Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
“Like I haven’t been doing that all along,” she couldn’t help but reply, weariness tugging at every word as the emotional and physical exertion of the day abruptly caught up with her.
“What’s wrong?”
Was he serious with that ridiculous question? The man had the emotional intelligence of a socially awkward gnat. And to think, Fern had once believed she was bad. Compared to her husband, she had the emotional and social aptitude of a promiscuous butterfly.
“Are you ill?” he asked and she rolled her eyes.
“I’m tired. And nauseous. I just want to get these to my room, have a hot shower, and take a nap.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Stop, please,” she said, her voice so dry it cracked. “These frantic questions are going to delude me into thinking you care. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
“I care about you possibly passing out in the living room, yes. I care about potentially having to call an ambulance or doctor to our home and alerting the public that all is not as it should be with our marriage.”
“Oh please, if they should ever find out about my pregnancy, they’ll believe that all is exactly as it should be in our marriage,” she dismissed, quite proud of the scathing note in her voice. She turned her back on him and made her way to her room, acutely aware of him following closely behind her.
He didn’t step more than a foot into her bedroom, leaving her packages right inside the door.
“If you’re sure you’re alright, I’ll leave you to it,” he said, looking keen to beat a hasty retreat.
“Thank you.”
When he didn’t immediately flee, she canted her head and stared up at him inquiringly. She wished he would leave, she was sick of putting up this tough, unconcerned front. She wanted to sink onto her bed and just process the last few minutes. Maybe have a little bit of a sulk and a cry.
So why was he hovering? Why didn’t he just leave?
“I think it’s a good idea to invite Beth and Gideon over for dinner.”
God, so much had changed in the short amount of time since she’d made that suggestion that she now regretted even considering it. Having the other couple here as witnesses to the debacle that was this marriage, just felt sad and depressing now.
Her heart sank at the prospect of getting closer to Beth and Gideon, of befriending them when she knew full well that Cade would be the one to “keep” them in the divorce. It didn’t seem worth the heartache.
Cade was right, it was best to keep things impersonal. And that meant keeping his family at a distance as well. Since she was going to lose them all anyway.
She made a noncommittal noise, not wanting to get into it right now when she was so low on energy.
His piercing eyes narrowed on her face.
“What’s that sound supposed to mean?” he asked and she blinked up at him owlishly.
“It means we’ll see.”
He looked set to challenge her on that but she smothered a yawn and his eyes softened.
“You’re tired. Get some sleep, okay?”
“Soon as you leave,” she said pointedly, her words slurring slightly. She could barely keep her eyes open and she even swayed on her feet as she fought back another yawn.
God, she’d never before tired this easily. The pregnancy was certainly doing a number on her energy levels.
“Right. Shout if you need anything.”
She refrained from responding and after another uncharacteristic hesitation, Cade swiveled on his heel and strode from the room. Fern happily indulged her petty side by slamming the door behind him and then—exhaustion weighing her down—eyed her pile of shopping before shaking her head, and tugging her clothes off.
She needed sleep more urgently than anything else and—feeling half comatose already—she tugged on a Silent Hill T-shirt before crawling beneath the covers of her still unmade bed. She curled up beneath them with an exhausted sigh and tugged the comforter over her head.
She was asleep in seconds.
Cade watched in concern as Fern listlessly poked her way through her salad, picking out croutons and pineapple, which she washed down with thirsty gulps of water, while leaving everything else uneaten.
The past three days, since her shopping trip with Beth, had been strained to say the least. He barely saw her around the apartment as she did her best impression of a ghost once again. She didn’t speak to him unless she needed to and though he knew she was merely trying to respect his decree that they keep things impersonal, it was becoming harder and harder to rationalize that path of action in the face of her misery and obvious loneliness.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for them to have a more civil relationship. Anything was better than seeing her so… so fucking sad. They were out to dinner; at a restaurant she’d mentioned in passing that she’d always wanted to visit. In a desperate ploy to get some kind of reaction from her, he’d secured a booking and surprised her with this dinner tonight.