System Erased Her From My Memory novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: The Pier

Mr. Vanstone found me at the Pier Eleven luncheon, between the shrimp trays and a table of bankers.

I was carrying a tub of ice when he stepped into my path.

He wore a navy overcoat and no expression at all.

"Mr. Schrader. A word, please. Away from the tablecloths."

"I'm working."

"Then I'll be quick."

He walked me to the end of the pier.

The wind off the lake was cold enough to hurt my teeth.

"Last Thursday I invited your wife to my office," he said. "Has she mentioned it?"

I set the ice down.

"No."

"I thought not." He looked at the water. "I offered her a check for one million dollars to leave you. She tore into me for ten minutes and she wouldn't take it."

My hands went numb, and it wasn't the ice.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because a woman who keeps a secret for you is either a saint or afraid of something. I would like to know which. I find it useful to know."

"That's a cruel thing to do to a marriage."

"I'm a cruel man, Mr. Schrader. I've also been a father for twenty-seven years." He turned his collar up. "Ask her what else I told her."

He left me on the pier with the tub melting at my feet.

I finished my shift.

I don't remember a single plate I served.

The clinic was empty at five, and the windows were still full of daylight.

Maia stood at the sink in the back, rinsing a towel that was already clean.

She didn't turn around.

"You know," she said.

"Mr. Vanstone told me. On a pier, in front of a hundred bankers' coats."

← Chapter 12 · All chapters · Chapter 14 →

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