After Seven Empty Chairs, I Took My Daughter and Left Chapter 26

After Seven Empty Chairs, I Took My Daughter and Left Chapter 26

From the moment Noah Whitaker saw Ava step into Elias Mercer’s arms by the Charles, his world tilted off its axis.

As if some switch had been flipped, the fragile, slightly wild charm he had once seen in Sloane now held only irritating thorns. Involuntarily, he began comparing her endlessly with Ava.

When he traveled to London for business, Ava would prepare everything for him a week in advance: ironed shirts, noise-canceling headphones, and a cashmere eye mask suited for a long flight. She was always concerned with whether he was tired, not what he could bring back.

Sloane, by contrast, packed nothing. She would only send him a list full of luxury brands and limited editions, followed by a line: “Darling, I’ll be waiting for your triumphant return on Newbury Street.” She treated him like a walking credit card, a tool to satisfy her endless desires.

In the past, no matter how late Noah came home from family banquets, a warm light would always be left on in the Beacon Hill house, and Ava would be waiting with a cup of warm milk. Sloane never waited for him. She only complained that his footsteps were too loud and disturbed her “beauty sleep,” or simply didn’t appear at all from another room.

What he found most unbearable was their attitude toward Lily. Ava would patiently help Lily with homework and listen to her talk about school. Their laughter had once been the warmest sound in that old house. Sloane, however, only found Lily noisy. When the child accidentally knocked over juice, the naked disgust on Sloane’s face was like a blade, stabbing Noah’s belated fatherly affection.

All the dissatisfaction in his life seemed to have begun after he finally “won” Sloane.

Noah no longer found Sloane’s need to be constantly coaxed charming. He only found her willful and vain, dragging him endlessly to empty, boring parties so she could flaunt the Whitaker name.

As for Sloane, once she discovered that Noah’s gaze was no longer focused on her, that his unconditional indulgence had disappeared, she could no longer maintain her spoiled, innocent pose. She became suspicious and irritable, repeatedly asking if he no longer loved her.

Once obtained, it was no longer cherished. The “true love” they had once used to attack Ava quickly faded and rotted amid daily trivialities and comparisons. The conflict between them deepened.

It was then that Sloane’s ex-boyfriend from South Boston, Zack, reappeared in her life. Zack didn’t have Noah’s wealth or status, but he had plenty of time and a reckless frenzy Noah could never give her. He could race with Sloane through the city’s edges at night, using cheap alcohol and heedless attention to fill the void left by Noah.

She began secretly meeting Zack behind Noah’s back. In shabby motels outside the city, she rediscovered the feeling of being desired madly. Zack couldn’t give her the lavish Upper East Side life she wanted, so she would never leave Noah. This was only an exciting game, revenge for Noah neglecting her.

Noah’s mind was no longer on Sloane. He was immersed in regret over Ava and irritation at his current situation, completely failing to notice anything wrong. He even thought her recent lack of fuss meant she had finally “become sensible.”

When news spread through Boston’s upper circles that Ava and Elias had returned from their vacation in Nantucket, Noah’s heart sank completely. In the photos, Ava leaned against Elias’s shoulder, smiling more brightly than the Florida sun. It was a relaxed, happy smile from the heart, one Noah had never seen.

For Sloane, the news detonated something else.

She thought of how Ava and Elias had humiliated her by the Charles. She thought of how Noah had recently begun every other sentence with, “If Ava were here, she would…”

The woman Sloane had once looked down on and so easily defeated had not only avoided destruction, but was living better than ever.

And she, Sloane Carver, had won that war, yet somehow seemed to have lost everything.

No. She would never accept that ending.

Sloane stared at the radiant photo of Ava on her phone, her nails digging deep into her palm. The victory that had so clearly belonged to her now tasted unbearably bitter.

Now, that woman was back.

She had to make her pay.