Chapter 1I was the lover Nicholas Ashford personally picked—his one and only.
But after all his buddies had married girls from the right families, I could feel maybe he regretted choosing me.
His parents didn't like me and I couldn't get into their conversation, because I didn't grow up with money.
And somehow, all of that became reasons for him to hate me.
That evening, after Nicholas praised another woman in front of me once again, I finally untied the apron I wore every day, redid my makeup and changed into my favorite dress.
I was done sacrificing myself for this fucking marriage.
When I was bringing Nicholas lunch at his office, his buddies were in there too.
The door was slightly ajar and I didn't push it open.
Then, a voice came from inside. "Dude, you've seemed pretty off lately. You and Gabrielle Monroe fighting or something?"
Nicholas was at his desk with a cigarette, flipping through some documents.
When he heard it, he stopped for a second and then shook his head.
"Nah. I just… annoying. I don't know. She hasn't done anything wrong, but I kept getting irritated with her for no reason."
The takeout container in my hands suddenly felt too heavy to hold.
I knew exactly what he meant, even if he wouldn't say it out. When life no longer revolves around love, it’s clear we just don’t fit together anymore—in any way.
Bottom line? He was getting tired of me.
I turned to leave, but Evangeline Cross—Nicholas's childhood sweetheart and his new executive assistant—stepped right in front of me.
I caught that little smirk on her face.
She pushed the door wide open.
"Nicholas! Your wife's here with lunch. God, I'm so jealous. Home-cooked meals every day."
Nicholas got up from his chair. I'm positive he didn't even glance at me, just grabbed the container and set it on his desk.
"You little brat." he told Evangeline. "You've been stealing my lunches this week and you're still complaining."
Evangeline did this cute little shoulder shrug. "Um, excuse me? You said Gabrielle's cooking was the only thing she was good at. You told me to help myself! Now you're giving me grief about it!"
Then she looked right at me with this satisfied expression and sat down in Nicholas's chair, casually eating my food.
My nails dug into my palms until it hurt. Nicholas noticed and gently pried my hands open.
He gave me that same sweet look he always did. No sign of the annoyance I'd just heard in his voice.
"Babe, Evangeline's been having stomach problems. You get it, right?"
I pulled my hand back and didn't say anything.
He grabbed it again, wouldn't let go. Started rubbing my knuckles like he always did, whether I wanted him to or not.
Evangeline finished eating and looked over. "We should go out tonight! It's been forever since we hung out."
Everyone immediately agreed and Nicholas nodded too.
He stood up and handed me the empty container.
"You should head home. Don't wait up."
I should've been pissed. But I felt... nothing. I just turned and headed for the door.
Behind me, Evangeline's voice got all innocent and sweet. "Nick, why don't you invite Gabrielle? She could come hang out with us!"
His voice was flat. "She wouldn't fit in. She'd just sit there awkwardly, and we'd all feel weird about it."
I froze.
I stood there for a long time before I could make my legs work again.
Chapter 2
That night, I didn't wait for Nicholas.
Around midnight, my phone buzzed. His name on the screen, but Evangeline's voice when I answered.
"Hey Gabrielle! Nicholas had way too much to drink. He didn't want to go home no matter how, so I just brought him back to my apartment."
She laughed and explained. "Oh, and don't freak out or anything—I totally kicked him out of my bedroom. He's passed out in my brother's room."
The bedroom was dark, because I hadn't bothered with the lights.
The whole house was dead silent.
Evangeline was clearly waiting for me to respond.
What was this? Some kind of power play?
I wasn't in the mood. "Just put Nicholas on the phone."
Less than three seconds later, his drunk voice came through.
"Hey babe... they kept buying rounds all night. I'm way too fucked up to drive home. Gonna stay here tonight."
There was a hint of resistance in his voice, because I was at home.
"Nicholas, do you do you regret marrying me?"
He made this vague "huh?" sound. I couldn't tell if he'd even heard what I said.
Before I could say it again, I heard him hand the phone back. But he didn't hang up.
Evangeline's voice got all sweet. "Nick, you're being pretty cold to your wife. Aren't you worried about hurting her feelings? She might think we're hooking up or something. I'd hate for you to get me in trouble."
When Nicholas responded, his voice was suddenly clear and not drunk at all. Actually sounded amused.
"Come on. You were supposed to marry me first anyway. She's already jealous of you—what's one more reason?"
There it was.
Before me, Nicholas and Evangeline had been engaged. I only found out after we got married, when one of his buddies mentioned it.
Nicholas had called off the engagement to be with me instead.
Back then, he must have actually loved me.
Funny how three years can flip everything upside down.
Like how he used to love me.
Like how now, he'd rather sleep anywhere but home.
Chapter 3
Nicholas didn't come home until dinnertime the next evening.
Usually, whenever he thought he might have upset me, he'd show up with some kind of apology gift.
Maybe flowers, or those fancy cupcakes I loved from that bakery with the insane wait times.
Tonight though, he walked in empty-handed.
He mumbled some quick "hey" and sat down across from me to eat.
He'd barely took a few bites when he threw down his fork and then went off on me.
"Jesus, this is too salty. Gabrielle, we've been married for three years and you still can't tell if food's seasoned right?"
I had no clue what had him so pissed off.
But apparently I was his punching bag tonight.
Today was the first time I felt like something had really changed between us.
Our housekeeper heard the yelling and came running out of the kitchen.
She looked terrified as she started apologizing.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ashford. Mrs. Monroe wasn't feeling well today, so I cooked dinner."
"Let me take these plates and make you something else right now."
Nicholas looked like something got stuck in his throat.
His face went all weird and uncomfortable.
After a long pause, he just waved his hand.
"Don't worry about it. It's fine."
Even after his little tantrum, Nicholas still wouldn't look at me or say anything.
Despite blaming me for something that wasn't even my fault.
Despite just screaming at me over nothing.
Like that was just normal. Like I should just sit there and take his crap.
I put my fork down with enough noise to make a point.
"Nicholas, do you really hate me?"
His head was down, but it seemed to shake for a second before he looked up.
His expression was unreadable.
"Gabby, why would you even ask that? Look, I got a little loud back there. If I hurt your feelings, I'm sorry."
"But you're home all day anyway. Maybe you could handle stuff like dinner instead of always always bothering Maria."
I stared straight into his eyes, trying to see something there.
"I'm your wife, not your maid. And I sure as hell am not Evangeline's maid. I'm done cooking."
Bingo. The second I said Evangeline's name, his eyes blazed with anger.
He shot up from his chair.
"Our problems have nothing to do with her. Why do you always have to bring Evangeline into everything?"
"You're being completely irrational."
