So I’ve been walking around for days with a black cloud over my head and in a foul mood. No one dares to come into the office when I’m there, and I can’t even argue with them. I’m not fit company right now.
It’s not exactly like I can explain the situation to my friends. They’d already gone to bed when our swift marriage happened. I know that I would sound like a crazy person if I told them that my wife walked away from me and I want her back. I’m not even supposed to have a wife, and I did the whole thing assuming that I’d be freely single within a few days.
Instead, I’m slowly devolving into madness. I can’t stop wondering where she is and what she’s doing. Missing the way she smells and the way she tastes. The moans that she made when she was underneath me.
I’m trying to focus on emails and keeping my tone civil with prospective guests when there’s a knock on the doorframe of the office.
Diana is standing there, a small smile on her face. “Hey.”
I sigh, “Hey, Di.”
It’s been long enough that I’ve gotten used to having Diana here. She’s great, and she makes Leo so happy that the whole place seems brighter. Unless I’m bringing it down the way that I am right now.
“How are you?”
I make a face. “If you have to ask me that, I’m guessing that you know I’m not doing well.”
She smiles sympathetically. “Want to talk about it?”
“I don’t really know how.”
“Try me.”
I shake my head and lean my elbows on the desk. “You want to give it a guess first?”
“Does it have something to do with a beautiful blonde that was here with you and laughing and is now no longer here?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She laughs. “Sure.”
“She was supposed to come back,” I say roughly. “She hasn’t.”
Diana makes a face. “Well, I don’t exactly have a leg to stand on as far as going into client records for info. That’s exactly what Leo did, and I’m glad that he did it.”
“I already tried. It’s fake information. Long story.”
Her eyebrows raise. “How do you know each other?”
“We…just met.”
Suddenly she’s beaming. “I know how that feels.” She and Leo had bonded after he’d saved her from the overflowing river, and that had been it for them. There were a few bumps along the way, but the way that Leo and Diana look at each other is something that I crave. It makes me ache in a way that I can’t explain.
I’m also grateful that my house isn’t the one next to theirs. Apparently they are…loud. Hudson’s complained more than once about the ‘New Hampshire screaming banshees’ next door. Diana blushes every time.
“Well,” she says. “I liked her. And I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long time.”
“I fucked up, Di. I really fucked up.”
I shouldn’t have blackmailed her. I was so angry that I hadn’t been able to see straight. And at the same time I had wanted her so deeply…and now I’m here. Alone.
“So fix it.”
“It’s not that easy.”
She smiles. “I don’t know. Maybe it is. I came to bring you this.” Diana comes in and hands me an envelope. “Came with the mail today.”
I have no idea what’s inside, but the return address…Rose Brandt. “Oh, fuck.”
“Good luck,” she smirks before heading out. Turning back at the last second, she hesitates. “Asher…It’s worth the risk. I promise.”
Then she’s gone and I’m left with the envelope that feels like it’s staring at me.
I tear the envelope open, and my stomach plummets. Divorce papers. She didn’t want the annulment, she chose this. This is why she didn’t come back. She didn’t want to see me.
I’m on my feet before I can really even process it. I have her address now. I need to see her. My wife. I don’t pretend to understand why this happened or how it’s possible to be this deep this fast, but I’m done questioning it.
I’m taking the risk. It’s the only way.
On the way to my car I send Leo and Asher a text that I’ll be gone the rest of the day, maybe till tomorrow. I hope that they’ll understand. If not, maybe Diana will explain.
There’s no car in the driveway when I get to her address, and no one answers the door. She’s not home. That’s okay. I can wait. After a week of madness and not knowing where she was? A few hours will be easy.
I sit down on her steps and settle in, but I don’t have to wait long. A car pulls up to the house, but it’s not Rose in the car. It’s Gary.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” The man says, practically roaring as he gets out of the car. “This is all your fault.”