It’s Not That I Didn’t Wait, It’s That You Never Chose Me Chapter 07

It’s Not That I Didn’t Wait, It’s That You Never Chose Me Chapter 07

The lively noise in the yard died the instant Adrian stepped inside.

Every eye turned toward him.

In the sudden hush, my father came out from the kitchen. The moment he saw Adrian, the smile vanished from his face completely.

Adrian adjusted his breathing, put on that familiar gentle smile, and walked over quickly.

“Dad, how come nobody told me there was a celebration? I rushed all the way here as fast as I could.”

He held out the expensive supplement baskets, his tone carrying that same patronizing generosity he always mistook for goodwill.

“Tessa did great. This is just a little something from me.”

Then he added, as if bestowing a favor, “And from here on out, I’ll cover all her tuition and living expenses in college.”

He clearly thought my father would react the way he always had before—rubbing his hands nervously, accepting the gifts with gratitude, thanking him over and over.

He was wrong.

My father didn’t even reach for them.

“Mr. Mercer,” he said.

Those two words landed like a slap across Adrian’s face.

“Dad… what did you just call me?”

My father ignored the question. He turned, went back inside, and came out a moment later with a thick manila envelope.

“There’s five thousand dollars in here. Elaina told me she asked you for help the last time my trike broke down.”

He looked Adrian straight in the eye, his back ramrod straight.

“We never took your money. I borrowed it from the township supervisor, and I paid it back after I sold the market hogs.”

Then his voice hardened. “We may be poor out here, but we’re not spineless. Before, I swallowed everything because I was afraid Elaina would have a harder life in your house if I didn’t.”

He took one slow breath. “But now that she doesn’t want to stay married to you anymore, this family will not take one penny from the Mercers.”

Adrian took the envelope.

It was light in his hand, but it seemed to burn his fingertips like hot iron. “Dad, you’ve got the wrong idea. That’s not what I meant…”

“Mr. Mercer, you’re a busy man,” my father cut in. “My broken-down trike is just a bottomless pit. Not worth your valuable concern.”

Then he returned Adrian’s own words to him, every single one untouched. “You should save your money and go maximize your resource allocation.”

By then, it was obvious.

I had told my father everything.

The color drained out of Adrian’s face. He whipped his head around and looked at me.

I was standing quietly under the eaves, watching him wither under the gaze of the crowd. My face gave nothing away.

I stepped down off the porch and stopped in front of him. “Let’s take this outside. Don’t ruin my sister’s acceptance party.”

Then I walked past him and headed for the gate.

He trailed after me, his jaw clenched.

“Elaina, do you really have to go this far? You told your father about what we said in private just so I’d be humiliated in front of everyone. Are you happy now?”

I jerked my wrist out of his grip, pulled a sanitizing wipe from my pocket, and cleaned the spot he had touched as if wiping off a smear of filth.

“Adrian, do you really think I’m just throwing a fit?”

I looked at him, my voice flat and still as dead water. “When you told everyone in that arena you didn’t know my father, did you leave him any dignity?”

“When you let security shove a grown man into a corner, did you stop to wonder how humiliating that was for him?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. Whatever certainty he had walked in with was gone now. “I was at work…” he said weakly. “And I told you, I’ll make it right. I’ll pay double for Tessa’s tuition in Boston.”

“We don’t need it,” I cut in coldly. “Tessa got into St. Alden on a full national scholarship. We don’t need your charity.”

I pulled a pen from my pocket and held it out to him. “Since you’re already here, sign the papers. Tomorrow morning, nine o’clock. Family court.”

Adrian stared at the pen, and for the first time, real panic flashed in his eyes.

He finally understood.

I meant it.

“No.” His voice jumped sharply. “I’m not agreeing to this. Elaina, have you lost your mind? Fine, I admit what happened at the arena was wrong, but I didn’t cheat on you and I never laid a hand on you. On what grounds do you think you get to divorce me?”

I laughed.

A soft sound. Colder than shouting.

“Didn’t cheat?” I said. “Then what was the two hundred thousand? What were those hundreds of pages of admissions planning? What was all that patience and tenderness you poured into them?”

I looked him straight in the eye. “You never loved me, Adrian.”

“You just needed a free live-in wife with executive-level skills to keep your life running and make you feel important.”

“I’m done.”

I turned and strode back toward the yard.

“Elaina!” he shouted after me. “If you walk away today, don’t ever come crawling back!”

I didn’t look back.

The heavy iron gate slammed shut in his face with a brutal clang.

Then the sky broke open.

Rain came down in hard, fat drops, pounding against Adrian’s expensive suit. He stood there on the muddy road, staring at the soaked gift boxes at his feet, his whole body going cold.