Chapter 2
Clara had bevir home for a solid half hour before Damon finally texted back. “Don’t worry about it. Since you’re the one who wants me to sign, there’s no way’do me any harm.“.
It was just his way of saying
ne he wasn’t going
ing to read it at all.
Of course, he wasn’t – he was too busy rushing off to pick up Giselle, who’d had too much to drink. How would he have time to go over any documents?
Even thought the papers were sitting right there, well within arm’s reveli..
It had rained all day without letting up. It only eased up by dusk the next evening:
Clara stayed inside the whole time. She quietly deleted every post on every platform where she’d shared details of her married life.
The moment she finished clearing out her Instagram, she noticed a new post from Giselle. There were shots of her lounging on a yacht, each one perfectly framed, featuring a man’s long, slender hand.
Clara knew that hand belonged to Damon and she also knew Giselle had posted it on purpose. But none of that mattered to her anymore.
She turned off her phone, got up, and headed to the kitchen to make herself a salad. Just as she was finishing up, Damon came home.
When she saw the cake in his hands, she froze for a second. “You don’t even like sweets. What’s with the cake?”
Damon walked over, glanced at her dinner, and frowned. “It’s your birthday. Did you forget? Why are you eating something so plain?”
Clary was stunned.
When she was four or five, her parents split up and left her with her grandmother. By the time she was 15 or 16, her grandmother passed away. After that, no one looked after her, and birthdays stopped being a thing
But in the three years she’d been married to Danon, he never forgot. No matter how busy he was, he always made it back to spend her birthday with her.
If Clara wo
were coming back from a trip, he’d worry about her safety and pick her up at the airport. He’d pull her close and bold her if it stormed because he knew she was afraid of thunder.
Clara figured that kind of effortless care had to mean he had feelings for her.
Everything changed a month ago on their wedding anniversary when Damon used “company matters” as an excuse to booked ahead of time.
to cancel the candlelit dinner he’d
Disappointed, Clara agreed when Olivia asked her to drop off a jacket at a bar. That was when she unexpectedly ran into Giselle, who was completely
wasted.
She was hanging all over Damon–who was supposedly working late–and wouldn’t let go.
He looked furious as he tried to pull her off. “Giselle! Seriously, knock it off bet go! What do you think I am something you can throw away and pick back up whenever you feel like it?”
Giselle wouldn’t listen. Even after Damon pried her hands off, she just grabbed onto his waist again— over and over. She refused to let go.
In the end, he finally gave in. He stood there with his head lowered and stared at her. His eyes were filled with a love he was barely holding back.
His voice was quiet and resigned. “Giselle, what am I supposed to do with you?”
At that moment, the bag in Clara’s hand slipped and hit the floor with a thud.
At
A flood of memories rushed through her mind–those hands clasped so tightly as Giselle and Damon wove through a crowded street, that tilted umbrella shielding Giselle from the pouring rain, Damon kneeling in a graduation gown, asking for forever…
Every single one of them proved Damon’s love for Giselle had never wavered. Clara had seen it with her own eyes. There was no denying it now,
Not three years of marriage, not the fact that she was legally his wife, not even the moments of warmth he’d shown her could change that..
The truth was any affection Damon had ever given her wasn’t really hers–it was just borrowed from Giselle, who happened to be out of the picture back
then.
–
She had clung to that small taste of sweetness, foolishly believing it was hers to keep. But in reality, she had never truly had him not even for a second.
So when Clara looked at the number 24 on the birthday cake, she felt nothing. She simply lowered her head politely and thanked him.
Dummon lit the candles while giving her a soft smile “Clara, we’re married. You don’t have to say thank you‘ like we’re strangers. Make a wish”
She nodded. Just as she was about to stand, Damon’s phone rang. She could guess who was calling from the slight hesitation in his eyes. So, she sat back
down.
Sure enough, she was right. A minute later, he ended the call and walked out.
Clara let out a bitter smile as the sound of his car disappeared into the distance. She hadn’t turned on any lights. The soft flicker of the candles cast her lone shadow against the wall
Presting her palms together, she made a wish for her 26th year. “This year, I’m done loving Daun Croit.”
