His hands wandered quickly, sliding up my legs, his heavy breathing brushing against my ear. He rolled me beneath him and pressed his lips against mine.
Yet, I turned my face away. “Not today.”
The man above me deflated instantly. He climbed off, pulled on his pants, and headed for the door.
“I’ll take a shower. You should go to sleep.”
That night, I didn’t sleep a wink.
Even through the wall, I could hear Darlene’s voice, sharp, shrill, and impossible to ignore.
By morning, the house was empty. I knew Stanley had taken her back to the countryside for the funeral.
Quickly, I packed my things and left the keys and wedding ring on the coffee table.
With the click of the closing door, Stanley and I were now truly over.
At exactly one o’clock in the afternoon, I arrived at the county clerk's office.
Shortly, a sleek black Maybach stopped neatly in front of me, and a man in a dark gray suit stepped out.
“Let’s go. This won’t take more than ten minutes.”
I nodded and started walking toward the entrance.
“Careful!”
Before I knew it, I was pulled into Linden Haynes’s arms as a flowerpot shattered on the ground right where I had been standing.
My heart raced wildly as I looked up at him.
“You’re still the same as when you were a kid, never watching where you’re going,” he teased.
After letting go, he took my hand and guided me into the building.
Within minutes, we had the marriage license in hand.
Linden had an urgent meeting to attend, so he just asked his driver to take me back to his place.
I sat in the car, staring at the piece of paper in my hand, a strange sense of unreality washing over me.
“How is he? This is the man I chose for you. He won’t steer you wrong,” my father said proudly over the phone.
Ever since I decided I didn’t want Stanley, he had been busy finding me a suitable match. He had worked with Stanley many times in business and once thought highly of him.
“He’s much better than Stanley,” I admitted.
But my gaze was fixated on Darlene’s latest post online with a caption, [Thank you for being here. Losing Mom doesn’t hurt quite as much with you by my side.]
The photo attached to it was of a peaceful landscape.
I knew she was talking about Stanley. And the fact that he had “liked” it cut deeper than I cared to admit.
He had never once liked any of my posts. Even on the day my own mother died, he had been too busy with classes to comfort me.