Chapter 496
Niamh finished speaking, her tone calm, then rose from her chair.
“If you came here just to tell me this…”
She pressed the button on her desk phone. “Ms. Lawson, can you come in and show Mr. Thomas out-”
Before she could finish, Jonathan abruptly hung up the phone.
She shot him a sharp, annoyed glare. Jonathan’s face was tense, his brow furrowed in a storm of conflicting emotions.
What Niamh had just done to him-he’d done the same to Marina earlier that day.
A dull ache flared in his stomach.
“I don’t love Marina anymore…”
Niamh’s eyes flickered up at him.
When
“I admit it…I’ve changed,” he said, forcing out the last words, his jaw clenched so tightly the syllables were almost bitten off.
He stared straight at her as he spoke, his dark eyes fathomless and dangerous-like a bog ready to pull you under.
Niamh didn’t look away.
Her large, blue eyes were usually clear as a lake, but his words sent ripples across their surface.
Jonathan knew perfectly well-
As long as he didn’t choose Marina, Niamh would fall right back into his
arms.
He remembered with painful clarity just how much she had loved him.
1/4
33.30
Back when they were dating, he’d always show up late to their dates-at least an hour late every time. Niamh never complained, never even
mentioned it, just waited patiently for him.
She was allergic to pollen but never told him, because she loved the flowers he brought her.
Whatever he asked her to wear, she wore without a word.
She styled her hair and did her makeup exactly how he liked.
She let him pick the restaurant, the movie, every time.
After they got married, she washed his clothes and cooked his meals without a single complaint.
In bed, she let him have his way, never refusing anything he wanted.
Jonathan was certain-reconciliation, a second chance-that’s what Niamh had always dreamed of.
“Niamh, I think we could—”
“Then let me wish you and Miss Ramona Quinn all the happiness in the world. May you have a long and wonderful life together.”
Jonathan froze where he stood, stunned. He watched as Niamh called for her secretary.
“Ms. Lawson, please show our guest out.”
Secretary Lawson appeared, calmly gesturing to the door. “Mr. Thomas, this way, please.”
Jonathan barely remembered leaving Niamh’s office. He felt lost, numb-his head spinning, his chest hollowed out as if someone had scooped out his heart and left nothing but emptiness behind.
As he stepped out of the elevator, he came face-to-face with Elmer.
Jonathan exited, Elmer entered.
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Chapter 496
Just before the elevator doors shut, Jonathan heard Elmer’s dry voice from inside:
“Stop chasing after Nia. Happy endings are for fairy tales, not real life.”
The doors slid closed, tight and final.
Jonathan glimpsed his own reflection on the mirrored surface-drawn, haunted, like a wraith risen from the underworld.
That day, Lana Guthrie skipped work.
Technically, she’d requested unpaid leave, so she’d lose some pay, but she didn’t care.
During lunch break, she headed over to the CelestiMed branch office to
see Jarrett Guthrie.
She’d packed him a homemade lunch-a first for her, after following a step-by-step recipe app. It had taken several failed attempts and more than a few bandaged fingers before she finally got it right.
Jarrett noticed the bandages straight away.
“To punish you for not taking better care of yourself, you’ll have to come with me this afternoon. I’m taking you somewhere special.”
As the branch manager, Jarrett could skip work whenever he liked. Lana didn’t have that luxury.
But she couldn’t bear to disappoint him either, afraid that saying no would upset him. So she lied and made up an excuse.
Jarrett’s “special place” turned out to be, as usual, a hotel.
Lately, every time they went out, Jarrett brought her to a hotel. Lana had never dated anyone before, but it still felt a little strange to her-heading straight to a hotel every time.
But Jarrett always insisted it was how he showed his love.
Chapter
Afterwards, Lana lay in the big hotel bed, face flushed, still tingling from the afterglow while Jarrett scrolled through his phone.
Suddenly, his phone rang. On the screen flashed the name: Marina.
