Chapter 17\u2013No Longer Welcome\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17 \u2013 No Longer Welcome\u00a0<\/p>\n
DARIUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
I found Vivienne in the guest bathroom downstairs, fixing her hair in the mirror like nothing had happened. When she saw me in the reflection, she smiled that same sweet smile that I now felt very differently about..\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDarius! Is Sera feeling better? I hope she wasn\u2019t too upset-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d My voice was low. I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, trapping us both in the small space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her smile faltered. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know exactly what I mean.\u201d I crossed my arms over my chest, blocking her path to the door. \u201cHow did you end up in my bed, Vivienne?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked down at her hands, suddenly interested in her nail polish. \u201cI told you, I felt faint during Luna\u2019s lesson. You helped me upstairs to rest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the guest room,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cI took you to the guest room. I specifically remember putting you on the guest bed and leaving you there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew I wasn\u2019t crazy, and quite frankly with her track record, I couldn\u2019t put it past Vivienne to do something so\u00a0<\/p>\n
extreme.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She almost cost me my marriage, a life I\u2019ve spent years building!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I just didn\u2019t understand why she would do something like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d Her voice got smaller, more fragile. \u201cI was so dizzy, I might have gotten confused. I thought you brought me to your room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop lying,\u201d The words came out sharp enough to make her flinch. \u201cYou moved yourself to my bed while I was sleeping. You did it on purpose,\u201d I watched as she wringed her pale fingers, a nervous habit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long moment, she didn\u2019t say anything. When she finally looked up at me, there were tears in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought you water,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cYou looked so tired, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. When I tried to leave, you\u2026 you grabbed my hand. You asked me to stay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My blood went cold. \u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were half asleep. You probably don\u2019t remember.\u201d She stepped closer, her voice getting softer. \u201cYou said you were lonely. That you missed having someone next to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would never say that.\u201d But even as I said it, a tiny doubt crept into my mind. Had I been dreaming? Had I grabbed her hand in foolish delirium?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not stupid, Vivienne.\u201d I shook my head, pushing the doubt away. \u201cI would never sleep with another woman while I\u2019m married. I would never do that to Luna. She needs to respect me as her father.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivienne\u2019s face crumpled. \u201cI know. I know you wouldn\u2019t. That\u2019s not what happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1? No Longer Welcome\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what did happen? The truth this time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a shaky breath. \u201cAfter you put me in the guest room, I took my medication and felt better. I was going to leave, but I wanted to check on you first. You were sleeping so peacefully in your room, and I\u2026 I just wanted to be close to you for a little while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The confession hung in the air between us like a bomb waiting to go\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you climbed into my bed while I was unconscious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t mean to fall asleep. I was just going to lie there for a few minutes.\u201d Tears were streaming down her face now. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Darius. I\u2019m so sorry. I just\u2026 I miss you so much. In whatever time I have left, every moment with you feels precious,\u201d She sobbed, turning away slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have destroyed my marriage.\u201d My voice was shaking with anger and guilt all at once. \u201cMy wife thinks I\u2019m cheating on her because of what you did,\u201d I shook my head, \u201cI\u2019ve told you that we can\u2019t happen anymore, Viv, why would you do something like that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. I know, and I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry isn\u2019t enough.\u201d I stepped back from her, willing myself to look away from her tears. \u201cYou\u2019re going to apologize to Sera. You\u2019re going to tell her exactly what happened, that it was all you. That I never touched you, never encouraged you, never wanted any of this,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face went white. \u201cDarius, please-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to apologize to my wife, or never come back here. Do you understand me?\u201d I managed to keep my voice firm, even though I couldn\u2019t stand the hurt in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had to set boundaries before it was too late.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was helping her with her bucket list, but I will remain the one thing she won\u2019t have.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence stretched between us and I noticed the change in her posture, the confidence slowly diminishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was getting harder to speak to her like this, but it was even harder trying to convince Sera that I wasn\u2019t what she thought I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s my legal wife,\u201d I continued, my voice getting harder. \u201cShe\u2019s the mother of my child. She comes first. She will always come first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m dying\u2026\u201d she whispered, like that gave her the right to do everything she wished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean you aren\u2019t an adult, you have to own up to your faults and take responsibility for your mistakes,\u201d I pushed, \u201cWhich is what that was, a mistake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
More tears, more shaking. She looked so small and broken that a large part of me wanted to comfort her. But I held back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease forgive me,\u201d she said finally, her voice barely audible. \u201cI missed you too much. I know I only have a short time left, and I wanted to cherish every moment I could spend with you. I know it was wrong, but I couldn\u2019t help myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then pull apoples tara th you will me humper le welcome here!\u00a0<\/p>\n
the habet at my with tears in his eyes, but I knew ale would do what I eald\u00a0<\/p>\n
Souls Remember What Matters \u2014 Corey Gibson 17 Chapter 17\u2013No Longer Welcome\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Chapter 17 \u2013 No Longer Welcome\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-day-i-signed-the-papers-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23463\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}