AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know this looks like something awful,” Shane started to explain. “But this is what I meant when I told you I was feeling stressed.”
“I thought you would take some yoga or go fishing like a normal person, not sleep with someone else!” I blinked and the tears fell, racing silently down my cheeks. I fought back the sob that wanted to follow. I couldn’t let that free. It was as if the moment I did, this would be too real.
“I’m not that kind of man, you know that” Shane scoffed. “A man needs attention; a man needs care.”
“I don’t give you that?” Did the years of my life I had given to him mean nothing? He lived here rent-free. I did his laundry, cooked his food, sent off job applications for him, bought him beer and anything else he needed because I was a good girlfriend and I enjoyed taking care of people.
And yet as I stood there, it clicked in my mind that all of that just wasn’t good enough. Being the best I could be didn’t matter because Shane didn’t care.
My care hadn’t been good enough to save my mother, and now it wasn’t even good enough to keep my boyfriend.
Had it not been for the numbness, I surely would have crumpled right there and then.
“I’m sorry,” piped up the woman as she peeked around Shane’s body. “I didn’t know.”
Strangely, I didn’t blame her. In fact, I felt sorry for her, being caught up in a situation like this. So, I smiled at her, but before I could say anything, the doorbell rang shrilly through the house and I jumped. It dragged me effectively back to reality and I clutched briefly at the hem of my t-shirt.
“You should probably go,” I said to her, then my teary gaze slid back to Shane. “You should, too.”
“Wait, Scarlett, hold on?—.”
I left Shane and his excuses in the bedroom and slowly headed back downstairs. Nothing sobered you up faster than having your heart broken. The lack of feeling in my chest was the only thing holding a tidal wave at bay. Reaching the downstairs hallway, Shane’s footsteps thundered down after me, and he skidded to a stop between me and the front door.
“I’m not leaving,” he said, haphazardly pulling on a t-shirt. “We should talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I replied slowly. “We’re over, Shane. I’m a lot of things, I know that, but I’m not going to ignore what’s right in front of my face.”
Before he could reply, I brushed past him and unlatched the door.
On the doorstep stood a tall man in a black business suit, with a blue satin tie around his neck and a sleek, black leather briefcase in one hand. Upon noticing me, a polite smile slid onto his face, and his head tilted slightly.
“Miss Scarlett Parker?”
“Yes?” I nodded and gripped the door tightly. At this time of night, a man in a suit turning up was incredibly unlikely in a town as small as this. The man smiled wider and reached into his jacket lapel, pulling out a sleek card that he offered to me.
“I’m Matt Robson from Anders and Co. Lawyers, based in New York. Can I come in?”
“A lawyer?” I accepted the card and slowly turned it over in my hand. The gold detailing etched into the thick card matched everything he had said, and for a moment, the Graphic Designer in me was in awe.
“Yes,” Matt continued. “I need to talk to you concerning the passing of your father, Francis Ashbluff.”
2
SCARLETT
“Idon’t have a father. It’s just me. Before that, it was just me and my mom.”
My grip tightened on the door, a tremble moving down my spine. This had to be some sort of joke, right? Some kind of prank dreamed up by someone like… well, the only person I knew that would do such a thing was Shane, and he was lingering by my elbow.
“I think it would be better if I came inside and explained.” The smile on Matt’s face didn’t waver but his brows raised slightly, trying to encourage me to agree.
Whether this was a joke, it was the perfect excuse to get Shane away from me and give me time to think.
“Yes, yes of course.” Forcing a smile, I opened the door further and stepped aside to let Matt pass. As he crossed the threshold, my eye snapped to Shane.
“Get out.”
“Scarlett, listen. Don’t be so fucking hasty. See, you always do this. You jump to conclusions and act like you do nothing wrong but we both know that’s not the case.”
