Perfect Husband Act: Now My Wife's Sorry novel · Chapter 17 of 24

Chapter 17: Out of the Fire

Audrey's POV

The Chamber board met for breakfast at the Hilliard Club on Wednesday, in a paneled room with a stone fireplace and a long table of eggs.

I was a member in good standing, and nobody could stop me from walking in.

Ethan waited in the car at the curb, and Susie waited behind the wheel, with the engine running.

I wore my camel coat and sat at the far end.

Travis stood at the head of the table by the fire, with a leather book under his arm.

"Friends," he said warmly. "Thank you for letting me take your time."

A dozen people with coffee cups smiled back at him.

"I've been a financial advisor for ten years," Travis said. "In that time, I have kept one private book of the families I've helped through hard seasons. Tomorrow night you're kind enough to honor me. Today, I'd like to do something I should have done long ago."

He held up the book.

It was the ledger.

It was thick and dark, with a worn brass clasp.

My pulse began to pound in my ears.

"Client confidences deserve a clean ending," Travis said. "So I'm retiring this record. The families can rest, and nobody has to carry it."

A man near the front began to clap.

Then they all did.

The chair of the board, a silver-haired woman at the middle of the table, said, "That's very gracious, Travis."

"It's only right."

He stepped to the hearth.

I stood.

My chair scraped, and several heads turned.

Travis saw me and did not pause.

His eyes met mine, and he smiled, and he opened the iron screen with his free hand.

"Travis," I said, loud. "Don't."

"Audrey? I didn't know you'd joined us."

"Put it down."

"It's only paper."

"There are eleven people in it."

A murmur went round the table.

The chair of the board frowned. "Audrey, dear, what..."

Travis opened his hand and the book dropped into the fire.

The flames took it at once.

The cover curled, and the edge of a page went black.

I heard someone gasp, and I do not remember crossing the room.

I only remember the heat, and the roar of it, and the sound I made when I put both hands into the grate.

The leather was hot enough to take my skin.

I closed my fingers on the clasp and hauled it out, and sparks flew up my sleeves.

← Chapter 16 · All chapters · Chapter 18 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend