Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“What do you mean?”
“I’m the girl they temporarily want until they find their forever. I’m the girl who reminds them that they are better off with someone else.”
“You’re not a placeholder, Holly.”
She shrugged. “I’m trying not to be anymore. I need you to ensure that Matthew is right for me.”
“I can do that if you want me to.”
“I do. Thank you. I mean, I do think he’s really into me, but again, rose-colored glasses. I also thought at this point I’d be married to my ex. So my judgment is a bit jaded.”
I nodded in understanding. I, too, knew what it was like to misjudge a relationship. “I can do that for you. No worries.”
“Thank you. Now.” She sighed and smiled brightly. “When can we put on a holiday romance?”
After Thanksgiving with Holly, she left me on a natural high. I gone to work the next few days in a better mood than I’d been in for a long time. That night was the night Holly was bringing Matthew into the restaurant so I could examine the situation between them. I wasn’t too thrilled about that, but a small part of me was hoping to catch Matthew screwing up somehow. If he turned out to be a jerk, I’d be the happiest champ on the block.
As I approached the restaurant to open it for the evening, I paused my footsteps when I looked at the person standing in front of Mano’s.
They turned to face me and looked just as shocked to see me as I were them. They held a manila envelope in their shaky hands. “Kai,” they said. “Hi.”
My mind was spinning. It felt like I’d just stepped into a nightmare after days of the best dreams. I felt nauseous. I approached cautiously, unsure how to take their arrival. “What are you doing here, Penelope?”
“Sorry. I tried calling you but didn’t get an answer,” she explained.
“I changed my number.”
“Right. Yeah. Well, then I saw online about the restaurant, and well….” Penelope looked toward the restaurant and then back at me. “You and Ayumu did it, huh? You opened the restaurant. That’s amazing, Kai. I’m so proud of you.”
Screw her pride.
I didn’t need it.
“What are you doing here, Penelope?” I hadn’t seen her in over two years. She’d evaporated from my life as if she’d never existed. I couldn’t track her down, even though I’d tried for a few months. I tried everything I could to find her, but I couldn’t.
Yet now, there she was. She was standing right in front of me with an envelope.
“You look really good, Kai,” she said, eyeing me up and down. “You look amazing. Wow. I love your facial hair.”
“What are you doing here?” I repeated, this time even colder than before.
“I figured it was about time I get these to you.” She cleared her throat and held the envelope out toward me. “The divorce paperwork.”
Three Years Ago
Penelope had been sleeping for the past few hours. She had gotten sick from her last round of chemotherapy, so I hadn’t left her side just in case she needed me. I didn’t sleep whenever she had chemo appointments because she’d had harsh reactions lately. Instead, I stayed in bed with my night-light on, reading novels.
Each time she moved around in the bed, I grew alert. I hated how much pain she’d been in. I hated how her small frame was getting smaller and smaller each day. I hated how tired she’d been. I wished I could switch spots with her. I wished I could take all of her pain and transfer it into my system.
Around midnight, her phone dinged on the nightstand. I didn’t think anything of it until it went off repeatedly, showcasing incoming messages.
I was never one to check my wife’s phone. We didn’t have that kind of relationship. Yet I knew her mom was interested in seeing how the doctor’s appointment went that day, and the idea of her waiting up late at night made me feel guilty, so I grabbed Penelope’s phone to text her back.
Instead, I found messages from another.
Lance
How are you feeling?
Lance
I miss you, Pen. Call me. I’m worried.
Lance
I should be taking care of you, not him.
My gut sank as I read the messages.
Who the hell was Lance?
Without thought, I began reading all the messages between the two that came before those. For the most part, it was Lance talking to himself over the past few months. Penelope didn’t seem to respond at all. But the deeper I fell into the messages, the clearer it became that something was between them. Just four months ago, before the cancer diagnosis, Penelope responded to every message Lance sent her way.
Penelope
I can’t talk now. Kai is with me.
Lance
Okay. Hit me up when you can.
Penelope
Will do.
Lance
I love you, Pen. I can’t wait until you’re back with me. I can’t wait to hold you.