Page 75 of What Happens This Christmas
That’s just great.
I was never going to be the same, and Candy thoughtthiswas for the best.
I crumbled up the paper into a ball, treating it like the piece of garbage that it was. It was the only option. There was no way I’d read it over and over again until the pain subsided, and I could actually come around to her way of thinking. It wasn’t forthe best. It wasn’t positive in any way. It was a horrible, tragic thing that would change the course of our lives. That wasn’t even dramatic, those were the hard facts, the nasty, indisputable truth.
Just as was the fact that I wasn’t going to fight her on this as much as every particle in my body told me to.
I wanted to text her, to call her, to go to every damn hotel in the city and search for her. But when I found her, I hadn’t a clue what I’d say.
It would have been selfish of me to go against her wishes. It was clear that this was what she wanted, and while I didn’t think it was for the best, it was how she felt. This marriage had obviously been painful for her, and if she wanted out, I’d let her out. It shouldn’t have been a prison sentence. I never wanted that for her. A life filled with happiness, joy, and laughter—those were all of the things I wanted for her.
So, that was that.
I placed the rings on her nightstand next to our framed wedding photo and the vows I’d recited to Candy on our wedding day and tossed the note in the garbage.
“I vow to be there for you, now and forever. When you’re happy, I want to share in that happiness. When you’re mad, I want to fight those demons with you. When you’re sad, I want to kiss away your tears. Through it all, thick and thin, I’ll be there for you to lean on, to be your punching bag, to be your shoulder to cry on. You’re everything to me, and I’d do anything to make you happy.”
Chapter 35
Like the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy
CANDY
“Want some chocolate?” Eloise asked me, her voice muffled as her head was buried in the minibar.
“No.” I might’ve been partial to one of those small bottles of vodka had she asked. If only drinking away my problems could’ve helped.
Finally, Eloise’s head came back out and she jiggled a bag of gourmet nuts in the air. “Well, I never say no to nuts, so if you want some, just say the word.” She poured a few in her hand and fished through them, obviously on the hunt for certain ones first. Not that it should have surprised me. Eloise had always been that way. Growing up, she’d eaten her food the same way. Favorites first, then the rest was whatever.
Even so, I shook my head. “I don’t have an appetite, but thanks.” So what if I wasn’t really hungry? I wasn’t really much of anything. Except sad. So, I turned to what I did best after shopping, which was fussing. Unpacking my suitcase gave me every bit of the distraction I desperately needed. Soon all my clothes would be on hangers in the closet, then I’d attack the bathroom and my toiletries.
Eloise followed me to the closet. “Wowza! You’re making yourself at home. All I’ve done so far is order room service and scour the minibar for a snack while we wait. On that note, Iordered something for you, so you best get your appetite going. You need to keep nourished, Cici.” She waved a finger in the air at me, like she was disappointed in me. Who was the big sister here?
Setting my camel cashmere sweater next to my black tailored trousers, I was satisfied that my suitcase was officially empty. “Do you want me to unpack for you?” Whenever we had gone anywhere, I had always unpacked for Nick too, so it wasn’t like I wasn’t used to doing a little additional work after my own.
Eloise shook her head and swiped her hands, letting her nut…dust fall to the plush burgundy carpet. “Thank you, but no.” Then she dropped her hands on my shoulders and steered me toward our bed.
Our king-sized bed. Yes,ourbed, as inonebed. One bed, two sinks, one desk, one terrace. At least there was a respectable closet. It was Christmas Eve, after all, so I’d taken what they had. Apparently even throwing cash at the clerk couldn’t get us two beds. Or a simple cot. Not that I thought a cot was an acceptable place for anyone to sleep, but that wasn’t the point.
Sinking into the soft mattress, I placed my hands atop it. “Why are we sitting down?” I asked finally, curious why she all but pushed me to sit. My feet didn’t hurt, so it made no sense.
“You’re making me dizzy with all of your back and forth. It’s exhausting, really. Plus, I just want to talk. Can we do that, please?”
We weren’t the just-talk type. “Fine. Talk.”
“I’d rather you talk about what’s going on with you and Nick and why the ugly D word has been thrown around.” She cocked a brow and waited.
Divorce?People blew things way out of proportion. It was perfectly acceptable for a couple to no longer want to be together. It was an option for a reason. It wasn’t as though we were acting in illegal ways. He wanted a divorce. We weregetting a divorce. Big deal. It was there for the same reason emancipation existed for children—as a way to get out of a situation someone no longer wanted to be in. Simple as that. Nothing else to it.Try convincing yourself some more.“How did you—”
Getting up, Eloise walked back to the minibar. “If room service doesn’t come soon, I might just die. No, never mind. I most definitely will keel over and die, nomightabout it. They’ll have to deal with my corpse, otherwise it’ll smell and ruin their reputation as a five-star hotel.”And the award for best actress goes to my sister, Eloise.She reached in and pulled out a bottle of water. “Anyway, how stupid do you think I am?” She tapped on the side of her head. “I’m extremely intuitive, you know?”
I hadn’t…
Then she barked out an intense laugh. “Just kidding. I’m not intuitive at all, but I am your sister.” She paused, growing serious, her brows coming together in the middle of her forehead. “And it was pretty obvious. I’ve known the whole time, Cici.”
I grew even more still and silent at her words, my nerves suddenly on high alert. If Eloise knew, who else knew? Did the other women know? How obvious had we been?
After drinking half the bottle in record time, probably dehydrated from the salty nuts, she sat back down and took my hands in hers. Hands that were suddenly clammy, thanks to her declaration. “Relax. I doubt anyone else picked up on it.”
