Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
I didn’t want it to end, not yet, but holding on to him tighter would just push him away quicker.
So I didn’t text him.
I was alone in my apartment with the TV on, the darkness pressing against the windows while it rained. An ambulance drove by, and the sound reverberated against the buildings as it passed and then faded as it crossed the bridge. The divorce papers were on the dining table because I would submit the paperwork tomorrow.
I didn’t have a shift at the bar tonight, but I wished I did just to stay busy. I knew I needed to find a job better than that one, something that paid enough for me to start a new life. I grabbed my laptop and searched job listings in the hope I would find something that paid well and that I was remotely qualified for.
But it was slim pickings.
Bastien texted me. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
I was relieved and disappointed by that message. When I asked for space, he gave it to me without an interrogation, so I did the same for him. Most guys would have just left me hanging, and then if I asked about his silence later, he would have called me clingy or annoying. But Bastien didn’t do that. He was different. He treated me like I was important even though I was someone whose name he would forget in a couple months. If he settled down someday, whoever he gave his heart to would be the luckiest woman in the world. You know where to find me.
I went to the courthouse the next day and submitted the finalized paperwork. Once it was processed, the divorce proceedings would move to a hearing. Adrien had earned most of his wealth while he was married to me, so we had to settle all the communal property, from the house in Paris to the one we owned in the Loire Valley.
But I didn’t want any of it.
After that, I went on a few job interviews I’d set up, but I could tell by their reception of me that I had no chance of getting the positions. One was for a clerk at the courthouse, another was for an assistant at an art house, and another was an office job for an investment company.
By the time I made it back home, it was evening and time for dinner, but I had no food in the apartment. I decided to head downstairs to Poppy Café to order some fondue fries and have a smoke, sitting alone while groups of friends met up together after a day at the office, having a drink and a smoke before heading home to their apartments.
Bastien texted me. I’m in the neighborhood.
My heart did a little dance inside my chest, and that gave me a jolt of fear. When did my happiness become so dependent on this man? When did I become so attached? I should be heartbroken over Adrien, and despite what he did, I should still miss him. But now, all my thoughts were occupied by the man who’d picked me up in a bar. I’m having a smoke at Poppy Café.
Sounds like you had a rough day.
You could say that…
See you in a sec, sweetheart.
The black SUV appeared a moment later, and the behemoth of a man appeared. In a long-sleeved black shirt and dark jeans with boots, he approached my table on the patio, drawing attention from the other women seated nearby and the pedestrians who walked down the cobblestone street toward the mall. He did something he’d never done before—and leaned down and kissed me.
I saw cold stars and felt hot flames on my lips. A surge of affection that started in my core made it to my throat and my heart. The attachment I feared had just increased tenfold.
He took the seat across from me and pulled out a cigar before he lit up. Nonchalant, he got the attention of the waitress and ordered one of his stiff drinks, oblivious to the mark he’d left on my mouth—and my heart.
He took a drink before he took a puff of his cigar. The smoke rested on his tongue for a long time before he released it through his mouth, creating a big cloud of smoke around us. He crossed his arms over his chest, the cigar resting between his fingertips, and he stared at me for a solid five seconds.
I knew he wanted to know about my day but didn’t want to pry. “I submitted the paperwork—for the last time, I hope.”
“It will be.”
“I guess it feels different this time because I know it’ll go through.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I’m happy to be free of Adrien, but it’s the first time I’ve truly realized that I’m getting divorced. I’m going to court and everything. Going to take back my maiden name. I was so busy being angry that I forgot what would come afterward.”