All Chapters of The Woman He Never Chose: Chapter 41 - Chapter 48

The first light of dawn crept through the curtains and landed on Cassie's face, pulling her out of sleep. She frowned, turning away from the brightness, but her body met something warm and firm.Eddie's chest.He was still asleep. His arms were wrapped around her, pulling her close against him in a loose, comfortable hold. His breathing was slow and steady, the kind of breathin that belongs to a man who has nothing to fear.Cassie's lips stretched into a smile before she could even stop them. She stayed still for a moment, letting herself feel it. The warmth of his skin against her back. The weight of his arm across her waist. The rise and fall of his chest behind her.She had not felt this way in a long time. Loved. Cared for. Peaceful. Like somebody had finally taken the heaviness off her shoulders and told her she could rest.Slowly, she lifted his hand and moved it off her waist. She slid forward, just a little, creating space between their bodies. The duvet shifted as she pushed

Rita stood at the stove stirring a pot of macaroni and cheese with one hand while she checked her phone with the other. The cheese had just started melting into the pasta, thick and golden. The smell filled the small kitchen. She hummed under her breath and tapped her foot against the tile in time with the soft music coming from the speaker on the counter.The doorbell rang.“I’m coming,” she called. She dropped the spoon, wiped her hands on a towel, and walked to the door in her socks. A small smile sat on her face. She expected the delivery guy with the textbooks she had ordered.She unlocked the door and pulled it open.Cassie stood on the other side.Her makeup was ruined. Mascara ran down her cheeks in dark wet lines. Her eyes were swollen and red. Her lips shook. Her hair, usually neat, had come loose. Strands stuck to her damp face. She still wore the same clothes from the night before. They looked wrinkled and wrong on her body.“Oh my God,” Rita whispered. Her mouth opened. H

Rita adjusted the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and drew in a slow breath. The air outside the lecture hall had felt ordinary enough, but the moment she stepped through the double doors, something shifted inside her chest. The room was already half full. Students filled the middle and back rows in loose clusters, their voices overlapping in easy laughter and low talk. A few flipped through thick notebooks. Others scrolled on their phones without looking up. No one paid her any real attention.She stopped just inside the entrance. For a full second she stood there, bag pressed against her hip, and felt the old familiar weight settle over her. Everyone else looked settled. Confident. Some of the students near the front were already comparing A-level scores and listing the universities that had accepted them. One girl mentioned a summer research placement. Another talked about the private tutors her parents had hired. Rita’s fingers tightened around the worn leather strap until

"You're back early," Cassie said, blinking up as Rita came through the door, dragging her feet like they belonged to someone else.Cassie set down what she was holding and moved to the chair across from her. She still had on her interview clothes, blazer buttoned wrong at the top."Let me get you some water." She disappeared into the hallway before Rita could answer.Rita sank into the couch and pressed her palms against her face. The doctor's voice hadn't stopped playing in her head since she'd left the clinic. You're pregnant. You're pregnant, Ms. Rita."Here." Cassie's voice came from somewhere close, and Rita looked up to find the glass already in front of her. "Drink. You look like you've seen a ghost."Rita took it and drank the whole thing in three long swallows, water running cold down her throat. "Thanks," she said, setting the glass on the table with a small clink.Cassie sat on the arm of the couch, studying her. "Did something happen at school? Someone giving you trouble?