4: 4
I didn't go home.
I booked a room at a five-star hotel, lay down on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Then I fell asleep.
I don't know how long it was before a ringing phone woke me.
"Hello?"
"Isabella, I'll go with you tomorrow to file for the divorce. Fine. But this house of ours has to be signed over to Narelle first, or you can forget about the divorce."
"We both owe her too much. From the very first time she let go of my hand to give the two of us a chance, whatever we had was never going to end well."
"It's almost like fate. The child you couldn't give me, Nell can. Don't you think that's a bond meant to be?"
Something clenched hard in my chest, the pain crawling through every organ.
I gritted my teeth and agreed, spineless as ever.
"Fine. As long as I can get the divorce, the house is yours."
The next day, we finished the divorce paperwork without a hitch.
Narelle was ecstatic, bouncing around and planting kisses all over Owen's face.
Owen came over to me, glowing, gracious as always.
"Isabella, we were married once. If you ever run into trouble down the road, come to me. Whatever I can do, I will."
I looked at him for a long moment, then shook my head.
"I don't think divorced people can be friends. My upbringing doesn't allow me that kind of boundary-less behavior."
I flagged down a cab and left without looking back.
Something lonely flickered across Owen's face, then vanished just as fast.
Before I went into the operating room, I called Glen.
He told me the first two years of the position would be in Northport, and only after that could he transfer back.
Once, for Owen's sake, I had gone with him to his hometown of Northport to build a life there. We stayed three years.
We saved up our first million and got married.
Narelle was my bridesmaid.
She gave us a pot of orchids as a wedding gift.
She wiped her tears as she saw me off. "Owen! You'd better treat my best friend right. If you dare hurt her, I swear I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Then she was gone.
Went back to her hometown and got married.
The night of her wedding, Owen stood out on the balcony at midnight with a cigarette, staring off into the distance.
I crept up behind him and wrapped my arms around his lean waist. He flinched hard.
Then, in that impossibly gentle voice, he said, "Isabella, why don't we go live in your hometown?"
I was so moved.
Thinking back now, the irony is unbearable. He only agreed to go back with me so he could keep one pot of orchids alive.
His real reason was Narelle.
I agreed to Glen's terms. "No problem. A change of place for a while sounds good..."
Coming out of the operating room felt like surfacing from another lifetime.
Then I heard Narelle's laughter, that flirting tone, somewhere near me.
I turned to look. Owen's driver had an arm around her waist, and the two of them walked into the OB-GYN clinic, chatting and laughing.
After they'd gone, I asked the doctor about their relationship.
"And who are you to her? This is patient privacy. I can't disclose it."
Just then a nurse came over with a form. "Dr. Gray, here's Miss Pruitt and Mr. Whitney's IVF paperwork."
Dr. Gray shot her a fierce glare. Realizing she'd said too much, she slunk off.
Later, when Dr. Gray wasn't watching, I snapped a photo of that form and sent it to Owen.
【Congratulations, ex-hubby. You've officially earned yourself a set of horns～】
