lmer, where are you even going?” Niamh asked, puzzled.
“To get something to eat, of course!” Elmer replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“You need to cross city lines just for a meal?”
“How could that be…”
Elmer shook his head.
Niamh had just started to relax when Elmer added, “It’s out of the country.”
“…What?!”
Niamh stared at him, stunned.
Elmer just glanced at her with a little smile and didn’t bother to explain further.
Typical Niamh–she still hadn’t remembered what day it was.
The white Lexus sped smoothly down the highway, the world outside rushing past
in a blur.
Above them, the sun slowly slid from blazing noon to a golden, melting dusk.
Niamh drifted off to sleep in the passenger seat.
When she woke, the last light was slipping below the horizon, and Elmer was still
driving.
“How long have you been at this?”
“Six hours, maybe?”
“Let me take over. You’re going to fall asleep at the wheel at this rate.”
“No need. Go back to sleep. I took a break at a rest stop earlier.”
Niamh hadn’t realized she’d slept that long–she’d thought she’d only been out for ten, maybe twenty minutes. Maybe she’d been extra tired lately, or maybe it was just that Elmer’s presence made her feel safe.
She couldn’t help but smile, biting back a laugh.
“What’s got you so happy all of a sudden?” Elmer asked, curious.
“Oh, nothing.” She looked over at him, honest and unguarded. “Just thinking… it’s
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really nice having you around.”
“Mmm.” Elmer nodded, as if he agreed completely. “I think I’m pretty great myself.”
Niamh laughed again.
Elmer knew she didn’t mean anything flirtatious; he didn’t read more into it than she intended.
“We’re here…”
They took the exit, and only then did Niamh realize-
Elmer had brought her to Coralis.
Out of the corner of his eye, Elmer caught Niamh’s expression shift from beaming to tense. He frowned slightly but didn’t press her about it.
He trusted that if she wanted to talk, she would.
Nimbus Summit–perched atop the 126th floor of Isabelline Tower.
It was nestled inside the Lunaria Island Resort, currently the highest restaurant in the world, offering breathtaking views over all of Coralis and the sparkling waters of Sunset Cove Marina.
Niamh changed into the evening gown Elmer had picked out for her–a striking, luxurious red, elegant and bold, hugging her curves and flaring into a mermaid tail at the hem.
It was obvious Elmer had planned this. He even presented her with matching ruby jewelry to complete the look.
It wasn’t until Elmer handed her the formalwear that Niamh finally glanced at her phone-
February 14th.
Valentine’s Day.
“The holiday you always forget,” Elmer teased.
Niamh remembered how,,back when she was a housewife, she’d always lose track of Valentine’s Day. There was just too much to do–another load of laundry, another meal to cook–and the days blurred together. Holidays, especially Valentine’s, just faded into the background.
People always assumed running a household was easy, a breeze. But it was always the people who never lifted a finger who thought that.
Chapter 376
She laughed at herself, a little bitterly.
Well, at least she was divorced now.
She didn’t want to waste the effort Elmer had put into her outfit, so she borrowed a curling iron and styled her long hair into soft, dramatic waves.
With the high–end red gown and those dazzling rubies, she looked like a queen–commanding, radiant, impossible to ignore. Heads turned as she walked
- by.
Nimbus Summit was Coralis’s most exclusive restaurant, a haunt of the rich and powerful.
Walking in on Elmer’s arm, Niamh felt a flicker of nerves. She was afraid she’d run into someone she knew.
She really didn’t want to see them.
And yet, of course, she did run into someone familiar.
Just not the people she’d expected.
It was Jonathan.
