Page 44 of Completely Captivated
Aaron tore the envelope open and dumped the papers out.There, in black and white, lay his shredded heart.
Request for nullity of marriage.
He snatched the papers off the ground and jumped into his car, his heart racing faster than his vehicle ever thought about going.With tires squealing and horns blowing as he weaved through traffic, he arrived at The Sweet Spot in record time.His feet carried him into the café, while his eyes searched out his love.
She rounded the corner into the main area from the hallway just as he reached the display case.His heart slammed against his chest, but he couldn’t breathe.His eyes searched her for an answer, but he couldn’t voice the question.Unspoken words had done so much damage to them both already.Divorce.Annulment.
The time for them to talk had arrived—as husband and wife.
“Christa.”The inflection in his voice when he spoke her name sounded like a plea and a prayer.Hope and desperation.Pleasure and pain.
“You shouldn’t be here, Aaron.We have verification the process server has already been to see you.The final papers are being filed as we speak.Don’t make me add a restraining order to the list.”She stood her ground, her shoulders back and her head held high.Had he not been looking for a sign, he would’ve missed the fraction of a second she lost her bravado and showed her brokenness.
“We need to talk, baby.There are so many things I have to tell you, so you’ll understand what happened.Please just hear me out.Then if you still want me to leave, I’ll go.”
“Fine.You have five minutes, so you’d better talk fast.”She turned to the counter and told Allie she wouldn’t be away long.
They slid into his car for privacy, and she looked at her watch.“Tick-tock.”
Speaking quickly, he explained his head injury and subsequent seizure that robbed him of his memory.He urged her to call Logan and verify their conversation, how his best friend could vouch for what happened that night.
She couldn’t hide her concern for his health.Even as hurt as she’d been, she still cared.“How much of your memory have you lost?”
“Everything in the week leading up to the wedding is gone, except one flash I remembered.You, in your wedding dress, walking down the aisle to me.And me, having to forcefully keep myself in place and not run to you.You’re so beautiful, but the way you looked that night was simply amazing.”He reached over and covered her hand with his, sealing the moment between them with his touch.
But his feeling of triumph was short-lived when she snatched her hand away from his.“You remember everything up until the week before the wedding?”
“Yes.”His confirmation was tentative.Unsure.
“You’re telling me you remember everything about us exceptthatweek?”Her voice rose with each word, along with her anger.“Only that one week is missing, yet you still sprang divorce papers on me without talking to me first?You humiliated me in front of your brother and everyone in that office building.You tore my heart out, stomped on it, and killed every hope I ever had for a lifelong love.
“Waking up with no memory of the past few days would freak me out, so I’ll give you that.But if I’d remembered you, and who you were to mebeforethat week, do you know who I would’ve turned to first?You.But that’s not at all what you did.”
“Christa, baby, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t call me ‘baby.’The papers have been filed.I’ve requested a court date as close to the thirty-first day as they can squeeze us in.This conversation is over.Weare over.”
She slammed the door shut behind her, leaving a stunned and speechless Aaron sitting alone in his car.Watching her walk away, unable to stop her.
In that moment, he vowed he wouldn’t give her up without a fight.
And here, buttercups, is where the fun begins.Which man will get the girl?That’s still to be seen.Which one deserves her is the real question.
Delilah
Islidinto the passenger seat of Aaron’s car and flashed a big, toothy grin at his shocked expression.
“Hello, Aaron.Seems you’ve made quite a mess of your marriage already.I must say, I thought you’d make it longer than a few days before the groveling and begging for forgiveness would be necessary.”
“Mrs.Cushing?”His brows furrowed, and his head shook from side to side slowly in his confusion after my interruption.
“Call me Delilah.”
“Did Christa tell you about us?What did she say?Do you think she’ll forgive me?”
Poor boy was grasping at any straw he could find.
“Pay attention, Aaron.That girl in there is like a granddaughter to me, and I protect her fiercely.Make no mistake about it, I will crush anyone who hurts her.You and your brother came very close to being a bug under my boot for two reasons.First and foremost, you hurt Christa.That alone was enough for me to unleash my wrath on you.Secondly, you made me doubt myself.I’ve always had an uncanny ability to read people instantly, and for a while there, I thought I’d lost my touch.
