Parting Under the Moonlit River

“Nora!” Adrian snapped.

She straightened her neck. “Hit a nerve? You’re angry because I told the truth?

I never tried to break you two up. You were the one who chased me, saying it was love at first sight. Turns out you’re a liar!”

She had been spoiled since childhood, never one to tolerate injustice. She slapped the divorce papers down in front of him.

“Since your true love is back, I won’t cling to you. I’m setting you free — sign!”

Adrian frowned. “Nora, stop being unreasonable.”

He still wouldn’t admit it.

Her heart went cold. “My husband cannot lie to me — I must be his first priority. Mr. Cole, you’re done.”

She regretted wasting three years staying in Brookdale for a man unworthy of her love.

“Where will you stay after the divorce?” Adrian asked, still trying to control her. “Nora, you only have me in this world. As long as you love me, I won’t abandon you.

Vivian is just another woman. She won’t disturb us.”

Nora laughed outright at his shamelessness.

He never really knew her. When he found her on the street, she had just been robbed and hadn’t eaten in over a day, looking like a stray.

He thought she was poor — and she let him think so, playing the good wife.

If not for his sincere pursuit, she would never have stayed in Brookdale.

Many times she had wanted to tell him the truth, but swallowed it for fear of upsetting him.

It turned out his love was never real.

“After the divorce, we’re done. Split the assets however you want — I don’t need the house or the car. Just wire me the cash.”

“And if I refuse to sign?”

“Then I’ll go to your company and cause a scene.”

Adrian, a disciplined veteran working in a defense corporation, knew that Vivian’s actions technically amounted to breaking up a military marriage.

“You should leave yourself some dignity,” he warned. “Before you married me, you had nothing.”

Nora scoffed. “Once I have your signature, I have everything I need.”

He asked for three days to think.

While packing, Nora overheard him on the phone with Vivian:

“Don’t worry. She won’t ruin your reputation.”

Her heart, already full of holes, felt like a sieve now.

Dragging her suitcase, she left for St. Mary’s Medical Center without a word.

Three days later, she flew back to New York City.

It was late, so she didn’t call her father. Instead, she went straight to The Hudson Club for a drink.

Half-drunk, she remembered a man’s hand closing over hers.

She remembered being the one to make the first move.

He was even more muscular than Adrian — easily the best physique she’d seen in years of working as a doctor.

She couldn’t blame herself for losing control.

When she sobered up, she ran.

Moments later, the man stepped out of the shower, holding a red-sandalwood necklace in his hand.

Water dripped from his dark hair. His sharp nose and thin lips curled into a smirk, and his gray-brown eyes gleamed with mystery.

He looked at the empty bed, recalling her breathless cries.

Ethan Blake called his assistant to trace the necklace’s origin.

Back at home, Nora was greeted by a full-blown family party.

“Baby, you didn’t even tell us you were coming! I overslept and couldn’t pick you up,” said Robert Reynolds, her father.

“That’s okay, Dad. Why’s the house so lively?”

Robert winked. “We’ve arranged a social mixer for you. Go freshen up — wait till you see the guy I found.”

Back in her room, she looked at the rows of Hermès, Chanel, and Dior, the Turkish rugs under her feet, the Baccarat chandelier overhead, and the Teuco whirlpool bath.

Home really was better.

Adrian’s salary at the defense firm could only afford a modest apartment, not even in a good school district. She had paid for the renovations with her design commissions.

As for the luxury goods here? He couldn’t afford them even at half price.

She had fallen for him because he had taken care of her when she looked like a stray.

He was handsome — too handsome for her to resist.

What she once thought was a love story now seemed like his twisted fantasy.

“Little sister, why didn’t you tell me you were back?”

Her twin brother Daniel Reynolds knocked and ruffled her hair. “Nora! You’re so skinny! Haven’t been eating well?”

Her nose stung. For five years she had lied to Daniel and her parents, saying she was abroad, when in truth she had stayed in Brookdale working at the hospital.

Daniel hugged her shoulder. “No more suffering. From now on, I’ll make sure you eat and drink well.”

Nora smiled. “Thanks, Daniel.”

“You ready? Let’s go down together?”

“One sec.” She slipped off her wedding ring and tossed it into a drawer.