The Blue Rejection That Ended My Marriage Chapter 03

The Blue Rejection That Ended My Marriage Chapter 03

Normally calm, Nathan spent almost half an hour cursing Sloane after he saw her message.

When he finally looked at me, he still seemed angry and frustrated with me.

“Your mom would be furious with you too if she were still here.”

I lowered my head.

“My attorney’s already moving forward. I’m not giving up a cent I’m entitled to.”

He sighed. “Tomorrow, you get admitted first. Your health comes first. I’ll cover the cost. You can pay me back later.”

I gave a small nod, my face burning. I felt humiliated and miserable.

That afternoon, he came with me back to the house to pick up the documents I needed for hospital admission.

The nerve compression had started making my leg go numb too, and I was rubbing it when Sloane came back.

She was carrying a cane, with Miles right behind her.

The first thing she said when she saw me was, “Give Miles the original files for your new design.”

I looked up.

“What did you just say?”

Her voice remained perfectly steady.

“This is Miles’s first time leading a project. All he needs is a chance. Consider it your apology for what you posted in the channel.”

My hand went still.

Beside me, Nathan shot to his feet.

“Sloane, you’ve got some nerve!”

He pointed at the cane, his voice sharp with sarcasm.

“Your biggest client came to you because of Elliot’s design. His work is what got your company into the top tier of the industry, and now you’re here taking more of his work to pave the way for another man?”

“What, you decided not to show up empty-handed this time? You think a cane makes it a fair trade?”

Sloane looked annoyed.

“This is between Elliot and me. It’s none of your business.”

Miles quickly explained, “Elliot, don’t get the wrong idea. Sloane bought this for my mom. She’s getting older and unsteady on her feet.”

“If you need a cane too, Sloane can get you one.”

I’d just seen her on his Instagram last week, line dancing at a community center.

Looking at the designer logo on the cane, the whole thing felt absurd.

Two weeks earlier, I’d submitted three separate requests for a $50 robot vacuum to make housework easier.

All three had been denied for the same reasons: nonessential, unnecessary spending, over budget.

The pathetic part was that when I first saw Sloane carrying that cane, I still had a tiny flicker of hope it was for me.

My throat felt painfully dry as I looked at her.

“So what color did that cane get?”

Sloane paused.

“This is different. Stop twisting this into something it isn’t.”

“What’s different?”

“Miles’s mother is getting older, and Miles is your old college friend. Can you stop keeping score over every little thing?”

Looking at how completely convinced she was that she was right, I had nothing left to say.

I pushed myself up from the couch.

“Nathan, let’s go.”

I had barely taken two steps when Sloane caught my wrist.

Her voice softened, almost as though she were making a concession.

“Elliot, give me the design files and I’ll arrange a premium private room for you at the hospital. Stay as long as you want.”

“And you can submit requests for anything related to the surgery.”

She paused, her tone turning coaxing.

“We can mark them orange.”

Miles jumped in immediately.

“I swear I won’t hold anything up.”

Beside me, Nathan tensed with anger and started forward, but I stopped him.

I looked at Sloane and reminded her calmly, “I could end up paralyzed.”

“It’s only a possibility. You always make everything sound worse than it is.”

A sudden spasm tore through my lower back, nearly knocking me off my feet.

Sloane seemed not to notice. She just kept waiting for my answer.

Nathan stepped between us and steadied me, his eyes red with anger.

I looked up at Sloane and spoke clearly.

“I’m not giving him the files. And I’m checking into the hospital.”

Then I slowly made my way toward the door.

Behind me, Sloane’s voice turned cold.

“Don’t push me too far, Elliot. You’ll come begging.”