I Gave Him Half My Liver, Then He Sold My Father's House novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: Morning With the Wrong Story

I take Cormac's coffee from his hand and pass it to Elena before Gregor can interrupt us.

Elena accepts the cup, studies the brown surface, and says, 'You slept with him.'

Cormac stops beside the desk. His coat is still over one arm. He has buttoned his shirt incorrectly at the wrist.

'Good morning to you as well,' he says.

'It is not good coffee,' Elena says. 'That is different.'

The office is too warm after the street. My body still remembers the weight of Cormac beside me, the quiet decisions made after the door closed, the fact that neither of us slept much.

We slept together. The sentence sits in me with a dangerous calm.

Cormac reaches for the cup. Elena moves it out of reach.

'You can have it back when you stop looking guilty,' she says.

'I do not look guilty.'

'You look as though you have discovered a new category of paperwork.'

He glances at me. His gaze drops to my mouth and returns with professional effort.

I pick up the file beside the telephone. 'He is still learning that some documents cannot be amended after execution.'

Elena's mouth shifts. She does not smile often at work. She does not need to.

Cormac looks down at his cuff. 'I am pleased to know the night has not affected your commitment to legal precision.'

'It affected my sleep.'

That earns me his full attention.

Elena puts the coffee on her desk. 'You are both unbearable before nine.'

The outer door opens before either of us can answer. Gregor's voice reaches us first, warm and apologetic, already arranged for an audience.

'Nell, darling, I am glad you are here. I was concerned you might have gone home without hearing the rest.'

I keep my hand on the file. Cormac moves beside me, close enough that his sleeve touches mine.

Gregor enters with the confidence of a man who has been invited, though Elena has never invited him anywhere. Snow has melted along the shoulders of his jacket. His right hand rests in his pocket.

He sees Cormac and pauses for the length of a polite surprise.

'Cormac,' he says. 'I had not realised this was a social call.'

'It is not,' Cormac says.

Gregor gives a small laugh. 'Of course. Nell has always been good at making ordinary matters feel more dramatic than they are.'

He brings his hand from his pocket. The fish cufflink catches the office light.

I saw it before, fastened to his shirt when he told the buyers my father had welcomed him into the family. He held his wrist forward then, waiting for someone to admire the proof.

Today he does the same thing without being asked.

'You remember this,' he says to me.

'I remember the object.'

His smile thins. 'Your father gave it to me the week we became engaged. He said I was family from that point forward.'

← Chapter 8 · All chapters · Chapter 10 →

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