جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Chapter 2Skylar's POVI threw my phone on the bed.My pulse quickened and tears prickled the corners of my eyes. I pressed my fingers against my mouth to keep the sound in. Was that why he barely stayed at home? All this while, I had been making excuses for him, telling myself he was stressed, that work was difficult, that I needed to be more patient only to find out he was having an affair with his secretary.I picked up my phone again. I couldn't identify the sender, and it hurt so much to look at the image that I had to put it face down on the mattress. I lay back and buried my face in my pillow until my breathing slowed.The next morning, he still wasn't picking up my calls. Anytime I tried reaching him, it rang and rang until I gave up and set the phone aside. I stared at the ceiling for a long time after that.If only I could call someone and vent.I remembered an alumni group chat I had belonged to some time ago. I hadn't had enough time to be active, given all the responsibi

Chapter 4Skylar's POVI waited until he left for work the next day. I heard the front door close. His car pulled out of the driveway, and I counted to sixty before I moved. Then I slipped out of the house and made my way to Hot Dishes.I waited for about an hour at the same spot I had sat the previous afternoon, watching the door every time it opened.Mara didn't come.Why was she taking so long? Had she forgotten about me? My pulse quickened. I dialed her number. It rang once, twice, and went to voicemail both times. I set the phone face down on the table and stared out the window.I smiled weakly and walked to the women's bathroom.I didn't want to go back home. I didn't want to face Jason, or his mother, or another day of existing in that house like a piece of furniture nobody needed. I sat on the cold tile floor, back against the wall, and the tears came quietly at first, then all at once. Every cruel word, every dismissive look, every night I had lain awake waiting for a man wh

Chapter 6Skylar's POV"Don't think too much." He smiled. "I just want to feed you."I exhaled slowly. Why had I immediately assumed he wanted to kiss me again? As if I even wanted him to."Why would you do that? I can feed myself.""You see, that's the thing about you." He set the spoon down briefly. "You're too stubborn. The doctor advised you not to strain your wrists when we left the hospital, and yet here you are insisting. If your wrists don't heal properly, I won't let you anywhere near the fitness coach."I sighed. What a difficult man.Then I opened my mouth.His eyes softened. He raised the spoon to my lips carefully, steadily, and I let him. There was something almost funny about it . A grown woman being spoon_fed at a dining table in a penthouse . But I didn't have the energy to be proud about it. The food was warm and good and he didn't make me feel small for accepting it.After what he apparently considered sufficient baby treatment, he walked me to my room. He even offe

Chapter 8Skylar's POVWhen I woke up in the hospital, my head spun like someone was bouncing a ball directly in front of my eyes. I sat up slowly and blinked until the room settled.Zane was beside me. He had fallen asleep in the chair, his head tilted at an angle that looked deeply uncomfortable. His neck was bent, chin dropping toward his chest, one hand still resting on the arm of the chair like he hadn't quite let go of whatever he'd been holding onto.That must have hurt. This man really had to go through so much because of me.I pressed my fingers to my temple and let the memory come back in pieces. The restaurant. The earring. Turning around. And then his secretary, sitting right there, at the table beside ours, without so much as a flicker of guilt on her face when our eyes met. That shameless home wrecker hadn't even flinched. She had looked at me like I was the inconvenience, like I was the one who had wandered into the wrong story.The only thing I was grateful for was tha

Chapter 10Skylar's POV"First is there any form of sport or exercise you're comfortable with?"I thought about it. "Well, I loved skipping when I was younger. It's been a long time, really. I don't know if that counts as much of an exercise.""It does." He smiled. "Let's start with something you enjoy so you don't burn out on day one. And good news. I have a jump rope in here."My eyes lit up. "Really? I'll try then."He handed me the rope and asked me to grip the handles firmly and give him twenty skips. Nice and easy to start."Easy peasy," I said.Then I got to work.The first time my feet left the floor, the impact when I landed sent a small shudder through the room. Or at least it felt that way. I thought briefly that maybe something structural was happening.I kept going. Skip after skip, the rope whipping overhead. Sweat broke out fast on my forehead, my chest, under my arms, the backs of my knees, places I hadn't thought about sweating in years. My lungs started complaining b