I Woke Up at the Altar and Said No to the Mob Heir Who Let Me Die, but He Remembers Too novel · Chapter 29 of 40

Chapter 29: Portsmouth

I didn't unfold it.

I knew every line. I could have recited it with my eyes shut, dates and all.

I held it for a while in the dark shop.

Then I put it back on top of the bobbins and shut the drawer.

In the morning there was snow on the sill, and the river behind the rooftops was steaming in the cold.

Nessa stood at her slanted window in her pajamas with her nose on the glass.

"Orla. Orla. A tugboat is going to work."

"So am I."

"Can I help?"

"You can hold the ladder."

The sign painter came at ten.

He was an old man with a paint box and a radio.

He did it freehand on the bay window in gold leaf, the way I'd asked.

KILBRIDE ALTERATIONS.

Then smaller, underneath: HEMS, REPAIRS, BRIDAL. ASK.

I stood on the sidewalk in the snow and read it backwards from inside and forwards from outside.

My father's name, on glass, in gold, on a street where nobody had ever called him a rat.

Nessa held the ladder for the painter, who didn't need it held.

"You're very helpful," he told her.

"I know," she said.

I set up the shop in two days.

The three-way mirror came from a junk store on Route 1. I scrubbed it with vinegar until my reflection had no spots on it.

← Chapter 28 · All chapters · Chapter 30 →

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