Broken Oaths in White Coats novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: His Last Offer
I went back to Lake Drive on Saturday for the rest of my clothes.
Ben drove. He parked at the curb and said he would wait in the car.
"Come in," I said. "I want a witness who is not Norma."
He took the key out of the ignition without a word.
The garage code worked again, which meant Alastair had left it that way.
He was standing in the front hall in yesterday's shirt.
He had not shaved. There were dark rings under his eyes, and I had never seen him unshaven on a weekday in twelve years.
"Laurel," he said. "Thank you for coming. Dr. Almqvist."
"Alastair," said Ben.
"I'd like to talk to my wife alone."
"I'm not your wife in this hallway," I said. "He stays."
Alastair looked at Ben for a moment, then let it go.
"The house is yours," he said. "I'll drop the petition. All of it. The house, the fund, the lot."
I did not move.
"I'll move out by Monday. I'll sign anything. I'll tell the board the checks were my mistake." He took a step toward me. "I want you to come home."
"Home."
"I know what I did. I know what I didn't do." His voice cracked and he let it. "I should have knocked on that door."
I went cold all over.
"Which door?" I said.
"The bathroom. The night we lost the baby." He said it plainly, out loud, and I had not thought he could. "I stood on the other side and I could hear the water, and I was afraid. I was so afraid that if I opened it I would have to feel something."
I had waited six years to hear that.
Keep reading free with an account. Start Broken Oaths in White Coats from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 16 · All chapters · Chapter 18 →
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