All Chapters of After Divorce; I Married My Husband’s Brother : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Gwen's povI woke up knowing two things before I opened my eyes.The first was that my body hurt in a particular way; it felt sore, and I was hurting a bit in some places that I shouldn’t hurt.Xavier was really rough last night, and I was hurting in a good way, and I knew only Xavier could make me hurt this way.The second was that the bed was empty beside me and had been for a while because the warmth on his side was gone and the sheets had cooled.I was alone in a room that smelled like him and held the shape of last night in every quiet corner of it.I lay there for a moment and let the ceiling be the ceiling and didn't try to make last night into something I could file neatly away because I was getting worse at that and I knew it, and this morning was not the time to pretend otherwise.When I checked my phone, it was past nine, which explained the missed calls stacked across the screen from Dare, Micah, and Lena and a single message from Pru."Where are you? We have just two days

Gwen’s povI had spent three hours getting ready and I still stood in front of the mirror for five minutes after I was done just to be sure.The dress was deep emerald, floor length with a structured bodice and a back that dipped low enough to make a statement without announcing it. My hair was up, a few pieces left loose around my face the way Dare had insisted on when she came over to help and my neck was bare because the dress didn't need anything competing with it.I had put everything into tonight. Every hour of the last five days, every contact I had called in and every decision I had second guessed and remade and every moment I had stood in that venue and looked at what my team was building and thought this has to be right which all of it had led to this and I could not afford to walk down those stairs carrying doubt.I could hear them below me before I reached the top step.Josie's voice came first which was bright and running with commentary whenever she was excited about so

Gwen’s povThe bathroom was all marble and low lighting with the kind of quiet that made the noise of the ball feel like it belonged to a different world entirely. I stood at the sink and ran cold water over my wrists the way I did when I needed to bring myself back to my own body then I looked at my reflection and breathed.I assured myself I was fine and that what I had just left on that dance floor was not something I needed to think about right now.Eleven minutes to eleven.I straightened and reached for a towel and that was when I saw her in the mirror.Vanessa.She was standing near the far end of the vanity with her arms crossed and she was still like someone who had been there for a while and had been waiting to be noticed. She looked good, Cole had always made sure the women he kept around him looked good, that was always part of his green flag in women. She was looking at me with an expression that had decided something before I even turned around.I looked at her reflec

Gwen’s povMy phone had not stopped buzzing since morning.I had woken up to notifications stacked across the screen like something had broken open overnight and when I finally sat up and went through them I understood what had happened. The Era Party was everywhere, photographs and write-ups and people tagging the venue and the florals and the lighting and somewhere in the middle of all of it my name, attached to words like visionary and masterclass and the one that made me sit completely still on the edge of the bed “The future Luna of Hallow Pack reminds everyone exactly what she is made of” I read that one three times.My phone rang and I knew the name before she finished introducing herself, everyone in event planning knew that name because it sat at the top of the industry, she was a legend and she wanted to meet me.Rosel Timothy.I met her at a restaurant that cost more per table than most people's weekly grocery budget and she looked at me across it with the direct assessin

Xavier’s povThe penthouse was quiet when I walked in and that was how I knew Josie was asleep.The light in the living area was on.Gwen was at the coffee table with her laptop open and papers spread around her and a cup of something that had probably been warm an hour ago sitting forgotten at her elbow. She looked up when I came in and something moved across her face that she pulled back quickly but not quickly enough.I crossed the room, bent and kissed her and she let me then I looked at what was on the screen."Rosel Timothy” I commented. She sat back and loosened herself up a bit."She called after the party and she wants me to plan her daughter's engagement." She paused. "I met with her yesterday. She hired me." I looked at her for a moment and felt something move through my chest that was uncomplicated and complete. "Gwen.""I know." She responded quietly like she was still getting used to it herself then she looked up. "I also saw a realtor, I went to see a space for an