He Chose My Best Friend, Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 16

He Chose My Best Friend, Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 16

That night, he checked into the small inn across the street from the bookstore.

Deep into the night, the only sound was the relentless pacing on the pavement below, like a caged animal.

He was keeping me awake. Finally, I threw back the covers and went downstairs.

I opened the bookstore door, and the cold midnight air rushed in. He stood at the entrance, his eyes bloodshot, his voice like sandpaper when he spoke.

He just looked at me, and then, as if all his strength had drained away, he slowly slid down the wall into a crouch.

He tilted his head back, his expression one I had never seen before—a raw, desperate plea.

“I’m begging you, Mara. Give me one more chance. Please?”

“Just say the word, and I’ll do anything. I divorced Sloane. I’ll give you everything. I just want to make it right… I don’t want our eight years to just be… gone.”

I looked down at him, my mind flashing back to all the nights I’d lain awake with a vague, gnawing anxiety. The times I’d cautiously asked about his relationship with Sloane.

He would always sigh, his tone weary and impatient. “Don’t be so emotional, Mara. You need to be more mature.”

So I gave him his own words back.

“Ben, you should be more mature.”

I watched the shock register on his face. “Don’t be so emotional,” I continued. “Can your world really not function without me?”

He opened his mouth, desperate to argue.

I didn’t give him the chance.

“Because mine has to.”

His entire body went still.

I looked at him one last time, then closed the door.

The lock clicked, sealing two worlds apart.