I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 220

Seeing her yield, Finnegan didn't press the issue any further.

Leaning against his car door, he fell silent for a few seconds, as if building up the nerve to drop a much heavier bomb.

Finally, he looked up and asked, attempting to sound entirely casual, "Nora, let me ask you something. What if... what if Finnegan isn't actually dead? What if he was just missing after the plane crash, got rescued by someone, and is still alive out there somewhere? What would you do?"

Nora froze for a second before a dry laugh escaped her lips.

Her eyes remained devoid of any real amusement. "You're joking, Frederick. I've mourned Finnegan for five consecutive years. I engrave his death anniversary into my mind every single year. I know better than anyone that he is truly gone."

"I said, what if." Finnegan's voice grew strained. His Adam's apple bobbed, his volume rising uncontrollably. "What if he was just missing, and simply couldn't come back right away?"

"Impossible," Nora cut him off with a smile, her tone absolute and unyielding.

The immediate rejection slammed into Finnegan's chest, leaving him breathless.

He had tried to use this hypothetical to test her lingering attachment to the past, to see if he still had a place in her heart. But her absolute denial choked back every single word he had planned to say about revealing his true identity.

An irrational fury surged in his chest, completely burning away his composure.

He aggressively stepped toward her, a furious tremor in his voice that even he failed to register. "Nora, with all due respect, his remains were never verified. Why are you so damn sure Finnegan is dead?

Did you want to divorce him all along? Have you already found someone else? Is that why you answered so quickly, without a single shred of hesitation?!"

Nora offered a faint, hollow smile. "What exactly are you trying to say, Frederick? If there is nothing else, I have to go. I have things to do."

"Go do your work, then," Finnegan said. "But don't forget to come home tomorrow."

Nora gave a noncommittal hum and walked away without sparing him a second glance.

Watching her retreating figure, Finnegan felt a sudden sense of euphoric relief.

He knew it. Deep down, Nora hadn't let him go at all.