My Boyfriend Gave Our Home Access Card To My Best Friend Chapter 10

My Boyfriend Gave Our Home Access Card To My Best Friend Chapter 10

My eyes stung. I reached for his hand. “Yes.”

He stood still for a few seconds, then pulled me into his arms. His hands trembled, but he held me gently.

This time, I didn’t pull away.

A year later, I brought Daniel home with me. When I opened the garden gate, Mom was hanging laundry. She saw me and dropped the hanger in her hand.

Dad came out of the house. Most of his hair had turned white.

Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. “Mom. Dad. I’m home.”

Dad’s eyes reddened. “You just left! All that time on your own, going through who knows what, and you

couldn’t tell us?”

Then he turned away to wipe his face.

Mom took my hand. After a long hesitation, she said, “Ethan’s been coming to see us this past year. When your dad collapsed last month, he was the one who carried him out and rushed him to the hospital.”

My fingers went still. She hurried to explain.

“I’m not saying you should get back together. After what he did to you, we wanted to chase him out with a broom. But he kept showing up, day after day.”

She squeezed my hand. “Claire, we won’t forgive him for you. But if there’s truly no chance, we shouldn’t keep accepting his help. He needs to understand it’s over.”

“Mrs. Bennett, I’m not trying to buy her forgiveness.”

The hoarse voice came from the gate. Ethan stood there holding a bag of medication, looking painfully thin.

“I feel guilty, that’s all.” His face was pale, but his gaze stayed fixed on me. “While Claire was away, I wanted to help look after you.”

I remembered how often I’d begged him to visit my parents when his career had been taking off. He’d been busy. He hadn’t been ready. There would be plenty of time later.

When Dad had been hospitalized, I’d called Ethan more than a dozen times from the emergency room. He’d been out celebrating Vanessa’s birthday.

Now he was finally willing to come. I no longer needed him to.

“Ethan.” I looked at him calmly. “Don’t come here anymore. I’ll take care of my parents.

He gripped the bag, his eyes slowly reddening. “I’m not trying to force you to take me back. I just want you to know I’m changing.”

“Your changing shouldn’t become my burden.”

I kept my voice quiet, leaving no room for argument. “We’ve been over for a long time.”

Daniel came through the gate after parking the car. He took the heavy items Dad was carrying without making a fuss, then handed Mom the knee supports he’d brought her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, I’m sorry we were delayed getting here.”

I stepped beside him and took his hand. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Daniel Hayes. My boyfriend and my business partner.”

Ethan stared at our joined hands. Whatever hope he’d still been holding on to finally disappeared.

After a long silence, he set the medication beside the door. His voice was barely audible. “Is he good to you,

Claire?”

Daniel’s hand tightened around mine. I looked at him and smiled.

“Very.”

Tears slipped down Ethan’s face, but he managed to nod. “Good.”

He walked out into the rain without looking back. At last, he understood that making amends too late might ease his guilt, but it couldn’t bring back the girl who’d once loved him with everything she had.

Time passed quickly. Another autumn came, and the company Daniel and I had founded grew stronger.

We’d started with five people crammed into a few hundred square feet, staying up until dawn to land a single order. Now we had more than a hundred employees and offices in Seabrook’s busiest business district.

At the company’s bell-ringing celebration, Daniel stood in the crowd, watching me. The lights caught in his eyes, warm and bright.

After the celebration, he draped my coat over my shoulders. “Claire, come home with me. I’d like you to meet my parents.”