Husband Dead, Millions in Hand...But Wait—He'd Loved Me a Decade! - Chapter 5: Chapter 5
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My brain blue-screened.
No way. Had to be a programming error. James would never drop the L-word.
Or maybe the tequila shots were messing with my head!
Because James Bennett didn't love me. His heart belonged somewhere else.
In our fifth year of marriage.
I'd reached my limit with his relentless kindness.
He had no clue how it tortured me—being treated with such care while being kept at arm's length.
I needed him to hate me, despise me—anything but this torturous niceness.
So I went scorched-earth—club-hopped all night, practically in some jacked bartender's lap.
My phone blew up with calls I deliberately ignored.
When I finally dragged myself home as the sun was rising, there sat James.
Bags under his eyes, complexion like printer paper, but expression carefully blank.
The calm before the storm.
"Wild night?"
I forced a smirk.
"Epic. These guys were all over me—buying drinks, hanging on my every word. Turns out your money's a total panty-dropper!"
My hollow laughter echoed through our massive living room.
God, I sounded desperate.
James's face tightened almost imperceptibly.
Something deflated inside me.
I click-clacked past him in my stilettos.
"Liv."
He caught my wrist, his eyes intense.
"Those guys are using you. If you're looking for something real, I know people who—"
Something snapped in my chest.
Why couldn't he just be awful to me for once?
"Enough, James!"
"Who do you think you are? You're just my boss! Stay in your lane!"
I glared up like a feral cat backed into a corner, all hiss and no bite.
"Has anyone ever told you how incredibly annoying you are!"
James froze, his eyes going distant like he was replaying an old movie.
"Yes. Someone I loved for many years."
Record scratch. Someone he loved?
"Why marry me instead of her?"
His eyes went glassy as he looked down at me.
"I lost her. She left..."
A twinge of guilt hit me. So she'd passed away.
As James unfolded their story, I glimpsed a past I never knew.
James was the sickly kid. Other boys mocked him for being "girly."
One afternoon, bullies trapped him in the girls' bathroom, trying to strip him down and dress him in girls' clothes.
"Five candy bars says he's secretly a girl!"
"Miss Perfect thinks he's cute. Let's dress him in my sister's clothes and show everyone what a total sissy he is!"
"Get off me! I'm not a girl!"
James clutched his waistband in panic, trying to break through the wall of tormentors.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his collar and yanked him backward.
A figure even smaller than him charged forward.
A few loud thumps later, the bullies scattered.
"Pathetic losers!"
There in that grimy school bathroom stood this wild-haired, dirt-smudged little scrapper—
And to little James, she was an angel with a halo.
No way. Had to be a programming error. James would never drop the L-word.
Or maybe the tequila shots were messing with my head!
Because James Bennett didn't love me. His heart belonged somewhere else.
In our fifth year of marriage.
I'd reached my limit with his relentless kindness.
He had no clue how it tortured me—being treated with such care while being kept at arm's length.
I needed him to hate me, despise me—anything but this torturous niceness.
So I went scorched-earth—club-hopped all night, practically in some jacked bartender's lap.
My phone blew up with calls I deliberately ignored.
When I finally dragged myself home as the sun was rising, there sat James.
Bags under his eyes, complexion like printer paper, but expression carefully blank.
The calm before the storm.
"Wild night?"
I forced a smirk.
"Epic. These guys were all over me—buying drinks, hanging on my every word. Turns out your money's a total panty-dropper!"
My hollow laughter echoed through our massive living room.
God, I sounded desperate.
James's face tightened almost imperceptibly.
Something deflated inside me.
I click-clacked past him in my stilettos.
"Liv."
He caught my wrist, his eyes intense.
"Those guys are using you. If you're looking for something real, I know people who—"
Something snapped in my chest.
Why couldn't he just be awful to me for once?
"Enough, James!"
"Who do you think you are? You're just my boss! Stay in your lane!"
I glared up like a feral cat backed into a corner, all hiss and no bite.
"Has anyone ever told you how incredibly annoying you are!"
James froze, his eyes going distant like he was replaying an old movie.
"Yes. Someone I loved for many years."
Record scratch. Someone he loved?
"Why marry me instead of her?"
His eyes went glassy as he looked down at me.
"I lost her. She left..."
A twinge of guilt hit me. So she'd passed away.
As James unfolded their story, I glimpsed a past I never knew.
James was the sickly kid. Other boys mocked him for being "girly."
One afternoon, bullies trapped him in the girls' bathroom, trying to strip him down and dress him in girls' clothes.
"Five candy bars says he's secretly a girl!"
"Miss Perfect thinks he's cute. Let's dress him in my sister's clothes and show everyone what a total sissy he is!"
"Get off me! I'm not a girl!"
James clutched his waistband in panic, trying to break through the wall of tormentors.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his collar and yanked him backward.
A figure even smaller than him charged forward.
A few loud thumps later, the bullies scattered.
"Pathetic losers!"
There in that grimy school bathroom stood this wild-haired, dirt-smudged little scrapper—
And to little James, she was an angel with a halo.
End of Husband Dead, Millions in Hand...But Wait—He'd Loved Me a Decade! Chapter 5. Continue reading Chapter 6 or return to Husband Dead, Millions in Hand...But Wait—He'd Loved Me a Decade! book page.