After I Learned I Was Going to Be His Ex-Wife novel · Chapter 15 of 32

Chapter 15: Friday

Gran sent a car for me on Friday, which she had never once done in two years.

The old dining room still had dust sheets over half the chairs.

Gran at the head in her pearls. The board down both sides. Edmund across from my empty place, swirling the same wine.

Benedict's aunt saw me in the doorway and put on her party smile.

"Well! The party girl's back. Did we miss you or did you miss us?"

The board member at the end laughed, the same one as last time.

I sat down beside Benedict.

He didn't look at me. He was looking at his aunt.

[here we go. FRIDAY]

[is he actually going to do it]

[he can't even say I love you in a walk-in. he's not doing a speech]

The soup came. Then the fish.

Benedict didn't say a word through either.

My stomach sank a little with every course. I'd watched him try in a doorway, and his throat had closed.

Then the kitchen doors swung open and Maxine came out with dessert, and Benedict put his fork down.

He stood up.

Nobody at that table had ever seen him stand up at dinner. Not for a toast. Not for Gran's birthday.

The board went quiet one person at a time.

"Three weeks ago," Benedict said, "I sat at this table and said my wife's work was a birthday party."

Edmund's glass stopped swirling.

"I was wrong. I want to say that here, because I said the other thing here."

He wasn't holding anything. No notes. No card.

His hands were flat on the white cloth, and I could see they weren't steady.

"Henrietta Fowler built a company from nothing at twenty-four. She writes every word of it. She plays the detective. She's sold out for five years in a room with no shower."

← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →

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