04

It's 4 pm when I leave Jesse's place so I decide to go grocery shopping before heading home.

I make a list of what I need on my phone before heading into the supermarket. I'm walking through the aisles looking for the necessities when I suddenly bump into someone absentmindedly. I feel so bad when I realise that the woman is pregnant.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" I exclaim in worry.

Oh god. I just hope I didn't hit her too her hard.

She hisses as she holds her abdomen in pain for a moment and I feel myself begin to panic. Suddenly, she looks up at me with a sharp smile and her fingers pointed at me. "Gotcha."

Can I just say, that shit was not funny at all. I damn near had a heart attack thinking I had killed somebody's unborn child.

I laugh dryly at her."Haha. Nice one."

Looking at her face more closely, I realise that I recognise her. It seems she does too.

"Sandy?" Lorraine asks in surprise.

Oh shit. Of all the people to bump into it just had to be Lorraine fucking Samuels. Just my luck. It seems like none of the people I knew in high school have left this fucking town. Everywhere I look I just have to see someone that I knew. And in this case someone that I wasn't especially fond of.

Lorraine was Henry's flavor of many weeks before I moved to Atlanta from Carlifonia, and when Henry and I first started dating she disliked me. As time passed, it turned into full blown hatred and she always tried everything in her will power to break us up. Little did she know that Henry would do it well enough all by himself.

My only confusion right now is why she is smiling so brightly at me with her white as fuck teeth. I'm sure she can see the way my brows are furrowed in confusion because she tones it down a bit.

"I can't belive we are meeting again." She says as she pulls me into a hug. An awkward one, might I add.

"It's nice to see you, Lorraine." I lie. What I really want to say is: it's not nice to see you again, Lorraine. The last time we had an encounter, you were telling me of all the dirty things you would do with my husband once you've been able to break us up so forgive me for not being ecstatic at the sight of your suddenly overly preppy self.

I decide to just keep that to myself.

"It's even better to see you, Sandy. I've wanted to contact you for a while and talk to you but I haven't been able to bring myself to." She says as shame washes over her face. "I'm really sorry for everything, Sandy. Sincerely. I was an absolute bitch to you and I would really like for you to forgive me someday and maybe for us to even become friends."

To say I am shocked right now would be an understatement.

You know that Queen Bee in high school who goes around instilling terror in people's hearts while being effortlessly beautiful? The kind that the other girls hated cause they secretly wanted to be her and all the guys wanted to do her and in her eyes she could never do wrong. That was Lorraine in high school. Stuck up and self absorbed. So her apologising to me now is very surprising. I guess people do change afterall.

"I forgive you, Lorraine. And thank you for that apology. It means a lot." I reassured her as I hold her hand tightly in mine.

She looks so relieve before she gives me a smile that can light up a fucking Christmas tree. Seeing her this animated is strange compared to the mean Lorraine who I always knew, but I like the change.

"Can we go out for lunch sometime? My treat." She asks looking at me expectantly.

"Free food? Heck yeah." I answer as she chuckles.

We then exchange numbers before she says she has to go. After a brief hug, she leaves and I'm left staring at her trail still slightly stunned by the change.

Shaking my head, I go back to searching for what I need before going to the line. There I see this guy standing at the counter, in front of the attendant. I had unintentionally drawn closer to him so when he turned around to leave he didn't know that I was so close behind and he hit me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He apologises as he bends down to pick the few stuff that had fallen out, dropping them back into my cart carefully.

"It's my fault. I should have given you space." I counter shaking my head.

He looks at me and I find myself staring into his face briefly mesmerised. He has the palest skin that looks like porcelain. His face is so beautiful and that is not a word to be associated with a man but in this case it should be.

"Your eyes." He says to me, staring into my dark green orbs. "Are so beautiful."

I feel myself blush at the compliment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, beautiful."

Okayyy, I mentally say to myself.

I just give him a shy smile as he moves away from the counter to let me pay. After doing so, I leave the supermarket, my bags in hand.

As I am about to open my car, the same guy from earlier pops out.

I feel myself jolt in shock before putting my hand on my chest. "You startled me."

"My apologies." He says with a smile that displays rows of perfectly white teeth. "I just wanted to help you with that."

I'm grateful because I needed the help after I ended up buying more than I needed which in turn led to me having one too many bags. He takes some and I look through my purse for my car key. I find it and open the trunk. The guy puts the bags in his hand in as I do the same before closing the trunk.

"Thank you..." I trail off waiting for his name.

"Ryan." He extends his hand for a handshake.

"Thank you, Ryan. I'm Sandy." I say putting my hands in it.

No spark. Nothing.

"Can I get your number, Sandy?" He asks with a small nervous smile as he scratches the back of his head.

I'm momentarily surprised at his straightforwardness. "What?"

"It's just, I just moved into town and I could do with some friends." He explains but I still remain quiet, watching him. "I'm not trying to come onto you or anything. I'm gay." He sputters out.

