Page 131 of Shadowing You

Gavin’s gaze rose over her head. “Your wife has had enough of being told what to do. She gets to make her own choices.”

She didn’t turn to watch Ethan’s reaction. Instead, she kept her gaze on the man in front of her, knowing what it cost him to disregard Ethan’s wishes.

Her respect for this man—her father-in-law—grew. “Thank you.”

Gavin’s mouth tipped in a tiny smile. He stood and walked toward the windows, looking out at the gray landscape and the gray sky.

Behind her, the fading footsteps told her Ethan was walking away too.

She didn’t know if she and her husband could get back to where they’d once been. She wanted to—more than anything. But she didn’t know.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DW

I got to meet EW and his wife. He married up.

DDW

Didn’t we all?

SW

I think that’s the Wright men’s superpower. Good to know you’re one of us, EW

DW

Mei Lin is almost as attractive as my wife. Way better looking than MW’s.

MW

I’ll tell Leila you said so.

DW

Bro! What happens in the group text stays in the group text.

SW

BTW, their wives are twins. And mine is more beautiful than both of them.

That remark earned thumbs-downs from Derrick and Michael, and a little haha from Daniel.

Ethan added a thumbs-up to the messages that’d come through in the last hour. Someone—Michael, Gavin?—had given the guys his actual phone number, not the burner phone’s, so he wasn’t missing anything.

He was searching for a funny comeback, but nothing felt funny at the moment. He’d married up, no question. It seemed Mei Lin had just figured that out.

Standing at the windows, he stared out at the tarmac and the brown hills beyond. The cold radiating off the glass was fitting, all things considered.

Mei Lin didn’t want to stay with him. After everything—after he’d flown across the world, nearly gotten himself killed, probably lost his job—she didn’t want him.

Gavin was on the phone, probably booking a hotel room for Ethan. Not that his father should pick sides in Ethan’s marriage, but if he’d had to, he should’ve picked Ethan’s.

Just one more betrayal in a lifetime of them. His wife wasn’t loyal. His father wasn’t loyal. And yes, he got Gavin’s point about not forcing Mei Lin to stay with him, but he could’ve made it a little harder for her to leave.

Ethan pressed his forehead to the glass and closed his eyes.

How had this gone so wrong, so fast?