Page 115 of Promised Love
“Sure.” I follow him out of the room to find Autumn standing there, waiting for us.
My mouth dries at the sight of her. Up close, I notice things that have escaped me until now. She’s wearing more makeup than any other day. Her eyes look bigger, and her full lips are painted deep red.
“Can we talk?” she asks while I stand there like a fool.
I wasn’t prepared for this confrontation. I thought she would avoid me, as she hasn’t once tried to make contact since I left.
“Um, I’m still at work.” I jerk my head toward the dining hall.
“I’ll take your position.” Keith appears from behind me and stands next to Autumn.
Fuck. This feels like an ambush.
“Go. I’m here,” Keith adds, and I have no other choice than to follow Autumn as she leads me to the suite.
“How’s the new case?” Autumn asks once the door shuts behind us. When I don’t reply, she supplies, “The one that made you leave Cherrywood in such a rush that you didn’t even bother to pack your stuff.”
Okay, so she’s getting confrontational.
“You’ve seen my closet, Autumn. I’m not hurting for clothes.” Before she can say something else in that accusing tone, I ask, “Why are we here?”
“Why did you leave? I thought that night was special for both of us. But then you were just gone. What happened?”
“I told you—”
“Don’t lie to me, Lukas. Please. I’m not so dumb that I can’t see you’re pulling away, and I don’t know why. Did what happen between us mean nothing to you?” Her words turn almost inaudible as her throat gets heavy by the end of that sentence.
And because I’m a man with limited restraint, I pull her into my arms. “Every moment spent with you was special. Don’t you ever doubt that.” I squeeze her tightly, plastering the feel of her into my memory for eternity.
She looks up at me and tries to get out of my hold, but I tighten my grip around her.
“But we can’t forget that our wedding wasn’t like the one outside.” I place a finger on her lips as she tries to say something. “The days I spent with you here”—I look around the suite before bringing my gaze back to her—“were the best days of my life. Nothing will come even close to how I feel about you. But we always knew our marriage came with an expiration date, and there’s a reason for that.”
My heart rips out of my chest as her tears soak my cotton shirt, and it’s a hard battle to pull away from her. But I do, because it’s inevitable. I walk to the vanity and grab the envelope I’d slipped into this room earlier.
Autumn’s lips quiver as I amble back up to her and place the divorce papers in her hands.
“I’ve signed them. You sign whenever you can.” I place a kiss on her forehead, but I don’t feel as confident as I thought I would.
What the heck am I thinking? I’m doing this for her.
I pull away and am ready to leave, not only the suite but the inn, this town, when she asks, “So you’ve decided?”
I look over my shoulder, her words halting my steps. “It was always decided, Autumn.”
“Of course it was. By you. By my parents.” She wipes her tears and carelessly places the papers onto the bed next to her. “I didn’t choose this, Lukas, and I refuse to sign.”
“What do you mean?” My legs shake as I hold my ground.
“I don’t want an out in this marriage. I like being your wife, and I won’t divorce you.”
For a second, there’s such a loud thunder in my chest that I can’t hear anything else.
She likes being my wife.
“But I want it, dammit.”
“And I’m tired of doing what others want,” she snaps, and I’m taken aback by her anger. “I’m tired of not following my heart.” She wipes her tears angrily. “Four years back, my grandparents told me I should marry you. You and my parents decided we could get an annulment. It didn’t happen, and I was tied to you. You placed this ring on my finger and left.” She raises her hand, where my mother’s ring sits tight. “Then you decided it was best that no one knew you’d moved to St. Peppers.”