Page 289 of By His Vow

The windows around my office are dark, not allowing anyone to see inside. It makes me wonder how much my presence has been missed. Up until recently, I spent more time in this office, in this building, than I did in my apartment.

Has anyone other than Kian and my assistant noticed?

I walk into my office, and feel immediately as if nothing has changed. I embrace that moment and try to cling onto it for dear life, but as the seconds tick on, reality returns just as potently and as painfully as before.

I’m doing the right thing.

Grabbing a bottle of water, I fall into the chair that sits behind my desk and power up my computer as the sun begins to turn the city beyond a warm orange.

I’ve always appreciated the view, but for some reason, today it fully steals my attention and I find myself completely lost in it, as thoughts of what my future might look like once the dust has settled on all of this, play out in my mind. A lot of the images are fuzzy, but one thing is very clear. And that is her.

My wife.

My heart pounds harder as the decision I made days ago only gets stronger in my mind.

I’m going to get her back. And I’m going to do anything and everything in my power to make it happen.

If I only learn one thing from this whole ordeal, it’s that Tatum Warner is made for me.

Finally ripping my eyes away, I log into my computer and pull up my emails, cringing at the number of unread ones in my inbox.

I scroll to the bottom and begin working my way up.

The hours pass painfully slowly as I make progress, but at least they pass, moving closer to the deadline I’ve given myself.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” Kian taunts when he emerges once the sun has fully risen and the city has come to life before me.

“Fuck off,” I grunt, although it does very little to deter him.

“I thought you’d forgotten how to get here,” he teases before dropping into one of the seats on the other side of my desk with a smug smirk playing on his lips and a coffee in his hand. The scent of it turns my stomach and makes my fists clench.

It reminds me of her.

“Did you need to bring that in here?”

Kian rolls his eyes. “Seriously, who made you the fucking coffee police? Some of us are normal and need a morning boost.”

I glare at him, but he just returns it with his own.

“So what’s the latest then?”

I shake my head. “Nothing new.”

“Yeah,” he muses, “I can see you’re still a miserable fucker. She’s really done a number on you, huh?”

“Is this fucking necessary?” I bark.

“Looking at your face and those massive fucking bags under your eyes, I’d say yes. Just fucking go to her, man. You know exactly where she is.”

My teeth grind in irritation.

Yes. I do know exactly where she is. It took a few days, but Aubrey tracked her down to a rental in the same village her Aunt Lena’s cottage is in. Hardly a surprise.

I also know that she’s rented it for a month. A fucking month.

I’ve no idea what she’s planning on doing with her time there. Or if she’s planning on extending it.

One thing I do suspect is that she’s not anticipating that I know every single one of her movements.