StarNovelChapter 18
Alistair tailed Elaine and Atticus all the way to the hotel, lurking in the car until Atticus finally drove off.
The second the coast was clear, he bolted inside, catching Elaine by the elevators. While she watched the
numbers creep down, he sweet-talked the receptionist into giving him a room key, then practically sprinted over
just as the doors opened, sliding in right behind her.
Elaine kept her eyes glued to the floor. She was about to bail and wait for the next elevator when-too late-the
doors shut in her face.
"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath as he jabbed the sfloor button.
"What's your endghere, Alistair?" she finally asked.
His face crumpled. He opened his mouth several times but nothing cout. Finally, as they stepped into the
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇthallway, he just blurted it out "I don't want a divorce,exactly?"
She froze mid-step but didn't turn around. After a beat, she kept walking. "I'm done. Three years is too long, and
I'm just... done."
The door to her room beeped as she swiped her card. She was closing it when a hand shot out to block it.
"Son of a-!"
The door slammed against Alistair's hand with a nasty thud. He sucked air through his teeth.Startled, Elaine
yanked it back open.
"What the hell?" she snapped, frowning at him.
But when she looked up, he was actually grinning at her. His hand was turning red, but he looked absolutely
thrilled.
"You still care," he said, looking like he'd just discovered buried treasure. "You wouldn't have opened the door if
you didn't."
Elaine had zero idea how his brain had connected those dots. She took a deep breath. "What do you want from
me, Alistair?"
The silence stretched between them, just their breathing in the empty hallway. Just as she was about to slam the
door in his face again, he wedged his foot in the gap.
"Tellwhat it'll take," he said, his voice raw. "Whatever you want. Whatever | need to do to fix our problems."
This wasn't the Alistair she knew, especially facing her. Not the broken shell he'd becafter Sophia's death,
pushing everyone away, drinking himself to sleep every night.
This Alistair looked... anxious. Like he was standing on a ledge, waiting to hear if she'd talk him down or push
him off.
The person he actually cared about?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Elaine caught herself and immediately shut that thought down.
Yeah right. Days ago he'd told her straight to her face that only two people
mattered, Sophia and Vivian's baby.
Something hardened inside her. She looked up at him, a challenge sparking in her eyes.
"You want to know what it'll take? Get rid of Vivian's baby."
Seeing him flinch, she let out a bitter laugh. "That's what | thought. Goodbye, Alistair."
As she pushed the door closed, he caught it again. "Why are you so care about this kid?"
He'd already promised that once Vivian delivered, he'd send her packing. Wouldn't that mean the baby would
essentially be Elaine's anyway?
"Have you completely blocked out what you promisedwhen we got married?" she asked quietly.
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