The Dice Said Divorce, but He Thought I’d Stay Chapter 09

The Dice Said Divorce, but He Thought I’d Stay Chapter 09

After that, Harrison disappeared from my life entirely.

My career took off. I started curating my own exhibitions — small gallery shows, then bigger ones. I found people who cared about the same things I did.

Everything before that felt like it had happened to someone else.

The next time I heard his name, his company had gone under.

People said he’d been battling severe depression for what felt like an eternity and had stopped caring about the business. The empire he’d built — Vance Corporation — had been swallowed whole by his half-brother.

Tabloids caught him looking gaunt and hollowed-out. The photos were everywhere.

Whatever his half-brother hadn’t taken, Harrison gave to Chloe. Even the scraps of a fortune were more than most people would ever see.

Chloe was fine at first. She even got into college.

But once the story of what she’d done came out, things turned on her. Campus forums ripped her apart.

The forged medical records eventually came to light. Harrison was the one who turned her in.

She was sentenced to a lengthy stint behind bars. After that, I stopped keeping track.

Julian scrolled through the articles and photos our friends back in Silverwood had sent over. He scoffed.

The man had the woman Julian would’ve given anything to love – and he’d thrown her away. He deserved every bit of it.

Honestly, Harrison could drop dead tomorrow, and Julian wouldn’t lose sleep.

Then he dropped his head into my lap. “Babe – can we go look at wedding dresses soon?”

He nuzzled his face against my belly. “I’ve got everything booked. All you have to do is show up and look gorgeous.”

I nodded, running my fingers through his hair. A laugh bubbled up before I could stop it.

“Julian, if you loved me all that time… why didn’t you ever tell me?”

He went quiet. Even the restless nuzzling went still.

“Because I didn’t want to hold you back. You were this quiet, easygoing kid – and then one day you announced you were going to a war zone and scared the hell out of all of us.”

“What did you think when I told everyone?”

“Me?” He was quiet for a moment.

“I thought – that’s my Audrey. Bravest person I’ve ever known.”

“You were so set on going that not even your grandfather could talk

you out of it. Who was I to try?”

“I figured it just wasn’t in the cards. That I wasn’t meant to be the one for you.”

“But here you are. You came back. To me.”

He sat up, turned, and pulled me into his arms instead. “I’m the luckiest guy alive.”

Julian pressed his lips to my forehead. I felt his lashes brush against my skin, trembling.

Like I was something precious. Something sacred.

“Audrey, will you marry me?”

He opened his hand. A ring sat in his palm, catching the light like a small fire.

“…You’re ridiculous!”

He’d already proposed just recently — in front of both our grandfathers and all our friends!

He grinned. “I don’t care how many times I’ve asked. It’ll never feel like enough.”

“So — will you?”

“Julian — yes. A thousand times yes.”