Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Another slap in the face. “It’s a lot more than that, and you know it.”
“I’m not husband material. I’m not father material. You thought you could change me, but you can’t.”
“I never wanted to change you, Cauldron. I just loved you…and wanted to be with you.” I kept my voice steady, but the tears were hot in my throat and my heart ached in my chest. He’d clearly made up his mind, and nothing I said would change it.
It was the first time he dropped that menacing look.
“I wanted a man who wanted the same things I do. To fall in love, have a family, celebrate our fiftieth anniversary…but then I fell in love with you, and those things didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to be with you, however our lives looked, because you became the single most important thing in the world to me. I would have made any compromise for you, would have accepted our lives in any condition, because you’re worth it.”
His eyes remained down, as if ashamed of what he said.
“But you’re right. I deserve better. I deserve better than the way you’ve treated me since the beginning. I forgave you, made excuses for you, because my love made me blind. But that’s over.” I rose from the chair and walked to the door. “I’ll leave in the morning, and my final request is you not be here when I do that.” I stepped into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind me, and the second I heard the click of the latch, the tears sprang from my eyes. I held my breath to stay quiet as I moved down the hallway to my old bedroom, the place where this life began. I got inside and locked the door behind me, and once my privacy was secured, I let everything out.
I curled up into a ball on my bed and sobbed.
I fell asleep at some point during my cries, and then I woke up to a small headache. I pulled the duvet on top of me in the night, so the bed was a complete mess. I lay there for a while, wishing last night were just some nightmare.
Nope. It was real.
I sat up in bed and stayed there for a long time, unsure where to go, how to start over. I came here for my freedom, and now that I finally had that, I could move on…but it didn’t feel exhilarating.
I thought Grave had ruined me, but I realized Cauldron was far worse than he’d ever been.
Maybe I should have just stayed.
I finally got to my feet and moved to his bedroom door. A part of me hoped he would be there on the couch, ready to apologize and take it all back. But I knew once I opened that door, I would be met with disappointment.
I stepped inside—and realized I was right.
He was gone.
The staff helped me load all my things into the back of the Range Rover. Everything was done in silence, and Hugo didn’t have the nerve to gloat. I wasn’t sure where Cauldron was, but I suspected he was still in the house, in one of the guest bedrooms no one ever occupied.
“I’ll drop off the car later.”
“You can keep it.” Hugo handed me an envelope. “He wants you to have this as well.”
I knew it was stuffed with cash. Cash I didn’t need. “I’ll just take the car.” I moved around the car to the driver’s seat.
Hugo followed me. “He knew you’d say that, so he insists.” He continued to hold out the cash.
I stared at the envelope without taking it. “It’s really sad that he thinks I care about that. That the money is even remotely desirable to me. Unlike every other woman he meets, I loved him for him, for his flaws, for his bullshit, for everything. The money is the last thing I cared about.” When I looked at Hugo again, his entire expression had dropped. “Take care of him, Hugo.”
He dropped the envelope to his side and opened the door for me. “I’m sorry that it’s ended this way.”
It was the first nice thing he’d ever said to me.
“Despite our differences, I know you cared for him…and he was happy.”
We shared a long look before I got into the car. I pulled around the roundabout slowly, taking my time as I approached the open gates at the end of the driveway. Once I left, I would never come back. This would all be just a memory, a memory that I would never share with anyone. It’d be as if it never happened—because it was just too hard to talk about.
I pulled onto the road and drove away, the house disappearing in the rearview mirror.
And then it was over.
I was gone.