No wonder someone like Oksana was so enamored with him. It was hard not to be when he was like this. Even when he was being an asshole, I still found him charming and irresistible. Like now, for example. I had a hard time looking away as he smiled and refilled champagne glasses. The whole thing was surreal.
My chest felt tight. I didn’t even bother to excuse myself. I unbuckled my seatbelt and headed to the back of the plane, where there was a private bedroom. Thankfully it was empty.
Curling up on the bed, I closed my eyes and let out a sob. The weight of everything I’d been through that day was crashing down around me as I thought about my father, weak and scared in his hospital bed, and Michelle, who was probably at his side, and how much I wanted to be there with them right now.
This flight couldn’t go fast enough.
Just as I thought I had finally run out of tears, I heard the door open. Immediately, I rolled onto my side and raised my hands to cover my face. Whoever had stumbled into the bedroom didn’t need to know I was back here, crying by myself.
I waited for them to leave, but when I heard the door close, it was followed by the sound of footsteps coming toward the bed. And then I smelled Stefan’s familiar cologne.
I didn’t understand what he was doing until the bed shifted under his weight. I felt him lie down behind me, his arms coming around to spoon me. He was warm and strong, his body strong and reassuring as it pressed up against mine.
Unable to help myself, I let out another shuddering sob. It felt so good to be held, and when I turned in Stefan’s arms, he looked into my eyes and gently pulled the hair out of my face.
“It will be okay,” he said. “We’ll be there soon.”
As I let the tears flow, he stroked my hair and my back, his voice soft and gentle, assuring me that everything was going to be fine.
“Your father is a strong man,” he said. “He will recover.”
I clutched his shirt, not caring that I might be wrinkling it. Stefan didn’t seem to care either, gathering me tighter against his chest as he soothed me. For the first time since we had gotten married, I felt cared for. I felt supported. I feltseen.
I cried until I didn’t have any more tears left, Stefan holding me the entire time. As I drifted off to sleep in his arms, completely drained but feeling somehow lighter, I wondered if my heartless husband was really as heartless as he seemed.
