He Had Time for Everything but Me Chapter 07

He Had Time for Everything but Me Chapter 07

Vanessa’s expression changed.

“Grant! What do you mean?”

“I’m the one you got a real marriage license with! I’m your wife!”

Grant stopped at the door and looked back at her. His eyes were colder than she’d ever seen them.

“I’m filing for divorce tomorrow.”

Vanessa’s face twisted. “What? Grant, are you out of your mind? We just got married!”

His expression remained cold. “Once I divorce you, Claire will come back.”

“I owe it to her to keep that promise.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Vanessa alone in the empty living room as conflicting emotions flashed across her face.

In a rage, she smashed everything around her.

Grant used every connection he had.

He even hired a private investigator.

But Claire had vanished without a trace. Her company refused to reveal anything, saying only that it involved

confidential business matters.

Just as Grant was about to lose his mind, a package arrived.

Inside was a cashier’s check and an itemized statement.

The statement listed every payment he had ever sent Claire over the years. She had returned every cent.

Beside the check was a note with only two sentences written in Claire’s handwriting.

[Grant, I’m returning everything that was never mine. I hope we never see each other again.]

Grant stared at the note as his hands began to shake.

Memories came flooding back.

He remembered how miserable she had been when her fever wouldn’t break.

He remembered how she’d cried from exhaustion.

He remembered how her eyes had shone whenever she talked about getting married.

He remembered the disappointment on her face every time he stood her up.

Grant swept everything off the table. Glass shattered across the floor.

Then he slapped himself several times.

Without realizing it, he had hurt her again and again.

Looking back now, even he was disgusted by the man he’d been.

When he returned to the house, he cleaned everything up himself.

But not a trace of her scent remained in the air.

He finally understood that someone could disappear from his life without making a sound.

It was almost as if she had never existed.

But she had existed. She had given him all her love and trust, and little by little, he had destroyed every last

bit of both.

Winters in Scandinavia were long.

It got dark by three in the afternoon, and by the time I arrived, it was already late at night.

My supervisor had sent someone to pick me up.

My new place was near the office. It had a small yard with tall, overgrown grass.

Soon after I moved in, my neighbor came over for a friendly chat.

Before she left, she reminded me to cut the grass or I might be fined. She offered to lend me her lawn mower

the next day.

I spent my first winter in Scandinavia working every day.

Work was the best medicine.

Between my demanding schedule and my neighbor’s warmth, I soon forgot the pain of my past.

The Scandinavian branch was small.

It was still little more than a studio, managed with the help of an interim team lead.

The staff lacked discipline and only worked hard in fits and starts.

I took over as head of the Scandinavian branch.

I dissolved the existing team, rented a new office, and threw myself into rebuilding the operation.

I worked so much that winter was over before I knew it.

Scandinavian winters were long, and I didn’t realize the season had changed until the air gradually grew

warmer.

By then, the company had already begun expanding.

Grant still hadn’t found me.

His law firm, though, had begun running into trouble.

The fallout from clearing six months’ worth of meetings from his calendar for the honeymoon had finally

caught up with him. Several major clients left one after another, and unease spread through the firm.

Vanessa changed too.

She was no longer sweet or playful with him.

Instead, she constantly demanded money, designer bags, and jewelry. She told him that if he wanted a

divorce, he had to do whatever she said.

Grant gave in several times.

Eventually, he stopped.