He Asked Me To Wait, I Asked For A Divorce Chapter 10

By the end of the year, Safe Harbor Marine Gear had opened a second production shop. We wer selling throughout Florida’s maritime market and shipping to ports in neighboring states.

I gave everyone raises and nearly two weeks off for the holidays.

On New Year’s Eve, I stayed home with Mom and Dad making dinner together.

Mom rolled sheets of pasta, I filled and sealed the ravioli, and Dad tossed a salad beside us while the televised New Year’s countdown played in the background. The house was warm and bright.

The doorbell rang. I assumed it was Owen; he’d said he would stop by for New Year’s.

Instead, I opened the door and found Gavin.

He was carrying two boxes of vitamins and supplements. His hair was cut short, and he stood there awkwardly, looking like a stranger who had come to the wrong house.

“Claire. Happy New Year.

I… I came by to wish your parents a happy new year too.”

I leaned against the doorframe and didn’t let him inside. “You don’t need to. We have everything we

need here.

Go home.”

Mom heard his voice and came over. The second she saw him, her face hardened. “What are you doing here?

You’re not welcome in this house.”

“Mrs. Bennett, I really do know I was wrong.” His voice was low and pleading. “Everything I did before was on me. I hurt Claire, and I hurt both of you.

I just wanted to apologize in person.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” I looked at him evenly. “Live your own life and stop disturbing ours. That’s the best apology you can give us.”

He started to say something else, but I closed the door.

The door shut out the cold night air and the part of my life that had already burned itself to ash.

Mom sighed. “He figured all this out a little late.”

I smiled and went back to the table to keep sealing ravioli. “Not our problem. We’re celebrating.”

Just as we lowered the ravioli into the pot, Owen arrived carrying two good bottles of wine and a case of cherries.

He greeted my parents like he’d been coming over for years, rolled up his sleeves, and started helping move dishes to the table without the slightest awkwardness.

Dad watched him with a smile he couldn’t quite hide.

During dinner, fireworks began popping outside.

I walked to the window and watched bursts of light open across the night sky, bright and briliant.

Owen came to stand beside me and asked softly, “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing much.” I turned toward him and smiled. “Just that this feels pretty good.”

No dependence. No sacrifice. No endless giving while someone else treated it like something they

were owed.

I had a career, a family, someone willing to walk beside me, and a future I could actually see shining ahead.

The love from my last life had burned to ash and left me covered in scars.

In this life, I had put the broken pieces back together with my own hands and become the person I

could rely on.

All those years of suffering had finally become light on the road ahead.

And for every year still waiting for me, with the whole wide world open before me, I would live for

myself.

By the end of the year, Safe Harbor Marine Gear had opened a second production shop. We wer selling throughout Florida’s maritime market and shipping to ports in neighboring states.

I gave everyone raises and nearly two weeks off for the holidays.

On New Year’s Eve, I stayed home with Mom and Dad making dinner together.

Mom rolled sheets of pasta, I filled and sealed the ravioli, and Dad tossed a salad beside us while the televised New Year’s countdown played in the background. The house was warm and bright.

The doorbell rang. I assumed it was Owen; he’d said he would stop by for New Year’s.

Instead, I opened the door and found Gavin.

He was carrying two boxes of vitamins and supplements. His hair was cut short, and he stood there awkwardly, looking like a stranger who had come to the wrong house.

“Claire. Happy New Year.

I… I came by to wish your parents a happy new year too.”

I leaned against the doorframe and didn’t let him inside. “You don’t need to. We have everything we

need here.

Go home.”

Mom heard his voice and came over. The second she saw him, her face hardened. “What are you doing here?

You’re not welcome in this house.”

“Mrs. Bennett, I really do know I was wrong.” His voice was low and pleading. “Everything I did before was on me. I hurt Claire, and I hurt both of you.

I just wanted to apologize in person.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” I looked at him evenly. “Live your own life and stop disturbing ours. That’s the best apology you can give us.”

He started to say something else, but I closed the door.

The door shut out the cold night air and the part of my life that had already burned itself to ash.

Mom sighed. “He figured all this out a little late.”

I smiled and went back to the table to keep sealing ravioli. “Not our problem. We’re celebrating.”

Just as we lowered the ravioli into the pot, Owen arrived carrying two good bottles of wine and a case of cherries.

He greeted my parents like he’d been coming over for years, rolled up his sleeves, and started helping move dishes to the table without the slightest awkwardness.

Dad watched him with a smile he couldn’t quite hide.

During dinner, fireworks began popping outside.

I walked to the window and watched bursts of light open across the night sky, bright and briliant.

Owen came to stand beside me and asked softly, “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing much.” I turned toward him and smiled. “Just that this feels pretty good.”

No dependence. No sacrifice. No endless giving while someone else treated it like something they

were owed.

I had a career, a family, someone willing to walk beside me, and a future I could actually see shining ahead.

The love from my last life had burned to ash and left me covered in scars.

In this life, I had put the broken pieces back together with my own hands and become the person I

could rely on.

All those years of suffering had finally become light on the road ahead.

And for every year still waiting for me, with the whole wide world open before me, I would live for

myself.