Chapter 6

The man standing before Lily had once promised to love and cherish her for the rest of her life.

The air conditioner was off. The room was hot and stuffy, and something charged hung in the air between them.

Some things were supposed to happen naturally when the time was right.

They looked at each other, neither saying what they wanted.

Lily kept her hand outstretched.

Seconds passed.

Nathan handed her the hot ginger tea.

“Drink this and get some sleep. There are pads in the bathroom cabinet. If the pain stays this bad, go to the hospital.”

He sighed. “Lily, don’t be so stubborn.”

Then he turned to leave.

“Nathan.” She sat up, furious.

He stopped. Lily gave a cold laugh.

“What, now that I’ve called you a married man, you’re determined to act like a faithful husband?”

Nathan stiffened and turned back, frowning.

Some of the anger left her face, but her voice was still cool. “Nathan, what do you want from me?”

He said nothing. He walked out and shut the door behind him.

“Nathan!”

—

Nathan moved back into the Brooks family home.

After he married Claire, he’d moved out to live with her. His parents and grandparents had found it hard to get used to him being gone, so they were delighted to have him back.

Sophie came home from medical school one day and found him on the sofa.

“Doesn’t Lily have cramps? Why aren’t you at the apartment with her?”

Nathan kept reading his medical journal. “The first day is usually the worst for her. She’ll be fine after that.”

“That doesn’t mean you should leave her alone. Dr. Brooks, of all people, you should know how miserable a period can be. Go back and keep her company.”

Nathan gave her an irritated look, stood up with his journal, and headed upstairs.

“Nathan! You’re hopeless!”

Sophie watched him go, frustrated. She couldn’t bear the thought of Lily suffering alone, so she went to the apartment herself to check on her future sister-in-law.

Lily thought Nathan had come back. When she opened the door and saw Sophie, her face fell. She returned to bed and lay down.

Sophie hesitated. “Lily, did something happen between you and Nathan?”

“Did he say something?”

“No, but you two are acting strange. Something must have happened.”

Sophie knew how stubborn her brother could be. She also knew Lily had little patience for anything that hurt her pride.

She sat close to Lily.

“You left without a word a year ago. Nathan was really hurt. He married that woman because he was angry.

“Please don’t hold the marriage against him or give him a hard time over it. They’ll be divorced soon anyway.”

Lily wasn’t satisfied.

She could have her pick of brilliant doctors and wealthy men. All she had to do was show a little interest, and they came running.

Nathan Brooks was the one man who held a grudge and refused to be won over.

“Sophie, is he really getting divorced?”

“Of course. The divorce agreement’s already signed. Claire signed it in front of the whole family.”

“Then why haven’t they finished the paperwork?”

“That woman doesn’t want to let him go. She took her mother to Linden Valley to stall. Can you believe her?”

Sophie’s voice hardened.

“Just wait. Nathan wants this settled too. As soon as Claire gets back, he’ll divorce her.”

Lily nodded. “She keeps calling him. I wonder what she wants.”

Anger flashed in Sophie’s eyes.

“She wants to make sure he doesn’t forget about her. She agreed to the divorce in front of everyone, but she’s still chasing after him behind our backs.”

Lily let Sophie rant. She didn’t mention that Nathan had made every one of those calls.

That evening, Claire saw a post Sophie had shared.

Cameron had liked it and commented, ‘Two beautiful women.’

Sophie and Lily had taken a series of photos together, their arms around each other.

Claire knew the room in the background. It was hers. They were sitting on her bed, on the sheets she’d put there herself.

Lily was wearing Nathan’s white shirt.

All his shirts were custom-made and expensive. Claire had carefully washed every one of them by hand.

Meanwhile, the clothes and belongings Claire had left behind had been stuffed into bags and dumped outside the door like trash.

Sophie’s caption read:

‘Good riddance to bad luck! True love wins. Welcome to the family, Lily! No more goodbyes this time. Kisses!’

Claire smiled. Sophie had posted it for her to see.

She and Nathan weren’t divorced yet, and his family was already celebrating Lily’s arrival?

Fine. Claire saved the photos. When she got back, Sophie could pay her back for everything she’d thrown away. Every last item.

She’d like to see the Brooks family deny it.

Nathan rarely checked his feed. He didn’t see Sophie’s post until the following evening.

He gave her a sharp reprimand and told her to delete it.

Sophie bristled. “Now you’re defending that woman? No wonder Lily feels insecure. Don’t you care how this makes her feel?”

“If you keep acting like this,” Nathan said coldly, “I won’t have a sister anymore.”

“Have you lost your mind? You’d disown me over her?”

Their argument brought Margaret downstairs.

“Your grandfather isn’t well, and he and your grandmother are both asleep. Why are you two shouting?”

Nathan’s grandfather had spent six months in the hospital. He’d been in critical condition recently and had only come home a few days ago to recover.

Sophie pointed at Nathan. “Ask him, Mom.”

Nathan stood rigidly, his lips pressed together and his expression cold.

Margaret saw Sophie’s post on his phone screen and understood. She’d wanted to say something when she first saw it herself.

She took Sophie to her room.

“Your brother isn’t divorced yet,” Margaret said. “You can’t post things like that. Medicine is competitive. If someone uses this against him, it could hurt his career.

“And Lily hasn’t married into this family. That post could damage her reputation too.”

Sophie considered it and pouted. “I didn’t actually call Lily my sister-in-law. Besides, she said I could post it.”

“Delete it before your father sees it. He’ll be furious.”

“Oh, I blocked him from seeing my posts ages ago. He complains about everything.”

Margaret glared at her. “Stop provoking Claire. If you push her too far and she refuses to divorce your brother, we’ll have a problem. Your grandfather doesn’t know about any of this, and I don’t want him upset.”

Sophie held up her phone. “I know, I know. It’s deleted.”

Margaret left her daughter’s room and found Nathan still downstairs.

She listened for any sound from the rest of the house, then went over to him and lowered her voice.

“Why hasn’t Claire come back?”

She complained about Claire taking her mother to Linden Valley.

Nathan glanced at her. “The trip’s good for her mother. Leave them alone.”

“But Professor Zimmerman said Claire only took two weeks off. She should be back by now.”

The more Margaret thought about it, the more uneasy she became. What if Claire had agreed to the divorce in front of them, only to stall once she left?

If she tried to play games, the Brooks family had ways of dealing with her. Margaret would do whatever it took to protect her son’s future.

“Claire told you, didn’t she?” Margaret asked. “When are you two finishing the paperwork?”

“Paperwork?” Nathan frowned.