Chapter 18
“And how could you skip the day I brought my parents’ ashes home-over something as trivial as Joyce’s mother spraining her ankle? Those were my parents. And I couldn’t even bring them home with dignity.”
Each word landed like a slap. Clayton’s face slowly drained of color.
It was like something finally hit him. After a long pause, he said, “You’re right. You’ve been through a lot. How about this-this weekend, I’ll go with you to visit your parents. I’ll apologize to them in person. I never should’ve missed it. I should’ve been there when you brought their ashes back.”
Aline could see through him-this was just damage control.
In a little over twenty days, their divorce would be finalized. She didn’t need him to tag along for a visit to her parents’
grave.
But still… he did owe them an apology.
“All right,” she said quietly.
But when the weekend came, Clayton bailed. Again.
“Sorry,” he said over the phone, his voice laced with guilt. “A last-minute meeting came up at work. I can’t make it today. But I promise I’ll go with you next time.”
“Got it. Thanks,” Aline said calmly, then hung up.
No anger. No tears.
Not even disappointment.
She didn’t have it in her anymore. Clayton had let her down too many times.
He could stand by and let his friends insult her. Why would he care about her parents, who weren’t even alive?
She glanced down at her phone and opened her photo album.
There were barely any pictures of her and Clayton-just a few, and even those were mostly group shots with cowork-
ers.
But his phone had an entire folder dedicated to pictures of him and Joyce.
One by one, she deleted every photo they’d taken together. When they got married, they hadn’t even taken proper wedding photos-trying to save money. In hindsight, that just made things easier. Nothing to toss, nothing to shred.
She started packing up her things.
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There wasn’t much. A few clothes. Some modest jewelry. The only thing she and Clayton really shared was a pair of cheap wedding bands.
Because he wanted to keep the marriage under wraps, they’d rarely worn them.
She picked up the rings, stared at them for a moment, then quietly placed them back in the drawer.
Back then, she hadn’t cared how cheap the rings were. She only cared about his sincerity. But now she understood-to him, she was probably just as cheap as those rings.
Her phone rang-it was Clarice calling.
As soon as she picked up, Clarice’s cheerful voice came through.
“Hey! You free today? Want to come with me to the equestrian club?”
“The horse track?” Aline asked, confused.
“Yeah! I heard Mitch’s going to be there. I want to show my face, maybe catch his attention. But I’m too nervous to go alone,” Clarice said with a laugh.
As Aline stepped onto the riding grounds, the image of Mitch flashed through her mind-sharp features, strikingly handsome, and eyes that carried the chill of someone who’d long stopped caring about the world.
A dangerously unreadable man.
“You’ve got a thing for him?” she asked.
Clarice practically choked on the other end of the line. “What? Are you kidding? I’m not trying to get myself killed. There’s no way I’m into Mitch. I just heard a rumor the Fuentes family’s looking to invest in drone tech. You know my company’s working on drone applications too, so I figured I’d swing by and see if there’s a chance to connect.”
Aline hesitated. She didn’t really want to run into Mitch again. Her instincts were screaming at her to steer clear-noth- ing good came from crossing paths with a man like that.
“Come on, Aline,” Clarice coaxed, slipping into a playful tone. “Be my wingwoman?”
Aline sighed. “Alright. I’ll come.”
But the moment she arrived at the club, she immediately spotted something that stopped her cold.
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