Separated Rooms for Three Years, He Panicked After I Moved Out Chapter 24

Separated Rooms for Three Years, He Panicked After I Moved Out Chapter 24

The next morning, I was woken by the doorbell.

Half-asleep, I glanced at my phone. It was only seven o’clock.

I threw on a robe and went to open the door.

The moment it swung open, I froze.

Briar was standing on my doorstep.

He wore a wrinkled white shirt, no jacket, the top two buttons undone.

His hair was a mess, a shadow of stubble darkened his jaw, and there were deep, bruised circles under his eyes.

He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

When he saw me, his lips moved. His voice was so hoarse I could barely hear it.

“Marceline.”

My first instinct was to slam the door in his face, but he shot out a hand to block it.

“Wait.”

“What are you doing?” I frowned. “If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”

“Just give me five minutes. I’ll say what I have to say, and then I’ll go.”

His hand was braced against the doorframe, his knuckles white.

“I know I have no right to be here. I know I treated you horribly for three years. And I know that no matter what I say, you have no reason to believe me.”

“But, Marceline, I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“After I married Chloe, I realized… all I could think about was you.”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Briar, how long have you been married to Chloe? A month? Two? And now you’re telling me I’m the one on your mind?”

“Do you even believe that yourself?”

“I know you don’t,” he said quietly. “But it’s the truth.”

“When I’m with her, I can’t stop comparing her to you.”

“She doesn’t know how to organize the closets, and all I can think about is how you arranged my shirts by color.”

“She goes to bed at eleven, and no one leaves a light on for me. When I come home, the house is just… dark.”

“It’s only now that I understand. Everything you did for me in those three years… I was never entitled to any of it.”