Page 53 of Out of the Shadows
“Jack’s not going anywhere,” Laura said. “Someone is after those jewels.”
“Wh-what?” Charlie asked, his voice cracking.
“Where’s the jewelry, Charlie?”
He glanced at Jack, then said, “Laura, I need to talk to you alone. Please.”
Laura didn’t know what to do here. Charlie was completely ignorant of all the trouble that had been caused since he’d bid on that damn storage locker. She looked at Jack, hoping he had answers. He just nodded, giving her the choice.
Maybe she didn’twantthe choice. She felt her entire world spiraling around her. She had loved Charlie for half her life. She had two kids with him. She had history, and most of it had been great. If he had just grown up, they would still be married.
But he’d bankrupted them and lied about it and his apology rang hollow.
I’m sorry, but...
Everything had been like that.I’m sorry, but I didn’t know the resort didn’t exist. I’m sorry, but I thought you’d want to invest in futures because it’s a sure thing. I’m sorry, but I love you.
Every apology had abutbecause he didn’t accept that he was responsible for his decisions—decisions that directly impacted her and the children.
She motioned for Charlie to follow her down the hall to her room. She closed the door behind them.
Charlie jumped on the opportunity to explain.
“Laura, this is it. I can finally make up for my mistakes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stunning diamond-and-sapphire necklace. “It’s mine. I won the locker bid fair and square, everything in it is mine. I can sell this and rebuild what I lost. With you and the kids.”
“Charlie, we’ve been divorced for nearly four years. I will always love you, because you are the father of our children. But you broke my trust.”
“I’ll make up for it. Now I can.”
“This isn’t about money. It never has been about money.”
“Yes, it is! I want to give you what your brother can give you—”
“What does that mean?” She couldn’t have heard him right. “What does Logan have to do with anything?”
“He gave you the house, I’ll buy it for you.”
“You don’t knowwhatyou’re talking about. I pay for this house. But because you ruined my credit, Logan carries the loan. ButIam making payments.”
Charlie frowned. “That’s kind of selfish of him—”
“Logan has bailed you out more times than I remember. And I let him put the money back in the kids’ college accounts because that’s for them, not me. Still, I hated accepting it. I didn’t ask, he offered.”
“I’m sorry, Laura, but—”
“No. No! I don’t want to be dependent on my brother. We were married, Charlie. We were supposed to make major decisionstogether. You violated that not once, not twice, but three times. No more. I’m not in love with you. We are not getting back together. You’re part of my life, and that’s fine. We were friends for a long time before we even kissed. And if you can’t accept friendship, then we’ll have a formal custody arrangement and we won’t see each other at all.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.”
Laura watched him, hardening her heart. She couldn’t let his sorrow get to her. It was over, and if she didn’t know it before, she knew it now.
“But—” he began.
“Don’t push me.”
He nodded, his face falling. He shoved the necklace into her hands. “I want you to have this. No strings.”
