All Chapters of Shared by My Husband's Best Friends: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

101 Chapters

Eli Comes to My Room

The night Derek left to find Sarah, I did not sleep.Eli held me. His arm was wrapped around my waist. His chest was warm against my back. Hope slept in her bassinet at the foot of the bed. The apartment was quiet. Too quiet.But my mind was loud. Roaring.I thought about Derek's desperate face when he said he still loved her. That broken look I had seen so many times before. I thought about Sarah's lost baby. The pain that had driven her away across the ocean, then brought her back, only to leave again. I thought about Luca's new apartment, his new date, the way he had held Hope before he left. I thought about Eli. His patience. His kindness. Four years of waiting. Four years of watching me marry someone else, break, and come back to life with someone who was not him.I rolled over. Eli was awake. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling.He asked if I was okay. His voice was soft. Tired.I said I was thinking about Derek.He said Derek was a grown man. He would make his own choice

What Eli Knows

Derek stood in the doorway, his words hanging in the air. Sarah was pregnant again. I stared at him. His face was pale. His hands were shaking. He looked like a man who had been told he was going to die. Eli stepped aside. Derek walked in. He sat on the couch. He put his head in his hands. I sat next to him. Hope was in her bassinet, sleeping. Eli stood by the window. Derek said Sarah had called him from the airport. She was on her way back to Europe. But she wanted him to know. The baby was his. She was keeping it this time. I asked if he was going to go with her. He looked up. His eyes were red. He said she did not want him to come. She said she needed to do this alone. But she would let him be part of the baby's life. From a distance. I asked how he felt. He said he did not know. Scared. Hopeful. Broken. Eli spoke. His voice was quiet. He said Derek had a chance to be a father. That was more than some people ever got. Derek looked at Eli. His eyes were hard. He said Eli

Derek's Secret (Partial Function)

I stared at my phone. The words blurred. You do not know me. But I know you. My name is Grace. I am Luca's wife. My hand shook. The phone slipped. Eli caught it before it hit the floor. He asked what was wrong. I could not speak. He looked at the screen. His face went pale. Luca was on the couch, holding Hope. He saw our faces. He asked what happened. Eli handed him the phone. Luca read the text. His face drained of color. He said it was not true. I asked what was not true. He said Grace was not his wife. She was his ex. From years ago. Before Derek. Before me. Before everything. Eli asked why she was texting now. Luca said he did not know. I took Hope from his arms. She was sleeping. I held her close. I asked if there was anything else. Anything else he had not told me. Luca stood up. He walked to the window. His back was to us. He said Grace had been in love with him. He had never loved her. They had broken up. She had not taken it well. I asked if they had been mar

The Video on His Phone

I did not sleep.The apartment was dark. Eli was beside me, his breathing deep and even. Hope was in her bassinet, dreaming. Luca was in the guest room, alone.But my mind was racing.Grace had known about me. About Hope. About Luca's life. Someone had told her. Someone had given her information.I thought about Derek. About his videos. About the way he had watched. About the way he had shared.I thought about Eli. About the way he had known about the videos for years. About the way he had said nothing.I thought about Luca. About the way he had called Grace crazy. About the way he had not asked how she knew.I sat up.Eli stirred. He asked if I was okay.I said I needed to check something.I walked to the living room. I picked up my phone. I scrolled to Grace's number. The text she had sent.You do not know me. But I know you.I typed back. How did you know about me?The message delivered. No reply.I waited.The dots appeared. She was typing.Derek told me.My blood went cold.Why w

You Let Me Suffer

The morning after Derek left, I could not look at Eli.He made coffee. He set a cup in front of me. I did not drink it.Luca was in the guest room with Hope. He had taken her when she woke. He knew we needed to talk.Eli sat across from me. His face was careful.He asked what was wrong.I said I had been thinking about the videos. About how he had known for years. About how he had said nothing.Eli's face went pale.He said he had already explained. He was afraid. Afraid I would leave Derek. Afraid I would blame him. Afraid I would think he was part of it.I said I understood. But understanding did not erase the pain.He asked what I wanted him to do.I said I wanted him to tell me everything. Every secret. Every lie. Every moment he had stayed silent when he should have spoken.Eli was quiet for a long time.Then he began.He said Luca had called him five years ago. Drunk. Crying. Derek had sent Luca a video of me sleeping. Luca did not know what to do.Eli told Luca to delete the vi

