All Chapters of Not Mr. Right: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I got home, Charles Garth was already on the phone with someone else."She's back. Yeah, make sure you stay warm. The wool shawl I bought you should get there today."Keep it over your legs when you sleep. Don't let yourself get cold."Listening to him coo over someone else like that, my eyes burned.I'd told him so many times that the air conditioner blew straight onto my desk at work, that it left me aching all over.Sometimes, without looking up from his laptop, he'd say, "Bring a jacket. Drink more hot water."Sometimes he'd just glance at his phone and grunt.Not once had he ever murmured, soft and warm, that he'd bought me a wool shawl and told me not to catch a chill — not until now, and not for me.He set his phone down and seemed to notice me for the first time."Go make dinner," he said. "Maia's coming over to eat with us in a bit."Then he ticked the dishes off on his fingers like he was reading off a menu. "She likes home cooking. Make her honey mustard glaze

Chapter 2

Half an hour later, Maia showed up carrying coffee.Charles jumped up and jogged to the entryway, kicking my slippers out of the way like they were an obstacle.Then he reached to the top shelf of the cabinet and pulled out a pair of slippers for her, a smile tugging at his mouth. "I bought these for you."A pair of pink bunny slippers, with two round, wide eyes stitched onto the toes. I'd had them sitting in my shopping cart for half a year.Every time I'd tried to buy them, he'd stopped me. "You're a grown woman. Are you going to wear something like that? People will laugh at you."When it was Maia's turn, there were no snarky comments about her being a grown woman, no laughing at her either. He'd charged them straight to the card he'd linked to my account and bought them for her instead.Catching my look, Maia turned and smiled, giving me a little wave. "Jude, I brought you coffee."No surprises there — two iced Americanos, and one hot oat-milk latte.She handed me the latte

Chapter 3

Even though I'd already made up my mind, already braced myself for it, hearing Maia put it so plainly still hit like a fist closing around my heart.Under the lamplight, Maia's eyes glistened."You're already the design team lead. You've got the talent, the ability, and a family with money behind you. I've got nothing."So that was her excuse for stealing my man."And if I said no?"The pleading vanished from Maia's face in an instant. She grabbed my injured finger and leaned in close, spelling it out word by word."He gave those measurements himself. Don't you want to think about why he remembers my size so well? Don't you want to know how far we've gone?"I didn't answer. I picked up my coffee and threw it in her face.Maia yelped. "Jude, this is my fault... I'm the reason your ring and your dress came out the wrong size..."The next second, Charles came storming out of the kitchen. He didn't spare me a glance — just grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Maia's head, dabbing

Chapter 4

That night, Charles didn't come home.Not one message, not one call.The next morning, I called my parents. "Mom, Dad. I've changed grooms."They didn't ask a single question. They just laughed. "We always thought something was going on between Charles and that Maia. Long past time you traded him in. If you hadn't been so taken with him, we'd never have given a smooth-talking player like that a second look."They weren't wrong. What my parents had seen at a glance had taken me years to see for myself.No wonder Maia had sent me a photo that morning of the two of them, heads together on the same pillow, with a smirk tacked onto the message: [Guess what happened between us last night.]I took a deep breath and powered off my phone.The moment I stepped off the elevator, the HR director tagged me in the group chat. [The SE project led by Jude Barrymore is suspected of design plagiarism and misappropriating another employee's work. The company has decided to terminate Jude Barry

Chapter 5

After I sent that, I blocked and deleted both Charles and Maia in one go.Then I pulled out my SIM card and tossed it in the trash.…Charles sat in his office staring at his phone, and after waiting a good while, he started to feel puzzled.No matter how busy she was, Jude always found time to text him back. But today, ever since she'd been shown the door, more than an hour had passed.Not a call. Not a text.He was staring at his computer screen, but his attention kept drifting, little by little, to the phone beside it.He sat there listening to a subordinate's report with one ear, eyes on his phone.He finally made it to the end of the workday.The phone still hadn't made a sound.He gripped it, his brow furrowing tighter by the second, a rising panic building in his chest.Just as he was about to open his messages and scroll through their chat history, the door swung open.Maia stood in the doorway, smiling at him. "Charles, some coworkers want to throw me a celebration

Chapter 6

Things played out exactly as Charles had expected.Jude never came looking for a fight. She never made a scene.So he figured it was over. Water under the bridge.He was thinking exactly that when he got home.The figure swimming in front of his eyes was blurry, but familiar all the same."Charles, get up and wash up..."He rubbed his eyes, forcing the figure into focus. His vision slowly sharpened.His expression cooled by degrees."It's so late. Why are you at my place? Where's Jude?"The smile on Maia's lips faltered for a moment before smoothing back over. "Jude's probably still upset. I didn't see her when I dropped you off."Charles pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. He pointed toward the door. "I already helped you like I promised. Now go home."But Maia acted like she hadn't understood a word of it. She wrapped herself around him suddenly, arms around his waist, her voice both urgent and coy."Charles. Come on. Since you've already helped me thi

Chapter 7

The next day, I stood on the raised platform in my white wedding dress.With the officiant looking on, just as I was about to exchange rings with Jordan, the doors slammed open."Jude!"The anguished shout tore through the entire hall.I turned and found myself looking straight into Charles's wild, bloodshot eyes.Jordan stepped forward on instinct, shielding me behind him."Today is my wedding day with Jude. You're welcome to stay for a drink and celebrate with us. But if you're here for anything else, don't blame me for what happens next."The words drained the color from Charles's face.He advanced slowly, step by step, his eyes locked on me, his lips trembling. "Jude, I'm the one you're supposed to be marrying today. Who is this?"Jordan opened his mouth to answer, but I put a hand out to stop him. "Let me."I stepped forward. My voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly enough for the whole room to hear. "Charles, I broke up with you a long time ago. That text message

Chapter 8

After the honeymoon phase had passed, the next time I heard anything about Charles, it was that he and Maia had both been fired from the company.A former coworker filled me in on all the gossip.Apparently, the CEO had taken the SE project team on a roadshow pitch, and when a reporter hit Maia with a tough question, she couldn't get out a single word.The whole pitch ended in disaster, and the company's reputation and credibility tanked overnight.Furious, the CEO ordered a full investigation into the SE project's design and every case I'd ever worked on.Two days later, I got an apology email from my old company.The gist of it was an apology for firing me, an offer to bring me back with a promotion, and a hope that I'd return to head the design department.I stared at the email for a long moment, then replied with one word: [Sorry.]Not long after, the housekeeper told me someone was here to see me.When I went out, Charles was standing outside. He'd lost a lot of weight, a

Chapter 9

I shook my head, one word for every step. "Love that comes too late is worth less than nothing."From the moment you gave the jeweler the wrong ring size, the wrong shoe size, the wrong dress size, there was never going to be an 'us' again."Behind me came the thud of him dropping to his knees.Before long, sobs thick with regret rose behind me, growing louder.I didn't slow down. I kept walking, one step at a time, toward my own life.I knew it. That whole chapter of youth, the one that lived only in memory now, was fading further behind me with every step.By the time Jordan got home from work, Charles was long gone.He didn't even ask about my old belongings that had mysteriously appeared in the yard.He just wrapped an arm around my waist and said, with obvious relief, "Jude, I got lucky. So lucky that fool let you go."Senior year, you turned me down so flat it wrecked me for months. Good thing I didn't give up. I got you in the end."That line actually got a laugh out o

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