Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
All he could do was stare at me, his deepened breaths visible as the discomfort took hold. He looked more forlorn than when I moved out, when he’d told me there had been more women than Cecilia. He knew he was about to lose me for good, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. “Fleur, I don’t want to lose you.”
Maybe I was crazy, but in that moment, I actually pitied him. “Adrien, I know it’s hard to let go, but I’m already gone. Even if I wanted to forgive you and work on the relationship, I can’t.”
“Why?” he whispered.
I thought the reason was obvious. “Because I’m in love with someone else.” They were words I couldn’t even admit to myself, and no way in hell could I ever say them to Bastien, not when he would swallow me whole. But I could say them to Adrien because…he needed to hear them. He needed this truth, no matter how painful, for closure.
He clenched his eyes shut like that would somehow block out the sound of my words. His face was already pale when it was normally tanned, but now he looked on the verge of being sick. It reminded me of the way I’d looked when Cecilia told me about his infidelity, how I’d looked every day for a month when I lived in that small apartment and cried myself to sleep every night. This moment should taste like vindictive revenge, but it was so bland I couldn’t taste it. The last thing I wanted was to inflict that kind of pain on anyone, even him.
It gave me no pleasure, none at all.
He finally opened his eyes again. They were slightly wet from the tears he tried so hard not to shed in front of me. “I’ll do it.” He spoke so quietly, his words were barely audible. “Whatever terms you want, I’ll give them to you.”
“Thank you, Adrien.” The defeat meant the world to me, the war finally over. I’d left this house almost four months ago, and when I’d walked out with my bags, I assumed I would be miserable for a very long time. I assumed it would take years to put myself back together, and by then, the dating pool would be empty and I would die alone. Never did I expect the most remarkable man to walk into that bar and change the colors of my life from black-and-white to glorious Technicolor.
I opened my arms and hugged him tightly, and for the first time, I felt only love for him. I let my anger and resentment dissolve in the air around us. I let the past remain in the rearview mirror. Instead of eviscerating him with the talons of my heartbreak, I chose to comfort him as a friend.
He squeezed me hard and rested his chin on my head, giving a heavy breath that was full of both joy and pain. “I love you, Fleur. Always will.”
I’d just gotten home from work after buying a baguette at the bakery. I had an assortment of cheeses that I’d picked up a few days ago from Le Grande Épicerie and they were still good, so I made a snack in my little kitchen, smearing the cheese on the edge of the bread before I took a bite. I was still in my heels and my coat, the raindrops glued to the windows of my apartment. I leaned against the counter, mentally drained from staring at the computer screen and doing spreadsheets and booking appointments. The work was boring and unfulfilling, but it was good pay. Now I had the heater where I wanted it, could get groceries delivered instead of using what little time I had left to take care of that myself. Money didn’t buy happiness, but it bought time, and that freedom was happiness.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Bastien. What’s my woman doing?
Standing in my kitchen eating cheese and a baguette. What about you?
Just took care of something.
That could mean anything. Killing someone or signing paperwork. I’d rather not know which.
Put down that baguette and have dinner with me.
It’s a really good baguette…but you’re really hot…what will I choose?
He didn’t say anything. His dots didn’t appear.
Looks like the sexy man wins.
Good choice, sweetheart. I’ll be there in five minutes.
I left my apartment and exited the lobby to the street. Bastien was already there, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed to his elbows. He was dressed in dark colors, a dark blue shirt with black jeans. A grin slid over his face at the sight of me, and he moved into me and kissed me right there on the sidewalk, gripping my ass through my skirt. He abruptly pulled away and opened the back door for me to get inside.