I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 78

Everyone else had bailed, leaving her as the absolute last resort.

A bitter, suffocating wave of despair rose from her chest, catching in her throat before she forced it violently back down.

"Then go find your uncle. I have things to do. I'm hanging up now."

She ended the call, set the phone down, and let out a long, ragged exhale.

Sitting across from her, Bonnie watched her quietly. She didn't pry or ask questions. Instead, she reached out her little hand and nudged a small packet of sugar packets toward Nora, comforting her in the only way she knew how.

Nora looked at her and managed a soft smile, a genuine warmth spreading through her veins. "I'm okay. Let's eat."

Staring at the disconnected screen, Cassie's little brows twisted into a fierce scowl.

She pouted angrily, jumped off her bed, and stomped downstairs. Martha, the housekeeper, was wiping down the coffee table in the living room and looked up at the heavy footsteps.

"Martha, how many days has it been since Mom came home?" Cassie demanded.

Martha paused. "She's been very tied up with work lately."

"She's so busy! She doesn't even have time to take me to the park. Before, whenever I wanted to go, she'd come with me no matter what."

Cassie looked down at the floor. "I feel like she's changed. Is she really that busy?"

Martha opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. What could she possibly say? That it wasn't her mother who changed, but her father?

She was just the help. Speaking out of turn was crossing a massive line. She forced a polite smile. "Cassie, your mother loves you. If she said no, it's only because she has absolutely no choice."

Cassie mulled it over and decided that made sense.

Her mom loved her more than anyone in the world. Having successfully rationalized the rejection, her face brightened again. She spun around, ran back upstairs, and grabbed her tablet to watch cartoons.

He said he had done a lot for her, and that was undeniably true. He had faked his own death for her, abandoning Nora without a second thought. For five years, he had given her everything she ever wanted without a shred of hesitation.

But he had never actually said the words "I love you" out loud.

She dropped the phone onto the sofa, a sharp, needle-like prick of anxiety festering in her chest.

Finn still harbored feelings for Nora, even if he hadn't realized it yet. This was incredibly dangerous for her.

It was time to accelerate the plan to marry Nora off to someone else.

She snatched her phone back up and texted Sienna. "Sienna, that thing you mentioned about finding a new husband for Nora—when is that happening?"

Sienna replied almost immediately. "What's wrong? Is it an emergency?"