His Secret Wife Was My Best Friend Chapter 07

His Secret Wife Was My Best Friend Chapter 07 Whatever It Takes To Leave
Cecily let out a quiet laugh. “It took me all this time to understand what being your wife would mean. Taking the blame for someone else. Being thrown away like garbage by my own husband. Coming second to his mistress even when my life is at stake. “Tell me, Gareth. Why should I want that position so badly?” His face paled. The little warmth left in his eyes hardened into coldness. “I’ve explained the situation with Daphne. Keep making an issue of it, and you’ll only make me think less of you. “This is your last warning. An alliance between our families isn’t a game. Go through with the wedding and settle down as Mrs. Hollis. I’ll make sure you’re well provided for.” Daphne’s background would never earn her acceptance in the Hollis family. Cecily, on the other hand, met every requirement. She was smart, beautiful, well educated, and from a good family. They even had real affection between them. As a marriage partner, she was perfect. The trouble was that her perfection bored him. Daphne supplied what was missing. Cecily studied him for a moment, then gently shook her head. She couldn’t make peace with a friend who had repaid her kindness with betrayal. And she would not spend her life with a man who could turn on her so cruelly. “I can’t do it.” “Fine. I gave you a chance to handle this with dignity. You turned it down.” At that moment, Gareth dropped the last of his pretense. He dragged Cecily onto the nearby bungee platform and strapped her into the harness. At the sight of the deep gorge and rushing river below, terror seized her. She struggled desperately. “Gareth, what are you doing? You know I’m afraid of heights…” Ignoring her, he hauled her to the edge. “You’re too proud, Cecily. Too wrapped up in yourself. The world isn’t black and white. I’ll pull you up when you understand that.” Then he pushed her off. Wind roared in her ears. Her heart hammered so violently she thought her chest would burst. Her unhealed fractures hurt as though her body were being torn apart. She hung helplessly in the air, swaying in the wind, her pleas barely audible. “Gareth, please. Pull me up.” He only stood above her, looking down in silence. Finally, Cecily understood. He wasn’t merely demanding that she tolerate Daphne. He was teaching her to surrender every argument, every boundary, once they were married. The wind swept away her tears. With her lip bitten bloody, she gave up the last of her pride. Staying alive mattered more than anything. “I’ll do it, Gareth. Whatever you want. I’ll do anything.” At last, satisfaction crossed his face. He pulled her back up and removed the harness himself, then cupped her cheek with the tenderness she remembered. “Be good, Cecily. Stop fighting with Daphne. You’ve never come second to her in my heart.” Her eyes were empty. A bitter little smile was her only response. She hadn’t lost to Daphne. She had lost to the version of herself who had fallen in love. Gareth drove her home and gently stroked her hair. “Get some sleep. Forget these past few days. I’ll see you at the wedding tomorrow.” Cecily obediently agreed and got out. Once he had driven away, she went inside, took her essential documents and a few changes of clothes, and left for the airport. On the way, she called her assistant. “Draft a resignation letter for me. It doesn’t need to be anything elaborate. Give it to my mother, and take back every project I handed to Daphne. “Get the security footage from the exhibition, too. Find the right moment to release it. And if my mother asks where I’ve gone…” Cecily made her arrangements, one by one, then switched off her phone. As the plane climbed, she left her family, her lover, and years of good and terrible memories behind in the clouds. Exhausted but happy, she closed her eyes and drifted toward sleep. Please let the sun be shining when I land.