He Divorced Me at His Ship's Christening, So I Held the Ship novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Folder

Ruel was standing in the hallway behind me, in the dark, when I turned around with both pages in my hand.

He had pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else.

He looked at the folder, then at my face.

I watched him decide not to say anything stupid.

"You wrote this," I said.

"Yes."

"Your name is on the paper that moved my father's boats into that slip."

"Yes," Ruel said again.

"The Port told my father nobody would say who asked for it."

My voice was shaking.

"He died that winter, Ruel, thinking the Port had done it to him for no reason at all."

"I know," he said.

"How long have you known whose berth it was?"

He did not look away.

"Since Monday afternoon," he said. "The chief showed me the protest your father signed."

"And before that?"

"I hadn't known it was your family's berth when I wrote mine," he said.

"You came to the pilot dock that night and ate my aunt's rice cake."

"Yes."

"You went to the festa and ate at my father's table," I said.

"Yes."

"You took me to bed, twice, and you let me tell you how much I loved that berth."

His jaw worked.

"I was going to tell you."

"When?" I asked.

"Tonight. Before you left. I wanted one more day where you didn't hate me."

He said it with no pleading at all.

"It was selfish. I'm sorry."

I threw the folder at his chest.

It hit him and slid down and spilled pages across the hall floor.

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