Game Over, Mr. CEO: Your Wife Is Done (Winter and Chris) novel Chapter 215

Roy stood outside the door, the brim of his black baseball cap pulled low.

But he was so much taller than Winter that all he had to do was lower his eyes to take in her face, especially those eyes of hers that were usually bright and beautiful, but now red–rimmed and swollen.

He pulled out his phone and typed, “I was passing by. Saw the lights on and came up to check on you.”

So that was it.

The TV in the living room was still playing the New Year’s Eve special. After dinner, William had the dining room cleaned up and even had people come in to put up holiday decorations.

There were bright holiday decorations everywhere, and the whole place looked cheerful and festive, full of New Year’s spirit.

And yet the whole place still felt heavy and empty, without the slightest real sense of celebration.

The laughter from the TV audience only made the silence in the house feel worse. It made the place seem even more deserted.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Winter’s face. Her eyes were red, but she forced a smile and reached back to touch the nape of her neck. “I’m rich, remember? It doesn’t matter where I spend New Year’s. It’s all the same anyway.‘

But her damp eyes still shimmered faintly, and even through the fuzzy pocket of her pajamas, he could see that the hand tucked inside was clenched into a fist and trembling.

“Want to go out?” Roy held the phone out in front of her.

Winter froze slightly when she read those words. Then she looked up at Roy’s deep brown eyes and nodded.

Roy had no family. He had always lived alone and spent New Year’s by himself. When you thought about it, he had it even worse than she did.

By the time she came back out after changing clothes, Roy was still standing outside the door. She had invited him in to sit down, but he had refused to come inside.

He really was stubborn.

She stepped into the entryway and put on her winter boots. Just as she was about to head out, Roy suddenly reached up, took down an off–white scarf from the hook by the door, and handed it to her.

Warmth stirred in Winter’s chest. She reached out and took it. “Thank you.

After they went downstairs, Winter got into Roy’s SUV and sent William a text.

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She had no idea where Roy was taking her, but for some reason, she felt unexpectedly at ease.

The sight of the sparklers reminded Winter of New Year’s Eve when she was fifteen. Steve had made her mad, and for some reason, he had gone out and bought a huge bundle of sparklers to apologize.

The childlike part of her that she had buried deep inside was suddenly tugged back to the surface by the sight of them.

But with a sparkler in hand, she realized she had nothing to light it with.

Just as she was about to run off to find Mr. White, she turned around and saw Chris leaning under the covered walkway, smoking. His dark eyes seemed to rest on her as if by chance.

The string lights overhead swayed in the wind, softly tapping against each other.

The sound matched the wild, uneven beat of her heart.

“Chris, do you have a lighter?”

She hurried over to him. In the warm glow above them, no one could tell whether her face was flushed from blushing or just tinted by the lights.

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