Chapter 7
He stood by our table, his gaze sharp and searching as he looked between Benjamin and me.
“Benjamin, let me remind you that the divorce isn’t final yet. Dinner like this between you doesn’t look good.”
I knew Chad had misunderstood, and I didn’t want to drag Benjamin’s reputation into this. I opened my mouth to
explain. “You’ve got it wrong. We’re not-
But Benjamin cut me off, speaking slowly and calmly. “There are no paparazzi in Lakewood. Besides, I don’t answer to
anyone about who I have dinner with.”
“Since you know the divorce isn’t final yet, Mr. Wellington, why is it that you’re the only one allowed to cross the line, but
no one else can?”
Chad was silent for a moment. He gave me a look I couldn’t quite read, something complicated flickering in his eyes.
Since we had run into each other anyway. I took the chance to remind him. “The divorce has been stalled because of you.
Just sign the papers so we can finish this.”
He sneered. “Fine. You found yourself a backup pretty fast.”
Back at his hotel, Chad’s mood was still sour. Jessica tried everything to turn him on, but he didn’t respond.
He pushed her away impatiently. “What do you think of Benjamin Cole?”
Jessica looked confused for a moment, but she answered honestly. “Mr. Cole is pretty cold.”
“Cold?” Chad laughed bitterly. “He didn’t seem so cold with my wife.”
He thought back to the restaurant. Benjamin, a man known for his indifference, hadn’t hesitated for a second to step in
and defend Olivia.
As a man, Chad could tell. The way Benjamin looked at her was anything but innocent.
Chad clenched his fists. He couldn’t figure out when Olivia and Benjamin had even crossed paths.
He had been dragging his feet on the divorce on purpose, thinking Olivia was just acting on impulse.
He figured he would give her some time. Eventually she would hit a wall out there and come crawling back to him.
But now, his confidence was slipping. She felt like sand slipping through his fingers.
Then a memory surfaced. One year, he and Olivia had gone to Paris.
On a bridge over the Seine, she had carefully locked a padlock engraved with their names onto the railing.
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After she locked it, she pulled the key from her pocket. ‘Chad, let’s throw the key away. We’ll never unlock this, not for
the rest of our lives
He had never believed a cheap lock could hold a relationship together. But she had looked up at him with stars in her
eyes, talking about hanging a baby pacifier on the lock someday.
His heart softened despite himself. He had played along and tossed the key into the river with her.
Olivia had been special to him once. He had genuinely loved her for a while. But that lock on the Seine hadn’t been able
to hold his heart.
By the second year of their marriage, he had grown restless, chasing one thrill after another.
He remembered one night when she had gotten drunk. She had held his hand, tears in her eyes, and asked him. “Chad
can’t you love just me?”
When that didn’t work, she changed her question. “Chad, can you at least not let me see it?”
Her demands kept getting smaller. The light in her eyes kept fading.
He saw it. He wasn’t blind.
But in his mind, he had married her when the Hayes family was at its lowest, against all the pressure.
He had given her the title of Mrs. Wellington. He had done more than enough for her.
She shouldn’t ask for more. He didn’t have more to give.
But today, seeing her sitting next to another man, Chad suddenly realized something.
He was the one who didn’t want the divorce anymore.
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