Chapter 276

Chapter 0276

Ava

It’s official. I miss my husband so much. It has only been a couple of hours since Rowan left, and I’m

dying to pick up the phone and call him.

I know I’m the one who insisted he should go to work today, but now I’m regretting it.

I’ve done every chore around the house, which, by the way, isn’t much because Teresa was already on

top of things. I was bored out of my mind since there was nothing to do. Iris is asleep most of the time,

and Teresa is busy, so there isn’t anyone to keep me company.

I tried baking, but it was a failed attempt. Like with the pancakes, I had difficulty remembering the recipe.

and also measuring

Sighing, I take the baby monitor and leave for the backyard. I head straight for the beautiful gazebo that

took my breath away the moment I saw it.

I don’t remember it being there before, so it was probably added during the four missing years.

This amnesia is both a blessing and a curse. I consider it a blessing because Rowan has changed so

much. He’s everything I’ve always wanted him to be. I can’t really complain. We were finally the family I’d

always imagined.

It was also a curse because so many things are now different. So many things are new. To be honest, I

don’t even find that to be a bad thing. What I hate about my current situation are the side effects. The

inability to read simple words and numbers. It honestly makes me feel stupid.

“Ma’am, there is someone here to see you.” Teresa’s voice startles me since I’d been so lost in thought.

“Who is it?” I look at her, squinting my eyes against the bright sunlight.

“Scarlet”

I think about the name for a while, but it doesn’t ring a bell. Clearly, if the person was here, it meant they

knew me, right?

Let her in.

She slightly bows her head and then leaves. Minutes later, she comes back with Letty.

“I thought your name is Letty.” I voice my confusion.

Teresa excuses herself while Letty takes a seat next to me. I turn and face her fully, I honestly didn’t

know

a stranger.

“Letty is just a nickname for Scarlet. My grandmother started calling me that when I was younger and the

name just kind of stuck.”

I nod, but don’t say anything else. A kind of awkward silence falls between us. It was deafening and

spoke volumes. It’s like none of us know where to begin.

Everything about this whole thing is weird. I mean, here is this woman who probably knows everything

about me, but I know nothing about her.

“So how are you? How are things going?” She finally breaks the silence after a few minutes of silence.

I think about it for a while before answering. During that time, Teresa comes back with a pitcher of

lemonade and two glasses. She leaves again after serving us.

Taking a sip of the delicious liquid, I answer. “Not bad; I can’t honestly complain.”

“So Rowan is treating you well, right?” she pushes.

The question sits wrong with me.

“Why would you ask that?”

Sure, I know that my relationship with Rowan has always been tense. She’s apparently my friend, so she

would definitely know that, but Rowan told me that things between us changed. Was that a lie?

“Oh nothing. I just want to make sure that everything is okay.” The look in her eyes tells me that it’s more

than that.

The way she was trying to rearrange her features and control her emotions speaks of something else.

going on. Just like with Rowan, I could sense that something wasn’t adding up. That, too, like

husband, was hiding something.

“Should I be worried or something?”

my

Maybe I could get her to tell me something. Anything at all on what Rowan might be hiding from me. It

would be a great help, instead of always just wondering and guessing.

“Nothing at all,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’m just happy to see you so happy and peaceful. I knew

that being with Rowan was going to change things for you. I can see how happier you are by his side.”

“Was I sad a lot? Rowan told me that we agreed to have an open relationship when he started seeing

Emma and I started seeing Ethan

She stares at me. Her eyes boring into mine as if she were searching for something. There is a raging

debate behind her eyes. A certain kind of struggle. One I didn’t understand.

“Yes. I wasn’t there at the beginning when Emma came back, but I knew about your story with her. I

could tell how much it killed you knowing that Rowan pushed you aside for her even though you refused

to admit it. You locked away that pain and tried forgetting about it.”

That is really interesting. I’m not really surprised. It had always been painful for me to know that, despite

how much I loved Rowan, he held on to his love for Emma and refused to give me a chance.

I still don’t really understand how he came to change his mind about me. He tried explaining it to me the

day we talked about Ethan, but the explanation just wasn’t enough. He has hated me for so long. How is

it possible that something as simple as seeing me with another man triggered his feelings for me?