I blink in surprise as I study him. He didn't look the least bit gay to me.

Is it supposed to be written on his head, stupid? I think with a mental roll of my eyes.

I give him a huge smile before nodding my head. "Sure."

He looks grateful and we exchange numbers.

I'm getting into my car when he hollers at me. "I'll call you."

"You better." I shout back a smile still stuck on my face.

I get in and begin the drive home.

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I'm making dinner when I hear the doorbell ring so I quickly clean my hands before going to get it.

I open the door to Henry, Jason and Jamie. I knew who was there but seeing him still has me momentarily in a trance. I force myself to snap out of it as the boys grip me in a hug.

"Hey boys. Did you have a good time with dad?" I ask as I squat to their eye level.

"The best!" Jason exclaims.

"We went to get ice cream then we went to the aquarium." Jamie says.

"That sounds so fun." I muse.

"It was." Jamie says.

I stand up. "Alright, you boys go freshen up and be down in ten. Dinner will be ready by then, okay?"

"Yes mom." They say simultaneously before sprinting away.

I swear sometimes I wonder if I'm raising athletes.

I look up at Henry who is standing at the door awkwardly.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" I blurt out. It's as if my body is possessed by something because why will I, in my right mind, invite Henry in for dinner?

He looks every bit as surprised as I am at myself before he nods. "Of course."

We both walk back to the kitchen and a thought suddenly occurs to me.

"How did you even know where I live?" I ask with a frown.

He looks uncomfortable at the unexpected question. "I, uh, asked Max." He says rubbing the back of his neck, something he always does when he is lying.

"Mmmhmm". I give him a you can't fool me look, before looking back to my food.

Ten minutes later, everything is ready like I said it would be. We all settle on the dinning to eat with Henry at the head of the table. After saying grace, they begin eating but I suddenly lose my appetite.

I hate how right and normal this whole thing seems. Like we've been doing it our whole fucking lives. The way Henry dishes them the food, the jokes they laugh about. Everything.

It makes me long for things that aren't possible.

I abruptly stand up from my chair. "Excuse me." Without waiting for a reply, I carry my full plate into the kitchen. I cover it and put it into the microwave and just sit on a stool at the kitchen island.

I'm going through my phone to distract myself, when I get a call from Lorraine which I accept.

"Hey, Lorraine." I say into the line.

"Hey! So, I was wondering if you would like to go out for lunch monday afternoon. That is if you have the time." She says.

"Of course. I would love to." I reply with a smile although I know she couldn't see me.

"Really?" She asks with so much joy, you'd think I just granted her a wish. "That's great. I'll text you to finalize plans."

"No problem."

"Have a great night!" She exclaims.

"You too." I reply and we end the call.

Henry walks in a minute after and I briefly take a glance at him carrying the dirty dishes. I quickly look back at my phone as I hear him drop the plates in the sink.

"Just leave them there, I'll clean them up." I tell him but instead he does the exact opposite and washes the dishes.

When he is done, he turns to me with a small smile. "It's the least I could do. The meal was delicious."

"Thank you." I reply curtly before going back to looking at my phone.

It's silent for a minute before he speaks up. "Mom wants you and the boys to come over for a small family gathering she's having tomorrow."

I nod my head. "That's no problem. Will you be there?"

"Yes." He replies.

"With Jessica?" I feel compelled to ask.

He's hesitant to reply. "Yes."

I take a deep breathe and just stand up from the stool. "What time?"

"2 pm. Sandy, it's not what you think-" He begins but I quickly cut him off.

"Look, lets get somethings straight. What you do is your business. Who you date is your business. What is my business is who you bring around my children and the fact that you probably wouldn't have told me that Jessica would be there had I not asked is irritating to say the least. Please just leave Henry." I hiss.

He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something but he pauses. "I know that this whole situation is less than ideal, Sandy, and we are no longer married, but I would never intentionally hurt you. At least not like you did to me." He adds the last part lowly and I'm immediately annoyed.

"Like I did to you?" I practically shout. "What the fuck did I do to you, Henry, other than love you and have your children and be a good wife and take care of our family even when it was all falling apart. Tell me, Henry, what did I do to you?"

He looks at me with as much annoyance as I feel but also in his eyes I see pain. I see hurt. For what, I can't tell but I feel an urge to comfort him in my arms. He looks lost. Suddenly, he releases a dry unamused chuckle. "You know what you did, Sandy, and the fact that till today you can't even own up and tell me about it is just-" He pauses, using his thumb and index finger to rub his temple. "I don't want to even discuss this tonight."

With that last statement he walks away once again, slamming the door behind him and leaving me puzzled and discombobulated.

What the hell is he talking about?

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A/n:

Here's another update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

What do you think Sandy did that has Henry so upset even after all these years?

Keep reading to find out.😉

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P.s - Please check out my other books Cocky and The King's Lover.