Bereft - Jennifer Foor Page 0,44

flipped on the light switch and found me waiting. “I thought that was your car out front. What are you doing here?” It was obvious she wasn’t thrilled to see me.

“I’m worried about you. Why are you just getting home?” The truth was that I needed to know if she’d been with him again.

“That’s none of your business. I think we’ve already addressed that. What are you doing here?”

I smirked while throwing up my hands, as if she didn’t have the right to question it. “I decided to come home. I’m not staying in a hotel when I have a perfectly good house I’m paying for. You never answered my question. Why are you so late?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I was at work, and then went straight to a show. One of our clients was performing and gave us free tickets, front row. I had to change at the office.” She stepped out of her heels and started walking toward the steps. “I’m tired, and for once I had a fantastic night. I’m not going to stand here and let you ruin it. If you’ll excuse me, I have work in the morning. I’m going to bed.”

“Rachel, wait.” She spun around and gave me a look of annoyance.

“What?”

“We really do need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I want a divorce, and there isn’t a single thing you can do or say to change my mind.”

Chapter 17

Rachel

His words were like a knife driving deep into my heart. “I’d marry you again if I could. We could start over anywhere you wanted. We could put the past behind us, both of us. I know you still love me, Rachel. I can see it in your eyes. It wouldn’t hurt so much if you didn’t. Please don’t give up on us. Don’t throw away ten years we’ve had together. We can make new memories.”

I don’t know why his words were getting to me. It was as if a barrier was about to shatter, and I wasn’t able to fight back. The truth was, I did love Grayson. I loved him with every bone in my body. There were times when I felt like I couldn’t breathe without him in my life; that if something ever happened to him I’d die myself.

Maybe I was just tired, or it was possible the guilt was beginning to eat me alive. I could feel the rush of tears falling down my cheeks, and the way my lips were trembling from attempting to hold in my feelings. This wasn’t easy, and I certainly couldn’t be prepared for how my heart would feel when he sat so close, pleading for me to love him. Even a quick glance to his face told me everything I needed to know. Grayson was telling the truth. He wanted to start over. In a way, I wanted the same things, but my inability to get over his indiscretions left me unable to forgive.

It was possible time would heal my broken heart, but for now I wanted nothing to do with Grayson, and the pain being around him brought me. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I know you’re trying, but I’m not ready for this. I don’t know if I will ever be. It hurts too much.” I sniffled to prevent the snot from pouring out of my nose. I had to stay strong. It was important for him to understand I couldn’t shut off the images in my mind. They were still fresh and just as painful. “You have every right to be here in your home, but I can’t promise I’ll be able to handle being around every day. It might be better if I found a small place to rent in the city, at least temporarily.”

“Is that where he lives?”

Wow. He had nerve. “What does it matter? Is your office close to your girlfriend’s house?” It was a low blow.

Grayson shook his head. “She’s not my girlfriend. I told you it’s over. I have no intentions of seeing her ever again.”

“I guess six months was plenty of time for you to get your fix.”

“You’re not being fair. What about your new boy toy?” His assumption made me giggle.

“Boy toy? Did you seriously say that?”

The funny part was that Grayson should have recognized Chad. He’d met him quite a few times at holiday parties. Chad had changed a lot since then. He was older, and much more mature, but he still resembled the same person.

“Yeah, I did. He