disgust.
“You're making her feel unwelcome in a house where she's done nothing wrong.”
I looked at Brooke wrapped in my clothes.
At my husband holding her.
And suddenly, I didn't want to argue anymore.
If anything, Connor had just made leaving easier.
“You're right,” I said quietly.
He frowned.
“I'm done.”
I walked into the bedroom and locked the door.
Seconds later, I heard Connor comforting Brooke again.
I took out my phone.
My hands were shaking.
Not from grief this time.
I made a call.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
“I need a flight three days from now.”
“Round trip or one-way?”
Through the door, Brooke laughed softly.
Connor answered her.
I closed my eyes.
“One-way.”
Minutes later, the confirmation appeared on my screen.
Outside, Connor was still taking care of another woman.
He had three days left.
After that, I would be gone.
And he still had no idea where I was going.