I Was The Backup Plan, She Was The Return Chapter 06

I Was The Backup Plan, She Was The Return Chapter 06

Now, five years later, Sloane clenched her teeth, her face twisted with rage.

“You’re treating me like this because of Nora?”

“Are you blind, Julian? You’d turn down someone like me for a woman that ordinary?”

Julian checked his watch, then decided to give Sloane the last thirty seconds of his time she’d ever

get.

“Sloane, you don’t get to judge my wife.”

“Drop the spoiled–princess act. I’ve already handed in my resignation.”

“I don’t want to see you again. Stay out of our lives.”

He stepped into another elevator without looking back.

Sloane was furious. At least everyone was back at work and there was hardly anyone around to

witness her humiliation. If anyone had seen that, she would have fainted from humiliation.

Her phone rang. It was her father, Richard Whitmore.

The moment she answered, he started yelling so loudly she thought her eardrums would burst.

“Sloane Whitmore! What did you do?”

“Do you have any idea how much profit Julian brings in every year?”

“He told us he’s leaving for a competitor because you won’t leave him alone!”

“Now the board’s pressuring me. They’re using this to try to push me out!”

He hung up, leaving her shaking.

A moment later, he sent her a ticket for the next flight out that day.

[Get out of the country now, or I’m canceling every card I pay for!]

Two hours later, Sloane was at the airport, humiliated after coming back so sure she’d win Julian

over.

Her phone kept buzzing. Irritated, she unlocked it.

The office Slack channel she’d yet to leave was flooded with messages.

She scrolled up to Julian’s message at the top, her expression hardening as she read it, then hurled

her phone to the floor, shattering the screen.

Julian had sped home, covering the usual half–hour drive in twenty minutes.

He’d called Nora over and over on the way, but every call went to voicemail.

He opened the front door and stopped.

The place felt empty in a way that had nothing to do with how much was missing.

Even after they were married, Nora had never kept much in the apartment.

Her belongings were neatly tucked away in her bedroom. Even in the bathroom, she kept her/ toiletries off in a corner, separate from his.

That was another reason he’d been afraid to make their marriage public.

He’d asked her to marry him when she was upset and vulnerable, and he’d never stopped worrying about that. Once she’d had time to think, she might resent him for taking advantage.

He’d taken it as a sign that she wanted to keep him at a distance.

Now the apartment was silent.

The goldfish she’d bought, the plants she tended every day, the diffuser she’d taken so long to choose were all gone.

Like Nora herself, they’d brought unexpected warmth to his otherwise dull life.

He was finding it hard to breathe.

The pale yellow scarf still lay alone on the shelf.

It was one of the birthday gifts he’d prepared for Nora and hadn’t yet had a chance to give her.