Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
I swallowed.
Why is he so angry?
“We should end this,” I said softly, unable to take my eyes off him. “Our marriage has served its purpose. And I… I can’t do this anymore, Fred.”
His chest heaved. “Do what?”
“This!” I pushed off the door, throwing my arms out. “I can’t keep being rejected by you, all right? It’s my fault, because you made it very clear from the start that there’d never be anything physical between us. But I’m only human, for fuck’s sake. I have feelings, and it hurts!”
Something flashed across his gaze. “You know why I—”
“Yeah, because you don’t want to lose our friendship!”
But it’s too late. It’s already dead. We can never come back from this.
“But you’re going to. You can’t have me as your wife and keep me in the friend zone. That isn’t fair.”
He drew in a sharp breath, as if my words had physically stabbed him.
“So, let me go,” I whispered, feeling my heart crack in two. “If you really want to save what’s left of our friendship, get the annulment papers. Divorce papers. Whatever they are. Let me leave.”
He stared at me then.
Really stared at me.
And the pain that flashed through his eyes hit the deepest part of me, ripping my soul in two.
Why was he looking at me like that?
He didn’t get to do that. He didn’t get to look at me like I’d reached into his chest and torn his heart right out of it. Not when he was the reason I was doing this.
If he wanted to save our friendship that badly, then he would do it. He’d get the papers right now so we could move on.
“You… want to leave?” he asked, clenching his fists at his side. “Is it because of last night? Or just now?”
I shook my head. “I can’t do this anymore. If something doesn’t change, there’ll be no friendship left to come back to, Fred. So, please. I’ll beg you on my knees if I have to. End this marriage before it’s too late.”
“No.”
“No?” Shock sent me back into the door. “What do you—”
“No,” he repeated. “Just… Tell me what I did wrong, Deli. I’ll fix it. Just don’t leave.”
I shook my head again, turning away from him.
“Deli—”
“You don’t want me.” The words escaped, unbidden, and my voice cracked halfway through. “You don’t want me,” I whispered again, closing my eyes. “And I can’t take being rejected by you again, so please let me go.”
“I don’t want you?” His voice echoed with disbelief. “You think I don’t want you?”
“I know you don’t! You’ve made that perfectly clear. What other man would turn away a woman offering herself to him?”
“Are you talking about last night? Fuck, Delilah, you were drunk. I didn’t want you to do something you’d regret.”
“And I told you I wouldn’t regret it!”
“You were still drunk!” He slammed the door shut behind him and shoved his hand in his hair, briefly turning away from me. “If I let you do that when you were under the influence of alcohol just to get off, I’d be nothing more than a piece of shit. I respect you too much to take advantage of you like that. You know that.”
I said nothing, and he ran his fingers through his hair, linking his hands at the back of his neck.
“Fuck. What a joke.”
Heat coloured my cheeks. “That’s right. I am. So, let me—”
“Do you have any fucking idea how hard it’s been for me? To sleep each night with you clinging to me like a koala? Pressing your body against me?” He turned back, his blue eyes blazing with a ferocity I’d never seen before. “Have you got any fucking clue how difficult it is to live with you when all I want to do is touch you? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep my hands to myself each and every night? I’ve been fucking killing myself over here for months, telling myself that our friendship is more important than anything. Telling myself that I can’t touch you because losing you would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me. And you think I don’t want you? Shit.”
My heart thundered at his words.
What was he saying?
I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t. My mouth was so dry, and my tongue felt fuzzy. Not to mention that I could barely breathe as his words sank in.
“More than that, how could I not want you? Fucking look at you.” He waved his hand towards me. “You think I lie when I tell you that you’re beautiful? That you look gorgeous today? You think I’m lying when I call you my pretty wife? Sure, it started as a joke, but it’s the damn truth. You’re the prettiest girl in the world in my eyes. You always have been.”