Couples Therapy

I stared at my phone. Derek's sister. Claire. She wanted to talk about Hope.My heart pounded.Eli saw my face. He asked what was wrong.I showed him the text.His jaw tightened. He said Claire had never contacted us before. Why now?I said I did not know.Luca took Hope to the nursery. He closed the door.Eli sat next to me. He asked if I was going to respond.I said yes. I needed to know what she wanted.I typed back. What about Hope?The dots appeared. Then stopped. Then appeared again.Not over text. Can we meet?I asked when.Tomorrow. Coffee shop on Maple Street. 10am.I agreed.I set down the phone.Eli asked if he could come.I said no. I needed to do this alone.He nodded. But his face was tight.That night, I could not sleep.I thought about Claire. I had met her once. At the wedding. She was quiet. She did not say much. She left early.I thought about Derek. About his family. About the secrets they might be hiding.I thought about Hope. About her green eyes. About her dark

The Safe Word

Derek lasted four months.Not six. Four.The cancer moved fast. The doctors tried everything. Nothing worked.I visited him every day. I held his hand. I read to him. I told him about Hope. About the new baby. About the weather. About nothing.He stopped eating in the third month. He stopped talking in the fourth.Claire stayed by his side. She did not leave.Sarah came once a week. She brought Daniel. Derek could not hold him anymore. But he watched. His eyes followed the baby's face.Eli came with me sometimes. He sat in the corner. He did not speak.Luca came once. He stood in the doorway. He did not go inside.Derek died on a Tuesday.I was there. Claire was there. Sarah was not.He opened his eyes. He looked at me. He tried to speak. No sound came.I took his hand. I said it was okay. He could go.He closed his eyes.He stopped breathing.Claire cried. I cried.The nurse came. She turned off the machines.I sat with him for an hour. Then I drove home.Eli was waiting. Luca was on

Luca Returns

The door closed behind Luca. The sound echoed through the apartment.Hope looked up from her toy. She pointed at the door. She said Dada.I could not speak.Eli held me. His arms were tight around my shoulders.Claire stood in the corner. Her face was pale. She said she was sorry. She did not know. Derek had never told her.I asked why he would do this.Claire said because he was broken. Because he wanted to give Luca something before he died. Because he thought love was more important than blood.I pulled away from Eli. I walked to the door.Eli asked where I was going.I said to find Luca.He asked if I wanted him to come.I said no.I drove to Luca's apartment.His car was there. The lights were off.I knocked. No answer.I knocked again.The door opened. Luca stood there. His eyes were red. His face was wet.He said he could not do this.I asked what he meant.He said he could not pretend to be Hope's father when he was not.I said he was her father. Biology did not matter.He sho

Grace Calls

I stood in the doorway, staring at the woman who was supposed to be dead.She looked older than her photos. Thinner. Her eyes were tired. But she was alive.Luca's voice came from behind me. He asked who was at the door.I stepped aside.He saw her. His face went white.He said Grace.She said hello, Luca.He asked how she was alive.She said she had lied. About the cancer. About the baby. About everything.Luca stepped back. He shook his head.Eli came to the door. He looked at Grace. He looked at me.He asked what was going on.Grace said she needed to talk. To Luca. Alone.Luca said no. Whatever she had to say, she could say in front of Nova and Eli.Grace walked inside. She sat on the couch.Luca sat across from her. Eli stood by the window. I sat next to Luca.Grace looked at me. She said I was beautiful. Luca had told her that.I asked why she faked her death.She said because she was scared. Because she had done terrible things. Because she did not know how to face Luca.Luca a

The Mercy Marriage

The photograph of Derek and Hope stayed on the mantle.Hope pointed at it every day. She said Dada. Luca stopped correcting her. Eli said nothing. I said nothing.Grace had been gone for two weeks. No calls. No texts. No sightings. Luca's lawyer confirmed she had boarded a flight to Europe. She was gone.But Luca was quiet. Distant. He played with Hope. He helped with Grace. He ate dinner with us. But his mind was somewhere else.One night, after the girls were asleep, I found him in the nursery. He was sitting in the rocking chair, staring at the crib.I sat on the floor next to him.I asked what he was thinking about.He said Grace.I waited.He said there was something he had not told me. Something about the marriage.I asked what marriage.He said he had married Grace. Years ago. In Vegas. Drunk. Stupid. They had annulled it a week later.I asked why he had not told me.He said because he was ashamed. Because he wanted to forget. Because he did not want me to think less of him.I

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