AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brenna noticed it the moment her foot hit the marble floor in her foyer. The air floated around her with a lightness that hadn’t been present when she’d left for work that morning. Arrogance and bullshit no longer permeated every inch of the space. The house smelled fresher, cleaner, and more like the way it had ten months ago before she’d invited her new fiancé to move in.
The place was hers and hers alone, as she should have left it all along.
“Oliver?” she called out as she set the mail on the small wooden table near the entrance. Might as well be certain.
When the empty house didn’t reply, she smiled. Months of weight, stress, and worry lifted off her shoulders and evaporated into the ether. Her low heels clicked as she walked across the tile, down the hall, and into the kitchen.
Only silence greeted her.
Hell yes.
Her lips twitched into a grin, which spread across her face until it reached a full-blown smile. She snaked an arm behind her back and under her cream-colored blouse until her fingers connected with her bra clasp. A quick flick of her wrist followed by some wriggling had the oppressive garment off. After pulling it from her shirt sleeve, she dropped it on the kitchen counter. Then she toed off her shoes, leaving them on the kitchen floor as she padded barefoot to the refrigerator.
Of course, she’d put it all away later, but it could stay there for a few hours. No one would complain about the less-than-perfect state of the house. The guys wouldn’t stop by without being invited and crash her restful evening by hanging out with Oliver and spewing their snobbery, judgment, and misogynistic stories all over her home.
God, she hated the guys.
They were a bunch of pretentious pricks who never had a nice thing to say about another human being outside their exclusive circle. Their wives and girlfriends were even worse—unhappy women who only smiled because they paid to have their facial muscles frozen that way. They wouldn’t be caught dead without designer labels and flashy cars—the kind to attract attention, gossip, and jealousy.
None of them were evil people per se, but they just weren’t her people. By the time she realized it, she was engaged to one of them and waking up unhappy every day.
Oliver came into her life when she’d hit a low point. As an estate lawyer, he’d been integral in sorting out the messy details following her parents’ untimely death in an automobile accident. Over time, their relationship drifted from professional to personal to sexual. For a time, she thought she’d found the love of her life. He’d been sweet, attentive, available, and a little dazzling with his fancy tastes and luxurious way of living. It wasn’t until they’d lived together for a month or so that she realized his enjoyment of the finer things in life was a mere facet of his intolerance, arrogance, and constant criticism.
Brenna was a simple girl—a beer and bonfire while wearing cutoffs and flip-flops kind of girl—whereas Oliver wore alligator shoes and Rolex watches with a side of beluga caviar. They could have made it work if both had respected their differences and supported each other’s interests, but Oliver didn’t take that route. He looked down on her choices and budget-friendly life with scorn and contempt. Before long, his disapproval turned vocal and frequent. At times, it felt like she couldn’t do anything right in his eyes, so she started to doubt herself and take on some of his interests.
It took him suggesting—more like demanding and her actually considering—that she sell the home she’d inherited from her parents and use the money to buy them a swanky one-bedroom condo on the beach before she realized they’d never work long-term.
Not only had she grown up in this house and only lost her parents two years ago, but she had put her blood, sweat, and tears into making the house her own. This home was her pride and joy as an interior designer, and she would never sell it.
Something Oliver knew, and she thought he’d understood.
He wasn’t a bad man, but they were terrible for each other. He needed someone who loved luxury and excess, while she needed someone more chill. Sadly, they’d let the relationship drag on so long that she only felt relief now that their engagement had ended. Oliver hadn’t been happy about the split, which surprised her considering his constant censure, and he’d let her know it with more shouting than she’d ever experienced. Little did he know, he only fortified her decision to break the engagement.
He’d understand in time. Once he found someone better suited to him and his lifestyle, he’d realize she was right to break it off.
“He’s gone. Time to stop thinking about him,” she said aloud as she grabbed one of her favorite IPAs from the refrigerator. After popping the top with a bottle opener magnet on her refrigerator, she snagged the salsa, then her favorite lime-flavored tortilla chips.
She set her unhealthy yet perfect dinner on the coffee table in front of the couch as she sat. “Ahh.” She closed her eyes and let her head rest against the back of the sofa. “Peace and quiet.” And there was a new episode of her favorite reality dating show coming on. Typically, she had to squeeze in time to watch it whenever Oliver wasn’t home.
Not anymore.
“I can do what I want,” she sang to a made-up melody as she opened the small drawer where she kept the remote. Instead of finding the little black remote that controlled her television, she saw a thick manila envelope with today’s date in Oliver’s handwriting.
Her stomach sank.
Damn, she did not want to have to call him already. He’d finally finished clearing out his belongings that morning, and all she wanted to do was revel in her solitude. But his job was important, and she knew firsthand how time-sensitive his cases could be. She couldn’t live with herself if someone suffered because she refused to tell him about the envelope.
With a frustrated groan, she lifted the envelope from the drawer. It was much heavier and thicker than she’d have expected. Frowning, she noticed he’d sealed it. Brenna wasn’t enough of a vindictive bitch to open it and snoop. His clients were his business. Hell, his whole life was his business now. All she had to do was let him know about it, and her involvement ended there.
She pulled out her phone. A text would suffice.
Brenna: Found an envelope in the coffee table drawer. Looks important. I’ll put it in the mailbox tomorrow a.m. for you to grab.
There. That was perfect. She didn’t have to talk to or see him when he came to retrieve the packet. And just in case he tried to stop by around the time she usually left for work, she’d take off a few minutes early.
The phone immediately rang, drawing a long groan from her.
She couldn’t ignore it. She’d only sent the text ten seconds ago, so he clearly knew she had her phone on her.
